No. 3 Indiana Collapses in Second Half, Loses 69-56 in Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals

Indiana women's basketball led by 14 points at halftime to Michigan during the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, but crumbled in the second half. Laila Phelia led the game with 30 points. Sara Scalia had 14. Mackenzie Holmes' late-game appearance wasn't enough.

No. 3-seed Indiana women’s basketball led by as much as 17 points Friday night in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals before No. 6-seed Michigan stormed back and upset the Hoosiers, 69-56.

In back-to-back seasons in the tournament, Indiana has crumbled in Minneapolis. Last March, the No. 1 Hoosiers blew their 24-point lead in the second half to No. 4 Ohio State.

As of Friday morning, the Hoosiers were projected as the No. 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Now they’re in danger of losing a top-four spot, which would grant them hosting privileges for the opening two rounds.

The opening half Friday didn’t give any indication of an impending let down. In the second quarter alone, Indiana scored more points than Michigan had scored in the first 20 minutes. Indiana made five 3-pointers while Michigan was 0-for-5.

When these teams met in Bloomington in January, Indiana became the only Division I team of the century to make its first 15 consecutive shots in a game. On Friday, both teams were 9-for-32 to begin. 

But when Indiana sophomore Lilly Meister — who sprained her ankle last Sunday — checked in for the first time with under three minutes to go in the first quarter, it brought normalcy to Indiana’s surrounding guards. Usual starter Mackenzie Holmes was also coming off an injury and did not play until the fourth quarter.

At halftime, Indiana led by 14 points. Sara Scalia led with 11 points and three triples. Michigan’s All-Big Ten First Teamer, Laila Phelia, led with 10 points for the Wolverines. But Phelia's teammates weren’t involved. Jordan Hobbs and Lauren Hansen shot 3-for-11 combined.

Like many times this season, the Hoosiers went into a third-quarter scoring-drought. Scalia didn’t score at all in the quarter. Michigan went on two scoring runs. During a 12-0 run, Indiana’s Sydney Parrish limped off the court and stayed on the sidelines for four minutes.

“There was a couple of moments where they came down and I kind of looked over like, I'm not sure what that was and why we felt like we had to do it — and we were winning,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said postgame. “We've been in those scenarios before, where we've had a lead (and) we've been able to maintain a lead. Tonight, we weren’t. A lot of that has to do with Michigan. Tonight, I just thought, like I said, we kind of lost our way there in critical moments.”

When Parrish returned, her 3-pointer kept Indiana afloat. But Parrish followed that up by committing two turnovers. The Hoosiers had seven turnovers in the third quarter, following just four in the first half.

Phelia caught fire for Michigan down the stretch, scoring 20 points in the second half to end with 30. Hobbs and Hansen combined for six 3-pointers. With 6:32 left in the game, Moren put Holmes in with Indiana trailing 52-48. Holmes went 0-for-2 from the floor and did not score in the last-ditch effort to turn the game around. Michigan outscored Indiana 29-13 in the fourth.

“Our goal was to be here till Sunday,” Moren said. “We knew she was going to be available. We didn't want to have to play her. We wanted to be able to use her tomorrow more. But [Holmes] looked at me and she said, ‘I'm ready to go in, to see if I can help.’ In terms of how healthy she is, she could have easily played tonight. We were trying to hold her out as much as we could.”

Now all Indiana can do is go back to Bloomington, regroup and wait to see when and where they will play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 22 or 23.

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• HOLMES, SCALIA VOTED CONSENSUS BIG TEN FIRST TEAM: Holmes and Scalia were consensus picks for the All-Big Ten First Team. Holmes was chosen unanimously by the coaches and the media. CLICK HERE
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