Women's basketball wins exhibition opener

It wasn’t an easy start of the season for the women’s basketball team.

The Hoosiers opened exhibition play Tuesday against a formidable Division II team Alaska–Anchorage pulling away in the second half to win 72-49.

“In the first half it seemed like everyone was on their own island,” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “Not in a selfish way, but in a ‘I’m not sure if I’m ready to start the season, is this going to work out’ and kind of too much into the head stuff.”

The first half was plagued with inconsistency and turnovers that had the Hoosiers playing catch up into the second half.

At halftime, the Seawolves led 28-27.

In the second half, IU slowed the tempo by moving the ball around the perimeter and looking for the quality shot instead of the quickest one.

The Hoosiers opened the second session with a 12-3 run to take a 39-31 lead with 13:27 remaining.

The Seawolves cut the lead to four midway through the half, but IU built on its lead as the 23-point final margin served as the largest lead of the game.

Rebounding was a major aspect where Legette-Jack said she felt her team fell short. Alaska-Anchorage out-rebounded the Hoosiers 41-40.

“The disappointment to see that another team came into our house and out rebounded us even by one a half isn’t good enough,” Legette-Jack said. “We have to take ownership of the glass.”

Senior Jori Davis went 12-for-16 from the free throw line and sparked the Hoosier offense. She finished with 16 points.

Although the team struggled in the first half, Davis also saw positives and ways the team could move forward.

“We just came out and really worked hard,” she said.

“These are the games where you get all the nerves out and work out the kinks so you can be prepared for the season to come.”

The second half showed a much stronger team on offense.

Senior Hope Elam did not let first-half shooting struggles keep her from putting the ball up in the second half. She finished with 15 points.

“It was movement all together,” she said. “I think once we started actually giving that extra pass, I think a lot of us were recipients of scoring off of that extra pass.”

Junior center Sasha Chaplin returned from an injury last season and was a prominent force inside for the Hoosiers on the offensive and defensive end.

With 10 offensive rebounds, she was able to make up for the Hoosier’s first-half field goal struggles.

Chaplin also added eight points and two blocked shots.