Hoosiers look for revenge agaisnt No. 4 Buckeyes

Following her team’s 55-47 loss to Wisconsin on Thursday, IU women’s basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack said there is still much to learn.

“We’re a work in progress until the end of the season,” she said.
The coach added that the Hoosiers (11-10, 4-6) need to adopt an attacker’s mentality as they prepare for a rematch with No. 4 Ohio State at noon Sunday in Assembly Hall.

“We’ve got to continue to figure out what our attack is all about,” she said. “It doesn’t matter who we play; we have to really kind of put forth our energy towards the attack. We’re going to work on that and you’ll see a better attack team the next game we play.”

IU fell 81-64 to the Buckeyes (21-2, 8-1) in Columbus, Ohio, on Jan. 17. The Big Ten’s top team had been undefeated in conference play before losing 63-61 at Purdue on Monday.

“They’re a very good team,”  Legette-Jack said after the first meeting. “They’ve got different weapons they can beat you with. Their pressure’s one way, their size is another way, their ability is another way.”

Ohio State sophomore guard Samantha Prahalis powered the Buckeyes offensively in the first meeting with 23 points and five assists. Junior center Jantel Lavender added 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Three Hoosiers had double-digit points in that contest, but the boards made the clear difference as Ohio State pulled down 55 total rebounds to IU’s 29.

“I think our team adjusted in one capacity, but we’ve got to learn how to adjust in others,” Legette-Jack said.

IU showed positive signs, Legette-Jack said, in a losing effort against the Badgers (16-5, 6-4) as they stayed within striking distance of one of the Big Ten’s best teams.

“(The players) left it out there, they played with everything they had,” she said. “We fell short. We were right there to compete.”

The Hoosiers accomplished a goal on the defensive end, holding Wisconsin under the team-instituted limit of 59 points.

Junior guard Whitney Lindsay said keeping opponents under that mark is really important to the team.

“We’re really, really serious about it,” she said. “The stats don’t lie. When we hold teams under 59 points, we usually win the game.”

While limiting Ohio State to that ceiling is a tall order, Legette-Jack insists IU has the heart to make it happen at home Sunday.