– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN — A matchup of two of the top teams in women’s college basketball on Monday night was also a matchup between the two top scoring defenses in the Big Ten Conference. So we all should have known what was going to happen during what should have been a slugfest between No. 6 Indiana and No. 13 Michigan.
First to 90 points wins! Of course!
Mackenzie Holmes led six players in double figures for the Hoosiers, who went on the road and defeated the Wolverines 92-82 inside the Crisler Center on Monday night, Indiana’s sixth straight victory. Holmes recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Sara Scalia came off the bench to chip in with 19 points as Indiana shot 51.6 percent from the field (33-of-64) while owning a 41-24 advantage on the boards to control the game virtually from start to finish.
“Well, we are obviously very happy. Anytime you can win on the road in a place like Michigan it is a good night,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said. “I am really, really happy for our players. We knew that controlling the boards was going to be the number one key. To out rebound Michigan by 17 and have six in double digits.”
Michigan scored the opening basket of the game, but the Hoosiers then used a blistering shooting display from the first quarter to take control, making 11-of-19 from the field (57.9 percent) in the quarter to take a 10-point after the game’s first 10 minutes. Holmes scored 15 of her points in the first half while Scalia scored seven of her 12 first-half points in the second quarter.
The Hoosiers bettered their stellar shooting from the first half in the third quarter, making seven of their 11 shots from the field after halftime, but the Wolverines were still down only 12 at the end of the period. Michigan cut the Hoosiers’ lead to six with 4:48 to play, but back-to-back jumpers by Indiana guard Grace Berger gave the Hoosiers breathing room to close the game out at the end.
Leigha Brown led all scorers with 31 points for the Wolverines, while backcourt mate Laila Phelia scored 21 points in the defeat.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Monday evening’s game, with all photos taken by Detroit-area photographer Aaron J. Thornton. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 17 pictures in total.
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