East Lansing, Mich., proves charm for IU as it wins 68-63 in Big Ten opener

While many teams find Michigan State’s Breslin Center a tough place to play, the IU women’s basketball team has found a lot of good fortune there lately.

For the third-straight year, IU went to Michigan State and knocked off the No. 22 Spartans 68-63.

However, unlike in their previous two trips, where wins came by a relatively easy 14 points each time, this triumph was anything but simple.

Playing in their Big Ten opener, the Hoosiers fell behind by 12 points early in the game and were down 39-29 at the half.

The Hoosiers continued to trail until the 4:53 mark of the second half, when junior guard Whitney Lindsay tied the contest with a 3-pointer.

It was her only 3-point shot of the afternoon en route to 13 points off the bench.

The game went back and forth until freshman forward Aulani Sinclair put the Hoosiers ahead for good with a 3-pointer at the 3:19 mark to make it 62-60.

Sinclair’s clutch shot came in her first career start, where she scored 12 points.

Lindsay finally put the game out of reach by hitting two free throws with 10 seconds left to close out the game at 68-63.

Leading the Hoosiers in scoring was junior guard Jori Davis, who notched a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

IU as a whole had its best game on the boards in a while.

After being out-rebounded by at least 10 boards in their last four games, the Hoosiers went to work on the glass. They led the Spartans 30-23 in the second half on their way to a season-high 49 rebounds.

Michigan State coach Suzy Merchant said the reason her team lost to IU was because they were simply outplayed in the last 20 minutes.

“Give Indiana a lot of credit,” Merchant said. “In the second half, I thought they just outworked and out-hustled us.”

IU returns to action in a non-conference game Wednesday when the Hoosiers play Tennessee-Martin at 7 p.m. in Assembly Hall.

IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said the team needs not to look too far into the future.

“We are taking (games) one step at a time,” she said. “We will keep pressing our way and keep fighting away and spiriting it out.”