Michigan
6-23
Indiana
16-12
Michigan Falls to Indiana in Big Ten Tourney First Round
3/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team had its season come to an end Thursday night (March 2), falling 68-52 to Indiana in the first round of the Big Ten Conference Tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse. The Wolverines (6-23) outplayed the Hoosiers (16-12) for much of the second half, due in large part to five three-pointers, but U-M could not dig itself out of a 20-point halftime deficit.
Sophomore Janelle Cooper (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance HS) led the Michigan charge with 16 points on 7-of-17 shooting, including 2-of-7 from beyond the three-point stripe, and three steals in 37 minutes of action. Sophomore Krista Clement (St. Ignace, Mich./LaSalle HS) came off the bench to give the Wolverines an emotional spark in the second half, drilling three triples en route to her nine-point, two-rebound performance.
Sophomore Ta'Shia Walker (Lansing, Mich./J.W. Sexton HS), in her first action since Feb. 5 at Minnesota, came away with eight points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field and three rebounds. Freshman Jessica Minnfield (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic HS) dished out a career-high nine assists in 37 minutes.
The Hoosiers jumped out to an early 11-4 advantage going into the game's first break at 15:33. Both Wolverine buckets came from the low post, as freshman Melinda Queen (Oak Forest, Ill./Carl Sandburg HS) scored U-M's first points on a putback and freshman Carly Benson (Carney, Mich./Carney-Nadeau Public School) followed with a lay-in beneath the rim.
Michigan tried to get things going following the timeout as Walker scored on her first touch since early February to trim the IU lead to 11-6 at 14:30. The Wolverines could not keep the momentum going as a U-M field-goal drought lasting 5:11 provided Indiana with a 20-7 advantage.
The trio of Cooper, Walker and Minnfield aimed to keep Michigan within striking distance throughout the remainder of the first half, with Minnfield first finding Cooper in the corner for a three-pointer. Minnfield continued to spread the ball around and dished if off to Walker for a layup, which were Michigan's first fast break points of the ballgame. The combination of Walker and Cooper consistently created problems for Indiana's 2-3 zone midway through the first half, as both connected on baskets within the paint to cut the deficit to 29-16 at 6:13.
The Wolverines endured more scoring troubles as the first half wound down, with a pair of Stephany Skrba (Richmond Hill, Ontario/Langstaff Secondary School) baskets providing the only points for the Maize and Blue. Both of Skrba's hoops were set up by Minnfield passes.
Trailing 40-20 at halftime, Michigan could not keep up with the first-half performance of Indiana's Cyndi Valentin, who recorded 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, including 3-of-3 from three-point land, and six assists. Walker was one of the few bright spots for the Wolverines as she produced six points on 3-of-6 shooting and led the team with three rebounds.
The Hoosiers extended their margin to 22 points, 44-22, on a layup by Angela Hawkins a minute and a half into the second period. The Wolverines responded with a quick five-point spurt which included a Cooper three-pointer and a pair of Queen free throws. Cooper struck again minutes later with a layup at 15:43 as the Indiana advantage dipped below 20 points, 48-29.
The Michigan momentum continued to mount behind the play of Clement, who produced nine of the Wolverines' next 11 points, all coming from three-point land. Her last triple at 8:26 brought the Maize and Blue to within 17 points, 57-40, pumping new life into the Wolverines.
U-M then followed with a 10-4 run, which included a pair of Cooper jumpers and a Benson three-ball that eventually cut the Indiana advantage to 11 points, 61-50, with just over three minutes remaining in the contest. The baskets, however, proved too little too late for Wolverines.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
