IU looks to slow Illinois offense

After two straight Big Ten wins to start the conference season, the IU women’s basketball team will look to get back above .500 against Illinois(6-10, 1-2) at 7 p.m. today in Assembly Hall.

In the past week, the Hoosiers (8-8, 2-2) have suffered two straight losses to No. 20/21 Ohio State and rival Purdue.

IU will have a lot of work to do defensively with University of Illinois sophomore forward Karisma Penn. Penn averages a double-double with 16.8 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.

The Illini are coming off a two-game losing streak that places them at 1-2 in Big Ten play.

With Illinois averaging 64.1 points per game, the 55-point defensive effort the Hoosiers had against Purdue will need to carry into today’s game.
IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack stressed the importance of turning that defense into offensive production.

“We didn’t push it to score, we pushed it to just play the game, and that’s not who we are,” Legette-Jack said after the loss to Purdue.

The Hoosiers have lived and died by the three this season, attempting more than 21 per contest. This might cause problems against the Illini who have held opponents 25.6 percent from beyond the arc this season.

IU will continue to look for leadership from senior guard Jori Davis who won last week’s Big Ten Player of the Week award and is third in the Big Ten in scoring with 18.5 points per game.

Production from senior guard Whitney Lindsay has improved after scoring 38 points in
the last two games. Scoring from Lindsay helped take the defensive pressure off Davis and balanced the offensive attack.