IU lets lead slip, loses to No. 20 Ohio State

For a team looking to solidify a spot in next month’s NCAA Tournament, a win against a ranked opponent would improve those chances greatly.

The IU women’s basketball team didn’t get such a boost.

Although the Hoosiers were up by as many as 10 points in the first half, No. 20 Ohio State handed IU its first double-digit loss of the season, 79-67.

The first half of the game Sunday went similar to how it did three weeks ago when the teams played in Columbus, Ohio.

That day, the Hoosiers (17-9, 10-7) were up nine points with 4:54 remaining in the first half. The Buckeyes then went on to lead by three at the half.

Sunday, the Hoosiers were up seven with 4:34 before halftime, and Ohio State went on a 9-2 run to tie the game at 33.

“We learned early on this season that this team really plays hard when they get into that situation and circumstance,” Ohio State coach Jim Foster said. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen it before several times, but it doesn’t have an effect on us. We just keep playing.”

In the second half, the Buckeyes turned up the pressure on the Hoosiers, led by last year’s Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Shavelle Little.

One of those affected by the pressure was Hoosier junior point guard Jamie Braun.
Though Braun played all but one minute in the first half, in the second she played only 10 minutes due to the pressure Little put on her.

IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack still praised her shooting-guard-turned-point-guard after the match.

“I think that she is a great point guard that got converted,” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “She didn’t play well today. We expect her to step up and get into the gym as she always does. There’s no one of this team that works harder than
Jamie.

“Today, No. 20 was a nuisance to her, and she didn’t play as well as she could’ve played. I expect her to understand that, and I expect to come back and be the Jamie we know and love.”

The Buckeyes also had it going on offense.

Four players scored in double figures, led by senior forward Star Allen who tied a career high with 22 points.

“We didn’t make the game as hard for her as we should have,” senior forward Amber Jackson said. “Yes, we executed the game plan against Jantel (Lavender), but with Star Allen we really needed to pick it up, and it hurt us in this game tremendously.”

With a week off before their next and last regular season game, Legette-Jack said the team is going to get back to working on the fundamentals.

“I thought our help side wasn’t as nearly good as it could’ve been. We are going to work on what’s causing us problems – bringing up the ball up the floor and a push situation, as opposed to methodically bringing up the ball we want to push the ball up a little bit more. We believe we can score 75 points a game this late in the season,” she said.