Hoosiers continue road woes at PSU

Finding a way to win on the road during conference play is something IU has been searching for all season. The search will continue for at least one more game as the Hoosiers fell to No. 25 Penn State 67-45 in University Park, Pa. at the Bryce Jordan Center.\nThe loss continues IU's struggles on the road during conference play. The last time the Hoosiers (9-13, Big Ten 2-10) won on the road was Jan. 22, 2004 at Illinois 63-56. \nDespite grabbing an early 6-3 lead, it wouldn't last long as the Lions (15-8, 10-2) used a stifling defense and an opportunistic offense to score the game's next 11 points, surging ahead 14-6. \nThat was all PSU would need as Penn State got the lead as large as 29 points, with the Hoosiers trailing most of the night in double digits.\nThe first-half funk the Hoosiers suffered was the downfall in their seventh loss in their last eight games, IU coach Kathi Bennett said.\n"We were out of sync on offense in the first half," Bennett said. "Our concentration and decision making were poor and they're first-half trapping really affected us."\nThe Hoosiers didn't do themselves any favors as they committed 10 turnovers en route to a 19-point deficit at the break, 32-13.\nThe PSU game marked the fifth time during conference play that IU scored less than 20 points in the first half. All the games resulted in a loss.\nThe second half marked improvement for IU, but it wasn't enough as the Lions continued with a balancing scoring attack as they had eight players with five points or more. Penn State was led in scoring by sophomore Amanda Brown.\nEven with more consistency in the second half by IU, it wasn't enough as the Lions countered every Hoosier run with one of their own.\nComing into the game, Bennett noted that establishing a presence in the post could be the difference in IU having a chance to win the game. Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, 26 points wasn't enough. The only scoring IU got from its guards came from junior Cyndi Valentin and senior LeeAnn Stephenson. Valentin lead the Hoosiers in scoring with 12 points.\nThough the game was well in hand for the Lions, IU continued to fight down the stretch, making its most impressive run of the night by scoring 10 points in the final two minutes.\nIU will have one last shot at claiming a Big Ten road win when they battle Northwestern at 2:00 p.m. Sunday in Evanston, Ill.\nEarlier this season, the Hoosiers came back from a 24-21 halftime deficit to win 53-42. Northwestern will mark the last road game for the year for the Hoosiers, as IU ends the season with four games at home.