Hoosiers end road trip with victory

A record-setting night for two Hoosiers propelled the IU women's basketball team (4-4) to a 70-64 victory over Eastern Michigan Wednesday in Ypsilanti, Mich.\nSophomore guard Nikki Smith had a career night with 17 points and five three-pointers, both breaking her previous records.\nSenior guard Jenny DeMuth led all scorers with a season-high 24 points. Most of DeMuth's points came from the free throw line, as she connected on 14 of 15 attempts from the charity stripe. In doing so, DeMuth tied her own team record for free throws made in a game, which she set against North Texas in 2004. \nThe rest of the Hoosiers followed DeMuth's example from the line by connecting on 80 percent of their free throw attempts. IU head coach Sharon Versyp said the accurate free throw shooting was key to the Hoosiers' victory.\n"We struggled to score points and out of the time-outs we were running some set plays and Jenny was our go-to player today," Versyp said. "Since we were struggling from the field. I told the team that we had to get to the free throw line by continuing to attack the basket. Our free-throw percentage was huge for us down the stretch when the offense was struggling to hit a field goal."\nThe Hoosiers dominated the opening moments of the game, connecting on seven of 13 attempts from three-point range. IU led by as many as 17 points in the first half. \nThe Eagles narrowed the deficit, but the Hoosiers responded by going on a 13-1 run to end the first half. IU did not allow an Eastern Michigan field goal for almost nine minutes to enter intermission with the lead, 33-24.\nThe second half became a defensive struggle, with a total of only four points scored between the two teams in the opening four minutes. \nDespite coming within six points, the Eagles could not manage to overcome the Hoosiers.\nThe win marked the end of a four-game road trip for the Hoosiers, during which they went 3-1.