Cold shooting, turnovers costs game

The loss of Sasha Chaplin’s average of 10 points, 12 rebounds and 1 block per game proved to be the breaking point for the Hoosiers in their overtime loss to Penn State.  

The redshirt freshman forward sat out the 77-71 loss because of a foot injury, leaving the women’s basketball team with only eight available players. The Hoosiers, who average more than 20 points a game from their reserve players, were held under 10 points from the bench against the Lady Lions.  

“Right now, we are playing a game and trying to sustain ourselves until folks can come,” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “We’re short-handed right now, and our legs got a little tired.”  

Chaplin will be sidelined for at least two weeks for her undisclosed foot injury, Legette-Jack said. She added she believes her team will be able to step up and win games despite the depleted roster, and she will just have to extend practices longer to get the team used to playing tired.

Losing a key contributor was not the only issue for the Hoosiers. Fouls, turnovers and poor second half and overtime shooting also helped bring down IU.

The Hoosiers hit only 12 of 43 shots in the second half and overtime combined, a measly 27.9 percent. In all, the Hoosiers only made 23 of their 74 shots from the floor. The Lady Lions did not shoot much better, hitting just 1 percent more of their shots.  

Even though the Hoosiers did not shoot well, they stuck with the Lady Lions throughout most of the game and came back from an 11-point deficit to push the game into overtime.

Legette-Jack felt the Hoosiers’ character allowed them to make this comeback.  

“We are the Hoosiers,” Legette-Jack said. “We don’t know how to quit. We’re blue-collar workers. We believe that as long as there is a game going that we’ve got to continue to try to find a way.

“There is no quit in Indiana.“

The Hoosiers did show up defensively, stealing the ball 10 times and forcing 17 turnovers. They also held the Lady Lions to a much lower shooting percentage than they had in their previous game. In Penn State’s 88-68 victory over Big Ten foe Northwestern on January 3, the Lady Lions shot a season best 56.4 percent from the field. The Hoosiers held to them 32.1 percent Sunday.  

However, even though Legette-Jack said she believes the team played good defense, it wasn’t enough to overcome the offensive errors.  

“We can’t turn the ball over 21 times and expect to beat a good team like Penn State on the road,” Legette-Jack said.  

The high turnover margin is not related to practice time, but rather the lack of real game time, Legette-Jack said.  

“We’re making those immature mistakes because their lack of playing experience,” Legette-Jack said. “Once they get more experience, I think that they are going to be better.”  

Legette-Jack said that while the experience will take time to gain, she has the upmost faith her team will eventually have the game experience and learn to maintain its poise.