Hawkeyes crash boards, down IU 71-67

The Hoosiers’ unblemished record in February and 21 offensive rebounds fell into Iowa’s hands.

The Hawkeyes (13-11, 6-7) pulled down 53 total boards to the Hoosiers’ (13-11, 6-7) 29, downing IU 71-67 in Assembly Hall on Thursday.

“Unfortunately, you saw a display on boxing out and defense that we were not familiar with in the last four or five games,” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “We regressed in that category; we’ll take full responsibility in that, and we will get better.”

Legette-Jack said the impact of the rebounding margin was “significant.”

“Nobody out-rebounds Indiana that way if we had any pride in our defense,” she said. “We will get better. We’ll have a lot more pride in what we stand for when it comes to taking ownership of the box-out.”

Conversely, Iowa coach Lisa Bludler could not have been happier with her team’s aggression off the boards.

“It was extremely important,” she said. “We talked a lot about rebounding because at the beginning of the year we weren’t rebounding very well, and we’ve turned it around quite a bit.”

Bludler added the Hawkeyes, who entered the game as the second-ranked scoring team in the Big Ten, needed the rebounding to win while managing just 38.5 percent from the field.

“We didn’t shoot the ball as well as we usually do today,” she said. “So for us to get those extra opportunities was really important.”

Iowa guard Jaime Printy led the Hawkeyes with 28 points, and guard Kachine Alexander added 21 and pulled down 16 boards.

For IU, senior guard Jamie Braun powered the offense with 20 points, and junior forward Hope Elam added 13 but fouled out with 4:05 to play, unable to help the Hoosiers avoid defeat.

“We’ve played through her early fouls before,” Legette-Jack said. “The next person on the bench has to be ready. I thought that we looked like we were deer getting ready to get hit by a train. That’s not the focus we have to have.”

The teams stayed within striking distance of one another throughout the first half.

IU facilitated well on the offensive end in the half, recording seven assists and receiving points from six different players.

However, Alexander completed a double-double before the half with 14 points and 12
rebounds, and Iowa knotted the score at 32-32 at halftime.

During the second half, the Hoosiers staged several runs and led by as many as seven, but Printy’s 20 second-half points and the Hawkeyes’ 12 offensive rebounds never allowed IU to seize the game.

Trailing 61-54 with 5:03 remaining, Printy hit a 3-pointer, and Alexander was the beneficiary of Elam’s final foul, making a layup and adding a free throw to come within two.

A 3-point shot by junior guard Andrea McGuirt gave the Hoosiers a 64-62 lead, but McGuirt followed the shot with a foul of Iowa forward Kelly Krei behind the arc.

Krei made all three shots to give the Hawkeyes a 65-64 lead.

Three offensive rebounds and a missed layup by Braun later, Iowa grabbed one final defensive board with a 69-67 lead with a second to play, and an immediate IU foul sealed the contest.

Legette-Jack said the Hoosiers’ courage must improve during the remainder of the season.

“We had decisions to make, and we failed to make them,” she said. “We’ll do better with that, and we’ll take this one and learn the lesson.”