IU on the road again for Sunday game at Kansas

The IU women’s basketball team (4-4) will be back on the road Sunday for the second time this week when it takes on the Kansas Jayhawks (5-1) at 3 p.m. in Lawrence, Kan.\nThe Hoosiers will look to end a three-game losing streak that dates back to their final game in the Paradise Jam Tournament over Thanksgiving. The Hoosiers’ three-game losing streak\n has come at the hands of three\ntough opponents that have had stellar starts to their seasons: No. 11 Texas A&M (6-1), then-No. 21 Florida State (6-2) and Dayton (7-2).\nThe Hoosiers will look to get back on track on the road, where they’re 1-1 this season. IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said she knows her young team might struggle playing away from home. \n“Sometimes you take it for granted to go on the road, but we have eight newcomers and two new coaches on our staff,” Legette-Jack said after the team’s first road victory against Ball State. “The travel is different and you get out of your normal routine.”\nIn its 67-59 loss to Dayton on Wednesday night, IU struggled shooting the ball. The team combined to shoot 30.8 percent from the field, including an 0-9 clip from three-point range. In their four losses, the Hoosiers have shot a meager 36.6 percent from the field. With their shooting woes fresh in their minds, the Hoosiers will look for a better offensive performance against Kansas – a team that is averaging 72.8 points per game.\nThe Hoosiers struggled offensively in the Virgin Islands, dropping games to Wake Forest and Texas A&M. Sophomore guard Jamie Braun said she waited for the offense to come around in the two games, but it never did. \n“I always thought that we had our offense coming, but they denied a lot of our outside shots,” she said after returning from the Virgin Islands. “We need to work on our inside game and kicking back out and our mid-range game.” \nFreshman Jori Davis also acknowledged the Hoosiers’ struggles on offense, but credited their strong defensive play. \n“Our shots were off the whole tournament, but we still did a good job because we kept a lot of the teams under 59 points,” she said. \nAlthough recently the Hoosiers have struggled offensively, their defensive play has not faltered. IU held Dayton to 36.9 percent from the field and only 21 first-half points.\nBraun leads the Hoosiers in scoring at 14.9 points per game and has also contributed 5.8 rebounds a game. Junior forwards Whitney Thomas and Amber Jackson average 12.5 points and 7.6 rebounds, and 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, respectively. \nForward Danielle McCray averages 15.3 points per game as well as 7.3 rebounds, and guard Sade Morris is close behind with 13.3 points per game. \nThe Jayhawks play at historic Allen Fieldhouse and are off to a 4-0 start at home this season.