Hoosiers survive Grand Valley State in 80-70 win

After an easy 54-point win Sunday, the Hoosiers had to survive against a pesky Grand Valley State squad Thursday.

The game was played within single digits for most of the night, before IU finally pulled away in the final two minutes and won 80-70.

IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said she wasn’t surprised by the close result.

“This was a test,” she said. “We played someone who is recognized throughout the country as one of the top-13 teams in the nation in Division II, and they weren’t going to turn around and allow us to go to the basket on a red carpet.”

The Hoosiers placed five players in double figures. They were led by 20 points from junior guard Jori Davis.

Junior forward Hope Elam had 18, while sophomore Ashlee Mells added 11 and Jamie Braun and Sasha Chaplin each scored 10.

Elam, who went a perfect 6-for-6 from the line, said shooting was an area the Hoosiers worked on this week, and that she had to step up and drill them.

“Free throws were a focus in practice and I made them for the team,” Elam said.

Mells had a steal and hustled to cause several jump-balls.

She said she just wanted to play hard while serving as a reserve.

“When I came off the bench, I was ready to go,” Mells said. “Getting deflections, getting steals and just being alert on the floor is the one thing I needed to do.”

One glaring area on the state sheet for the Hoosiers came in the rebounding department, where Grand Valley State dominated them 45-34, including a 21-9 difference on the offensive end.

Legette-Jack said the only difference on the glass was the passion with which Grand Valley State sought out the ball.

“Rebounding is all effort, all heart, all desire,” she said. “For a team that small to out-heart us for the rebounds, we take that personally.”