Hoosiers extend winning streak

The first time the IU women’s basketball team played Northwestern, the Hoosiers captured a 24-point victory.

On Thursday the Wildcats gave IU a tougher fight, tying the game at 58 with 8:02 left.
Then, sophomore captain Jori Davis led a barrage of 3-pointers, propelling her team to an 85-67 victory in Evanston, Ill.

Davis scored 25 points, a new career high. She hit 9-of-13 field goals including 5-of-6 from beyond the 3-point line.

IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said Davis has been watching a lot of film lately.
“When we recruited Jori, Jori was brought here to be a program-changer,” Legette-Jack said. “She has been waiting and waiting because she is a sophomore. She is waiting her turn. Her turn is now.”

Davis said she tried to be more aggressive and felt more confident in her stroke after a few shots went in.

“The game came out a little slow at the beginning, so I felt I was the one who had to come out and hit some shots,” she said.

Davis and her teammates battled back and forth with the Wildcats in a game that had 14 ties and 11 lead changes.

The Hoosiers (17-8, 10-6) shot the ball well, putting in 27 of their 49 field-goal attempts for 55.1 percent. The Wildcats (6-20, 2-13) stayed in the game with six first-half 3-pointers and shot 37.1 percent for the game.

The Hoosiers, a team that always had balanced scoring, did the same against the Wildcats. In addition to the 25 points from Davis, seniors Amber Jackson and Kim Roberson had 16 points apiece, and junior Jamie Braun had 10.

IU has prided itself on its defense all season, and the game against Northwestern was the same. IU held Northwestern to nine points during the last 8:02 of the game and closed on a 27-9 run over that stretch.

Roberson, whom her coach calls the defensive general, had three steals to give her the most in the program’s history at 233.

After snapping a four-game losing streak on Monday at Wisconsin, the Hoosiers now have some momentum. They take on Ohio State on Sunday at home.

Legette-Jack said she doesn’t like to call one game bigger then another, but she said she is looking forward to Sunday’s matchup.

“We are looking at an Ohio State team that has gotten better, and Ohio State is looking at an Indiana team that has gotten better, so it’s going to be a good game,” she said. “As a coach and as a team, we just want to see how much better we have got.”