Wildcats too much for Hoosiers

The IU women’s basketball team entered Thursday’s game at Northwestern focusing not on stopping center Amy Jaeschke, but instead stopping her teammates.

In a high-scoring, overtime-spanning thriller, the team could not accomplish that goal.

The Hoosiers (13-13, 6-9) allowed guard Beth Marshall to hit six of seven 3-point attempts for the Wildcats (15-11, 6-9) and fell 78-73 in an extra period.

“The team fought really hard today,” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “They played with a lot of conviction, a lot of character. We don’t feel like (we lost). We felt like we left it out there.”

Jaeschke got her 17 points, six rebounds and five blocked shots, but Marshall as well as other contributors powered Northwestern to the win in the end.

Two freshman Wildcats, guard Kendall Hackney and forward/center Dannielle Diamant, had the next two highest scoring totals with 14 and eight, respectively.
Hackney pulled down eight rebounds, and Diamant blocked three shots.

“We had problems with Northwestern,”  Legette-Jack said. “They played very well. They protected their home court.”

Captains, senior guard Jamie Braun and junior guard Jori Davis, led IU with 17 and 15 points, respectively.

“I thought Jamie and Jori played well together,” Legette-Jack said. “They’ll continue to get better. I’m very proud of their efforts as our captains.”

The Wildcats opened with a 5-0 start and built a lead of as many as seven points.
However, the rest of the first half went back-and-forth in an excellent display of shooting on either side.

The Hoosiers shot 44.8 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc. Northwestern was not far behind in either category, posting a 35.5 field goal percentage and a 44.4 mark from 3-point range.

Marshall led all players during the half with 11 points.

Braun and sophomore guard Ashlee Mells each earned eight points for the Hoosiers, and both were 3-5 in 3-point shooting.

Freshman forward Sasha Chaplin added six points and as many rebounds, and IU carried a 33-29 lead into the locker room.

The Hoosiers returned to play with the same momentum and scored four points to build a 9-point advantage in just the first two minutes of the second half.
IU maintained its 9-point lead until Marshall came to life.

The guard buried a 3-pointer with 12:08 remaining to spark a Northwestern run.
Marshall hit another from beyond the arc to tie the game at 50-50 with 5:31 to play.
From that point, the game became a shootout at the OK Corral.

Junior forward Hope Elam’s 3-point shot with 2:11 remaining gave IU a 6-point lead, but the Wildcats responded with a 5-point run to remain within striking distance.

Up 68-65 in the final seconds of regulation, Marshall stepped up again and nailed a 3-pointer to tie the game and force overtime.

Fouls and free throws were the story of the extra period.

Jaeschke struck first, hitting a layup and two free throws to give the Wildcats a 72-68 lead.

Davis hit three free throws in two trips to the stripe to bring IU within one, but Marshall hit two more for Northwestern with 2:02 remaining.

Elam hit a layup to bring the score to 74-73, but those were the last points the Hoosiers would score.

Marshall hit all her free throws in two more trips to seal the win for the Wildcats.
Legette-Jack said she still sees promise in her team late in the season.

“I think that we’re still getting better towards March,” she said.