IU wins 1st home game of 2011-12 season against Murray State

With less than 20 seconds to go, senior forward Georgie Jones hit a jumper to put the Hoosiers up by one.

But it was two free throws by junior center Sasha Chaplin with three seconds on the clock that sealed the Hoosiers’ win.

In a close game that came down to free throws, IU earned its first
season victory, 70-67.

“We have to play until the clock runs out,” Jones said.

And they did.

“Those were the two biggest free throws of (Chaplin’s) career,” IU Coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “She’s going to continue and get better everyday.”

The Hoosiers were down for most of the game until they took the lead with 16 seconds to go off of Jones’s jumper.

“You can’t have hesitation when your team needs you in a critical time,” Jones said about her last shot to take the lead at the end. “We have to protect our home court.”

The Hoosiers had trouble in the first half with the Racers defense holding them on field goals to 26 percent.

Legette-Jack said she had to use a variety of defenses to slow down the Racers fast-paced offense. The Racers used a full-court man-to-man defense that proved troubling for the Hoosiers. Through Legette-Jack’s halftime motivation, IU responded on the court.

“They went out there and believed,” Legette-Jack said. “This team feeds off of good energy. They executed the best way they could."

The second half was like a new game for IU, shooting almost 57 percent from the field. IU had two scorers finish with double-double games. Leading the charge was junior guard Jasmine McGhee, who finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Jones added 16 points and 13 rebounds of her own to contribute to the victory.

“I felt really confident in my teammates,” sophomore point guard Andrea Newbauer said. “I felt that they could handle the pressure as well.”

IU will face Belmont on Friday in its second road game of the season.

“We have a lot of work to do, but we certainly made some improvements tonight,” Legette-Jack said.