Hoosiers hang on to win despite difficulties

For the first time in 17 days, coach Kathi Bennett has a reason to smile. \nAfter three consecutive losses had plunged IU from second to seventh in the Big Ten standings, the Hoosiers righted the ship Sunday with a 83-76 win over Ohio State.\n"I felt we kept our composure down the stretch," Bennett said. "We never lost the lead. At crucial times, we had some big shots that we made."\nAfter leading by as many as 18 points, IU (14-6, 5-4 Big Ten) squandered the lead to as little as two points late into the second half. But whenever Ohio State poised to take the lead, the Hoosiers converted on crucial possessions.\nWith the Hoosiers up by four with four minutes left, senior guard Rainey Alting hit a key jumper from the elbow to slow the Buckeye run.\nAnd even bigger, junior forward Erin McGinnis drilled a three from well beyond the line as the shot clock wound down on an IU possession. The shot pushed the lead to nine and forced OSU coach Beth Burns to call timeout.\n"This was the kind of game that came down to players making plays," Burns said. "Indiana, three or four different times in the second half, really stepped up and made big baskets with three or four seconds left on the shot clock."\nThe win, IU's 14th, had a different feel.\nJunior center Jill Chapman, who has been IU's leading scorer and rebounder, played sparingly against the Buckeyes, totaling only six points and three rebounds, numbers considerably off her averages (14.5 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game).\nChapman, who had been the go-to-player in all of IU's wins, sat on the bench for most of the game with a towel in her lap. Chapman played just 14 minutes. Chapman picked up two quick first-half fouls, playing five minutes.\nThere wasn't anything wrong with Chapman, Bennett said. Bennett just felt more comfortable with a smaller, quicker line-up against the fast Buckeye team.\n"We're a little better defensively when we're smaller," Bennett said. "We get back in transition. We're active on the low block. Different teams dictate different style. You have to adjust.\n"Because Ohio State is so quick, this was a good line-up."\nWith Chapman out, scoring came from different avenues as senior guard Tara Jones shot 6-of-9 from the floor for 14 points while junior forward Erin McGinnis scored 15, an IU high for the transfer from Auburn.\nWith the Hoosiers holding on to a seven-point halftime lead, Jones, who been quiet despite starting 19 of 20 games, caught fire, pushing the IU lead to to 18, 54-36.\nJones made four field goals, including two threes in the first four minutes of the second half. A streaky shooter who averages 7.5 points per game, Jones found her shot early in the second half.\n"When (Jones) gets her balance and goes straight up, I really like her shot," Bennett said. "When she does that, she shoots a very high percentage."\nJunior point guard Heather Cassady had her third consecutive strong scoring game as the floor general netted 19 points. Cassady was solid from the free throw line, converting 12 of 14 attempts.\nWithout Chapman inside, Cassady created much of the offense off strong dribble penetration. \nThe Buckeyes are playing bone-thin after losing a handful of players to injury so far this season. The OSU bench looked like an infirmary as four players sat hobbled, casted and in street clothes. With a thin line-up, Burns used only eight players, one an all-conference volleyball standout and another player 30 seconds with a cast on her left wrist.\nThe experience has definitely taken its toll on Burns.\n"The biggest problem for our team is that we regress to trying to do it by ourselves," Burns said. "We know we have no subs. We know we have none of none-of-the-above and everybody gets into a little one-on-one. I used to take things one game at a time, but now I have to take it one day at a time. And sometimes that is even too far-sighted."\nOSU center Courtney Coleman led the Buckeyes with 19 points and eight rebounds. All five starters scored double-figures for OSU, and all played close to 30 minutes in the loss.\nThe Buckeyes might have been hurt by the loss of guard Tomeka Brown, who fouled out with 4:37 left in the game. Brown collided with Cassady as the Hoosier guard faked a jump shot. Brown had 12 points in 28 minutes.\n"I saw the baseline was open, so I just drove, and stopped," Cassady said. "I just pumped a little and she went up."\nNotes: With her fourth point, Chapman moved into the top-10 all-time in scoring at IU. Freshman forward Charliss Ridley, who missed Sunday's game, will be back with the team Tuesday. Ridley took a leave of absence for one week, missing two IU games. Sophomore Jill Hartman returned Sunday after serving a one-game suspension from the NCAA in Thursday's 79-70 loss to Penn State. In 18 minutes, Hartman had four points and five assists.