Hoosiers lose for 1st time of season at Thanksgiving tournament

After opening the season with its best start in six years, the IU women's basketball team suffered its first loss to the Miami Hurricanes this weekend.\nIU began the Miami Thanksgiving Tournament with a convincing 73-52 win against Wright State University. Four Hoosiers scored in double digits, including junior Nikki Smith, who led the team with 19 points. Despite shooting 48 percent from the field and 66 percent from beyond the arc, IU was unable to match the effort against the Hurricanes in the championship.\nPrior to the game, IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack expressed her respect for Miami and said the Hoosiers couldn't take the Hurricanes lightly.\n"We know that Miami is in the ACC and they've done some great things," Legette-Jack said. "Their best player, Renee Taylor, averaged 20 points and six or seven assists last week."\nMiami's Taylor led all players in the game with 28 points and was named the tournament's MVP.\nThe Hoosiers fell behind early to the Hurricanes and were down 36-19 at the end of the first half after shooting 24 percent from the field. However, like several other games for the Hoosiers this year, the second half told a completely different story.\nWith 12 minutes remaining in the game, IU put together a 13-3 run that put the score at 54-47 with 8:30 to go.\nBut as soon as the Hoosiers were within reach of the Hurricanes, Miami put together a run of its own and extended its lead to 67-51 with four minutes left. IU gave itself another chance with another 7-0 run but couldn't cut the deficit to less than seven points throughout the rest of the game. The Hoosiers' loss marked the first in the Legette-Jack era.\nIU only managed to shoot 40 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from beyond the arc against Miami, a completely different performance from the previous night against Wright State. While the Hoosiers won the rebound battle, they turned the ball over 26 times compared to the Hurricanes' 17 turnovers.\nSmith and sophomore Whitney Thomas received All-Tournament honors in recognition of their performances throughout the weekend. Thomas led the team with a double-double against Miami, her second of the season.\nPrior to the tournament, the Hoosiers made other news as they signed the first five players in Legette-Jack's tenure as IU's head coach. \nAccording to www.iuhoosiers.com, Legette-Jack's recruiting class includes 5-foot-9 guard Jori Davis from Rochester, N.Y.; 6-foot-4 forward Georgia Follmer from Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.; 5-foot-10 forward Ebony Jackson from Indianapolis; and 5-foot-11 guard Haylie Linn from Madison, Wis.\n"We're really excited (about the class). ... We signed some great guards and a couple of big post players, too," Legette-Jack said.\nBut Legette-Jack said the team was not just going for height when putting together its first class.\n"We're trying to get a little bit better," Legette-Jack said. "Bigger isn't always better, and we're just trying to get better"