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`M' shows split personality in loss to Indiana

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Yesterday's women's basketball game between Michigan and Indiana was not quite a tale of two cities, as the reference suggests, but a tale of two halves.

"I think if we had played as well in the first half as we did in the second half the outcome would have been a little different," Michigan coach Trish Roberts said.

The Hoosiers (3-6 Big Ten, 12-7 overall), who have won three-straight conference games after losing their first six, won the first half outright.

Indiana shot 51.6 percent in the half and out-rebounded the Wolverines (1-8, 7-12), 26 to 15, to coast to a 41-27 halftime lead.

But the most telling factor of the first half was Michigan's shooting, which was colder than a bad day in Siberia. The Wolverines shot eight-of-32 from the floor, including one-of-six from behind the arc.

Part of the dismal shooting was due to the unfriendly irons of Assembly Hall, which didn't allow the Wolverines to exercise their shooter's touch.

But many of Michigan's shots didn't deserve to tickle the twine. Ball movement was nonexistent at times which led to forced, low-percentage shots. However, Roberts said the shots were not much different than usual.

"They were the kind of shots we normally take. They just weren't falling for us," she said.

But they weren't the shots Michigan took in the second half, which is why the Wolverines almost pulled off a miracle comeback.

The lead reached 18 for Indiana with 7:50 remaining in the first before Michigan made a slightly surprising run while Pollyanna Johns sat on the bench with two fouls.

A 10-0 run, sparked by six points from Tiffany Willard, foreshadowed what the Wolverines would bring to the table in the second half.

The final 20 minutes saw Johns getting the ball in the low post and hitting six-of-eight shots over Indiana's centers. It also saw Molly Murray and Akisha Franklin each going three-for-6 and Amy Johnson hitting both shots she took.

Overall, the Wolverines shot 58.6 percent in the final frame, and it wasn't just that the rims had loosened up. Michigan was moving the ball and getting good looks at the basket.

While the first half was characterized by individuals trying to create shots, the Wolverines played as a team in the second, creating shots for each other.

Remember kids, there is no `I' in team.

Also essential to Michigan's second-half comeback was the 2-3 zone they switched to with six minutes left in the first half. The Wolverines stayed with it for the rest of the game.

"In the second half we basically forced them to shoot from the outside and those shots weren't falling," Roberts said.

For the game, Indiana hit only four-of-16 three-point attempts.

"Their 2-3 zone obviously gave us some trouble, and we didn't shoot the ball well," said Indiana forward Lisa Furlin of the Wolverines' comeback.

Furlin shot three-of-12 from the field, but still led all scorers with 19 points, knocking down 13 from the charity stripe.

Furlin's troubles were shared by the whole team in the second half as Indiana shot 36 percent (nine-of-25).

Typical of the whole season, Michigan showed flashes of both brilliance and a lack of concentration.