After falling to Purdue on Sunday, the Hoosiers were back in the comfort of their own home, looking to upset the No. 9 Michigan Wolverines on Wednesday night. Searching for their first conference win of the season, the Hoosiers were tasked with stopping a Michigan team that has won six of its last seven games, boasting an 8-1 record in the Big Ten.
In a matchup highlighted by stars Olivia Olson and Shay Ciezki, Olson outdueled the conference leader in Points Per Game (PPG), scoring 27 points on an efficient 10-for-14 from the field. Olson led the way for a Michigan team that dominated in nearly every facet of the game, en route to a 95-67 victory.
“They (Michigan) are outstanding,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said postgame. “They are going to make a deep run, in my opinion.”
With an eager Hoosier crowd in attendance, the energy quickly shifted, with Michigan jumping out to an early 12-5 lead, going five minutes before missing a shot. The opening quarter saw the Hoosiers dig themselves into a deep hole, committing six turnovers.
“I thought we set the table early with too many turnovers,” Moren said. “That’s what was disappointing, because we knew the run-and-jump was coming.”
During the first half, the Wolverines seemingly had their way on the offensive end, exploiting an undersized Hoosier squad that was playing without forward Zania Socka-Nguemen for the second consecutive game. Thirty-four of Michigan’s 49 first-half points came inside the paint.
Despite the deficit, the Hoosiers' drive-and-kick game found some success, putting up 21 shots from beyond the arc, connecting on eight of them. While a pair of 3s from Ciezki induced cheers from the Hoosier faithful, those were just moments in what was a lopsided affair.
“I definitely think it (3’s) opens up the floor a lot,” Maya Makalsuky said postgame. “That just makes our overall team harder to play, harder to guard.”
Heading back out onto the court in the second half, Indiana needed to play mistake-free to have an opportunity to climb back in the game; however, the on-ball pressure from the Wolverines made it extremely difficult for the Hoosiers to set up their offense, leading to 11 turnovers in the half compared to Michigan’s two.
An underlying concern regarding this year’s version of the Hoosiers has been the lack of effort for all 40 minutes. Thursday night, Teri Moren’s squad brought down just one offensive rebound compared to the Wolverines’ 14, resulting in 16 second-chance points.
“We’ve continued to make a lot of the same mistakes,” Moren said. “I don’t have an answer for why that is.”
The lone bright spot of the night came by way of Makalusky, who continued her impressive freshman campaign, notching a team-high 17 points.
For as long as Moren has been at the helm, Indiana has been a model of winning and consistency, and while this season has been an uphill battle, Moren’s expectation and commitment to her team remain the same.
“Nobody feels sorry for us,” Moren said. “We can control our attitudes, we can control our effort every day, we can’t control if the ball goes through the net.”
With the loss, Indiana falls to 0-10 in the Big Ten and 11-11 overall. Currently ranked 17th out of 18 teams in the conference, the Hoosiers will need to make up some ground to secure a spot in the Big Ten Tournament. Next up, they will host the Northwestern Wildcats on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.
