Michigan
14-10, 7-7
Indiana
15-11, 8-6
Michigan Unable to Take Series Sweep From Indiana
2/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Site: Bloomington, Ind. (Assembly Hall)
Score: Indiana 74, Michigan 65
Records: U-M (14-10, 7-7 Big Ten), Indiana (15-11, 8-6 Big Ten)
Next Game: Thursday, Feb. 21 -- vs. Purdue (Crisler Arena), 7 p.m.
Boxscore | Notes & Quotes
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team fell short of its third straight victory Sunday afternoon (Feb. 17), dropping a 74-65 decision to Indianaat Assembly Hall. The Wolverines (14-10, 7-7 Big Ten) trimmed a 10-point halftime deficit to as a low as five with 17:53 to play, but the Hoosiers (15-11, 8-6 Big Ten) went on to build a double-digit lead that would stand for a majority of the remaining minutes.
Junior Carly Benson(Carney, Mich./Carney-Nadeau Public School) recorded her eighth straight double-digit scoring game, finishing with 13 points in addition to pulling down a team-high eight rebounds in 33 minutes. Senior Janelle Cooper(Detroit, Mich./Renaissance HS) chipped in 13 points, while junior Stephany Skrba(Toronto, Ontario/Langstaff Secondary School) and sophomore Krista Phillips(Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Aden Bowman Collegiate HS) contributed 10 points apiece. Junior Ashley Jones(Southfield, Mich./Martin Luther King HS) had her strongest performance of the year, totaling season highs of six points, four assists and three rebounds in a season-best 26 minutes.
Michigan connected on three of its first six attempts from three-point range, with Cooper, senior Krista Clement(St. Ignace, Mich./LaSalle HS) and Benson finding the bottom to help the Wolverines keep the game tied at 11-11 in the opening 5:21 of action. After Skrba came off the bench and knocked down a soft jumper to knot the score at 13-13, the Hoosiers reeled off an 11-0 run to gain a 24-13 lead with 10:02 to play in the first half.
Jones entered the game and provided U-M with a huge lift, making three great assists to Skrba inside during an 8-0 run that cut the Hoosier lead to 24-21 at 7:56. Indiana struck back, however, putting together a 7-0 surge to go ahead 31-21 with 6:52 to go until the break.
Jones continued to play big minutes, scoring on an impressive move to the basket on the fast break to trim the deficit to eight points. Benson added another triple to make the score 33-26 at 4:56. Jones capped off Michigan's first-half scoring with another strong bucket in the paint, while Indiana recorded five of its final seven points of the half from the free throw line to take a 40-30 advantage into the locker room.
Skrba paced the Wolverines with 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the first 20 minutes. The Hoosiers finished the first half shooting 58 percent (15-of-26) from the field. Whitney Thomas scored 15 of her 19 points before the intermission.
Michigan got off to a solid start in the second half, as a Clement triple at 19:37 marked the beginning of a 7-2 run that narrowed the gap to 42-37. U-M's aggressive play resulted in five straight points from the free throw line, but Indiana was able to push its lead to 53-42 with 14:31 remaining in the contest.
The Wolverines had trouble knocking down some good looks while the Hoosiers extended their lead to 60-45 at 7:52. A basket inside from Cooper followed by a steal and lay-in by junior Jessica Minnfield(Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic HS) trimmed the deficit to 11 points, but Indiana quickly turned around and scored six unanswered points to regain a 66-49 advantage with 6:44 to go on the clock.
Back-to-back triples from Cooper and Minnfield brought Michigan within 10 points, 66-56, at 5:03. A Benson three-pointer at 2:49 cut the Indiana lead to nine points, 70-61, but U-M was not able to draw any closer despite a strong effort until the final horn.
The Wolverines return home to Crisler Arena to host Purdue on Thursday (Feb. 21) at 7 p.m. The game can be heard live on station WLBY (AM 1290).
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
