A basketball rim is one of the great shape-shifters in sports.
Some nights, the rim looks like the Pacific Ocean. On others, it looks like a thimble.

In the Michigan women's basketball team's last three games, it has taken the shape of the latter.

The Wolverines are in a major shooting slump, especially from the 3-point line. They are shooting a combined 24 percent from beyond the arc during their three-game losing streak.

“Well, it sure would help to put the ball in the basket,” Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said of his team’s offensive woes. “That should make a difference.”

Michigan’s shooting struggles are nothing new, but they’re getting worse. For the season, the Wolverines are shooting just 37 percent from the field and 28 percent from behind the arc.

The numbers aren’t great, but they were enough for Michigan to pull out some tough victories over good opponents, including two top-25 teams, Vanderbilt and Notre Dame. The Wolverines usually make up for poor shooting with stellar defense, but even that hasn’t helped as of late.

Recently, Michigan shot 6-of-35 on 3-pointers against Michigan State. The Wolverines shot 55 percent from three-point range in the first half against Minnesota, and then made just two 3-pointers the rest of the game.

“Basketball is a game of runs,” senior forward Carly Benson said. “And right now, we’re not on one.”

But she also said no matter what happens, this is not a team that will get down on itself.

“Our team does a very good job of picking each other up,” she said. “We’re very complimentary of each other. That will help us get out of this slump.”

At 9-9, Michigan is on the brink of mediocrity after the season's promising start to the season (8-5).

And it doesn’t get any easier as Big Ten giant Indiana comes to Crisler Arena tonight. The Hoosiers boast a potent and well-balanced offense, with all five starters averaging double figures.

“I think they’re the best offensive team in the conference,” Borseth said. “They have the two best post players offensively and they have a WNBA point guard.”

Senior forwards Amber Jackson and Whitney Thomas both average 14 points per game.

As for the “WNBA point guard” Borseth talked about, that would be Jamie Braun. The praise is well-warranted — Braun averages 12 points, five assists and five rebounds per game. She dropped 19 against Iowa on Jan. 4.

Michigan always wants to get the ball in the paint and it’s not going to get any easier against the Hoosiers.

“People ask, ‘What’s more important, offense or defense?’" Borseth said. "You need to be equally good at both. Same thing goes for 3-pointers and shots around the scoring zone. If you can’t do both, you’re not going to be good at either one.”

According to Borseth, the way to win is to get open shots in the paint. And the only way to get open shots in the paint is to hit 3-pointers, which the Wolverines haven't been able to do recently.
They had better hope they can tonight.