Late lead blown by IU against No. 23 Penn State

For 39 minutes, the IU women’s basketball team led No. 23 Penn State, but the final minute stopped the Hoosiers from pulling off the upset Sunday at Assembly Hall.

A turnover with 56 seconds left followed by a layup from Penn State center Nikki Greene kept the Hoosiers (9-16, 3-10) from getting the win, as IU fell 80-77.

“We beat them for 39 minutes,” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “That last minute we are going to have to continue to get better, but we have gotten better
today.”

Offensively the Hoosiers played as a unit, with ball movement helping to contribute to senior guard Jori Davis’ 27 points. Davis wasn’t the only Hoosier in double digits — junior forward Aulani Sinclair and senior guard Whitney Lindsay had 16 and 15 points, respectively.

Sinclair’s offensive production significantly helped the Hoosiers who have struggled to find that balanced effort through the season.

“Offensively I had to help us out today,” Sinclair said. “Today that meant shooting the three.”

The Hoosiers shot 52.9 percent from the three-point line. Sinclair went 4-6 from behind the arc.

The defensive intensity Legette-Jack and her team have talked about all season was there as well. Penn State leads the Big Ten in every major offensive category, but the Hoosiers came prepared and stopped them for most of the game.

“We made a lot of plays on defense which gave us the energy and the confidence on the offensive side,” Davis said.

Despite a fast start from the Hoosiers, Penn State was able to come back from being down 16 points with 10:06 left in the second half.

Penn State coach Coquese Washington attributed her players’ big plays down the stretch to their collective team effort.

“That’s the beauty of our team, and that’s what we like,” Washington said. “It’s not just on one person’s shoulders to make the plays.”

IU had the type of solid team effort it has been looking for the entire season. But, with three regular season games left, the Hoosiers will have to learn to finish that final minute.

“The last turnover is what people are going to remember and the final score,” Legette-Jack said. “But I am going on record to say that this team is a force to be reckoned with.”