Hoosier offense stalls as IU loses to Purdue, 55-50

Indiana women’s basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack had a simple diagnosis for her team’s shortcomings on Sunday.

“They wanted it more than us,” she said.

Her Hoosier squad dropped its second straight game, losing to Purdue, 55-50 in Assembly Hall.

IU (8-8, 2-2) was plagued by 24 turnovers and a lack of offensive production. Coach Legette-Jack recognized her team’s defense, which limited the Boilermakers (11-5, 2-2) to shooting 29.3 percent from the field, but said the Hoosiers did not take advantage offensively.

The Hoosiers’ leading scorer, senior guard Jori Davis, shot 4-of-16 from the floor and was limited to 12 points. Despite the lack of offense, IU was able to keep the score close in a game that had six lead changes and saw the score tied seven times.

Ultimately, the Hoosiers’ last opportunity to tie the game came with 13 seconds left, when they were down by three points. In a controversial possession, sophomore forward Aulani Sinclair hoisted a contested three-point shot, which many fans believed warranted a foul call. Coach Legette-Jack said whether it was the right call or not, her team should have never put itself in a position to have one shot win or lose the game.

“I saw it one way, obviously they (the officials) didn’t see it that way,” she said. “It should never come down to a last second shot, though.”

Senior guard Whitney Lindsay, who led all scorers with 18 points, also placed blame on the team.

“No one was confident enough to shoot the ball,” Lindsay said. “We just ended up putting up a bad shot. It wasn’t an open shot.”
In a rivalry game that saw many hotly contested calls by the officials in front of a crowd of 7,143 fans, coach Legette-Jack summed up her feelings following the game in five words.
“It just wasn’t our day,” she said.