ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Coming off a loss at Minnesota, Indiana looked to get back on track as it traveled to Ann Arbor for the second and final leg of its northern Midwest road trip.
Just like its matchup against the Golden Gophers, the Hoosiers couldn't get it done, though it was Indiana who held the lead for the majority of this one at the Crisler Center.
Up by five with three minutes to go, the Hoosiers let this one slip away as the Wolverines raced past them using an extremely efficient offensive fourth quarter.
Both Jordan Hobbs and Syla Swords were key for Michigan, Hobbs scoring 24 and Swords 15, while Olivia Olson was UM's third double-digit scorer as she put up 13.
Karoline Striplin was sensational, scoring 28 on 12-for-19 shooting in what was a career-high night for the center. Sydney Parrish was the other double-figures scorer with 14 on the game.
While Striplin had a game to remember, her team folded when it had a major opportunity to pick up a big-time win.
With this loss, Indiana sinks further down the tournament bubble, as it's now very much in question whether Teri Moren's squad will compete in the NCAA postseason.
With that being said, here's how it happened:
DEFENSE PROPELS IU TO HALFTIME LEAD DESPITE 11 TURNOVERS
After the first half, Indiana led 29-27 thanks to some great defense, though it turned the ball over 11 times to allow Michigan to stay in the game despite the Wolverines shooting just 32% in the first 20 minutes.
After this one started with each side scoring four points, Indiana went on a 7-0 run to make it an 11-4 ballgame. After this though, the turnovers set in.
The Hoosiers turned it over four times in the final five minutes of the first quarter, totaling five turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the contest.
IU shot 7-of-14, much better than Michigan's 4-of-13 mark, but with so many turnovers from Indiana, the Wolverines hung around, this one being all knotted up at 15 apiece at the end of the first.
The turnovers continued in the second quarter, as the Hoosiers had six giveaways in the next 10 minutes of action, giving them 11 total turnovers in the first half.
The only reason that IU held the lead was because of its defense, as Michigan's shooting woes were also seen in the second quarter, UM going just 5-of-15, with IU not much better at 5-of-12.
Indiana's defense also forced seven first half Michigan turnovers— not as many as IU of course —but still a number that allowed the Hoosiers to slow down the Wolverine offensive attack.
Parrish and Bargesser both led the way for Indiana, scoring nine points each in the first half, though their team's defense was still the biggest factor en route to the halftime lead.
Michigan shot just 9-of-29 in the first 20 minutes, a number that gave the Hoosiers the early edge even with IU being careless with the ball early on.
MICHIGAN CATCHES FIRE AND GETS A COMEBACK WIN
While Indiana's defense kept it in it throughout the first half, it could hold on for the full 40 minutes, as Michigan finally broke through and mounted an impressive comeback late in the game.
The third quarter started just like the first two with neither team shooting it well, resulting in this one staying close throughout, with Michigan leading 39-35 with 3:33 left in the period.
After this, Indiana finally got its offense and defense going at the same time, resulting in an 11-0 run to end the third, flipping a four-point Michigan lead into a seven-point lead of its own headed into the final quarter.
IU shot 6-of-13 in the third, while UM went 6-of-14, marking three straight quarters where neither team shot above 50% from the field.
Because of this, it was an extremely low scoring game entering the final 10 minutes, but that was about to be turned around, as both teams' offenses found a groove in the fourth quarter.
While both did find a groove, it was Michigan who got blisteringly hot, shooting 10-of-14 from the field, 4-of-5 from three and 7-of-9 from the FT line, all of which were astronomically better than the numbers seen in the first 30 minutes of play.
Indiana was also improved, going 9-of-16 from the floor for its best shooting quarter of the night, but it went 0-for-3 on 3-pointers, something that proved to be the difference as IU lost by exactly three points.
Indiana led 59-54 with just over three minutes remaining in the ballgame, but still couldn't hold on, as Michigan made each of their last five shots from the floor and last seven from the line.
Hobbs made all four of her attempts from the floor in the final quarter, scoring 11 in the final period that saw her team explode on the offensive end. Swords made four of her five shots in the fourth for the Wolverines, hitting three out of three shots from deep.
All this cumulated in what was not necessarily a collapse by Indiana, but a determined run by Michigan that gave it a well-deserved victory.
Now sitting at 7-6 in conference and 15-9 overall, IU will return to action Saturday at home vs. Purdue.
FINAL STATS
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