Striplin's Career Night Not Enough As Indiana Falls 70-67 At Michigan

Indiana had a chance to pick up a big road win Wednesday at Michigan, but the Wolverines made a few more crucial plays down the stretch to sneak away with a 70-67 win over the Hoosiers.

Indiana led by seven points with nine minutes to play and by four points with 2:37 remaining, thanks to a standout performance from Karoline Striplin. But the Wolverines outscored the Hoosiers 31-21 in the fourth quarter in a back-and-forth battle that was tied for 8:38 and went through seven lead changes.

The two costly stats for Indiana were turnovers and 3-point shooting. The Hoosiers committed 18 turnovers, which led to 17 Michigan points. Indiana went just 3 for 16 from 3-point range, tied for its fewest made 3-pointers of the season and its third-lowest percentage from beyond the arc.

That took away from an impressive game by forward Karoline Striplin. She led the Hoosiers with a season-high 28 points on 12-for-19 shooting, the second-most points in her four-year career. Her seven rebounds helped Indiana gain a 37-26 rebounding advantage.

Jordan Hobbs led Michigan with 24 points, followed by Syla Swords with 15 and Olivia Olson with 13.

Indiana got off to a strong start as back-to-back layups from Lexus Bargesser put the Hoosiers ahead 11-4 four minutes into the game. Despite shooting just 30.8%, Michigan went on a 7-0 to tie the game at 15-15 after one quarter of action.

The second quarter played out in similar fashion, with the Hoosiers and Wolverines trading short runs. Moore-McNeil's layup with 20 seconds left gave Indiana a narrow 29-27 advantage in what was a back-and-forth first half.

Indiana's 11 first-half turnovers led to 11 Michigan points, but it made up for that with solid defensive play and rebounding. The Hoosiers out-rebounded the Wolverines 21-13 and held Michigan to a 32.1% field goal percentage in the first half.

It appeared as if Michigan may gain control of the game in the third quarter, going on a 12-2 run in just under four minutes. That gave the Wolverines a 39-35 lead at the 5:20 mark, but the Hoosiers immediately responded with a run of their own.

Striplin scored six points during an 11-0 run that saw Indiana turn a four-point deficit into a seven point lead going into the fourth quarter. Julianna LaMendola also provided a boost off the bench with a 3-pointer during the run.

Indiana gained its largest lead of the game with a Striplin layup at the 9:14 mark of the fourth quarter. But the Wolverines wouldn't go away easily, with trio of 3-pointers from Syla Swords in a six-minute stretch. That cut the Hoosiers lead to 59-57 with three minutes to play.

Hobbs converted a crucial and-one layup with 1:06 to play, capping off a 7-0 run that put the Wolverines ahead 64-61. Striplin kept the Hoosiers alive with two baskets in the final minute, but Shay Ciezki's missed 3-pointer with 13 seconds left was Indiana's last chance. Michigan secured the victory by going 4 for 4 at the free throw line down the stretch.

With this loss, Indiana falls to 15-9 overall and 7-6 in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers return home to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for a noon ET tipoff against Purdue on Saturday.