IU earns Big Ten road victory at Michigan State

Four IU players scored in double figures Sunday afternoon as the IU women’s basketball team (12-7, 5-2) earned its third straight win in a 70-56 victory over Michigan State (11-9, 3-5) in East Lansing. \nJunior forward Amber Jackson led the way for the Hoosiers with 21 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Jamie Braun added 18 points and junior guard/forward Kim Roberson scored 14. Junior forward Whitney Thomas posted her third consecutive double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds on her way to Big Ten Player of the Week honors.\nAfter a grueling 80-77 double-overtime win over Minnesota on Thursday night, each of IU’s five starters played at least 36 minutes against Michigan State just three days later. \n“It was just one of those things where the starters were really effective,” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “They’re in great shape and they didn’t look tired out there. They just had to stay out there. There will be times when we need the bench to step up but today we didn’t really need to go to the bench.”\nMichigan State led 13-7 with 9:59 to play in the first half, but IU responded with an 8-0 run of its own to take a 15-13 lead with 5:55 remaining in the half. The Hoosiers then held on to a 26-23 advantage at halftime. \nAfter the break, IU scored the first 12 points of the half to lead 38-23. The Spartans cut the lead to eight points, but were never able to get any closer.\nAllyssa DeHaan, a 6-foot-9 center, led the way for Michigan State with 15 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Despite DeHaan’s defensive presence, the Hoosier post players had a good day offensively.\n“I knew it would be a challenge going up against someone that tall,” Jackson said. “Coach really emphasized the reverse pivot and the dribble. I knew she would block some shots but I just tried to keep going after it.”\nIU got to the free-throw line early and often, shooting 20-of-31 from the line, while Michigan State shot just 4-of-10. The Hoosiers also committed only 10 turnovers while the Spartans had 19. \n“We did a good job taking care of the ball,” Braun said. “Our passes were nice and crisp and we were finding the open people. We were a lot more focused out there. Less turnovers is going to equal more wins.”\nAt 5-2 in the conference, IU is tied for second place with Purdue and trails Ohio State, at 6-1, by one game. \n“The Big Ten is wide open this year,” Jackson said. “So we have to come out strong in every game. We think we’re a contender in the conference and we want to be one of the 64 teams in the Big Dance at the end of the year.”