Losing streak continues for Hoosiers

The losing streak continued for the IU women’s basketball team Wednesday night.

The team lost in its first true New York road game since 1979 to St. Bonaventure 65-45, bringing its losing streak to five games.
 
After starting the season with a 2-1 record, the Hoosiers are now 2-6 and currently last in overall standing for the Big Ten.

The victory for St. Bonaventure brings its record to 7-1 and first place in the Atlantic 10 Conference standings.

IU was outrebounded 42-36. The team has not won the battle of the boards in any of its five consecutive losses.

The Bonnies didn’t waste time in their quest for victory, jumping out to a 19-3 lead in the first 7:19. The Hoosiers closed the gap to as little as nine points in the first half, but they could never fully recover from the instant deficit.

IU Coach Felisha Legette-Jack wasn’t surprised by the level of play from St. Bonaventure.

“They’re a very feisty team,” she said of the Bonnies. “They’ve always been a very good team the last four years. It’s a team that protects home court very, very well. Their kids believe they are winners, and they go out and perform accordingly.”

For the second straight game, senior forward Danilsa Andujar and junior forward Aulani Sinclair led the Hoosiers with their performances.

Andujar recorded her second straight double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, both career highs. Andujar has stepped up as the replacement for senior forward Georgie Jones in the two games she has missed. Jones was hurt at Virginia and will miss the remainder of the season.

Sinclair continued her hot scoring streak. Notching 13 points, she has now scored at least 11 in the past six games and led the Hoosiers in scoring for four consecutive matches. Although she only made two field goals, she went to the free throw line nine times and converted eight of those attempts.

Andujar and Sinclair also contributed to playing time, logging 38 and 37 minutes, respectively. Both logged more minutes than anyone else on either team.

The hurt of losing Jones was evident in this game, as the leader for St. Bonaventure was its 6-foot-1-inch senior forward Megan Van Tatenhove. She scored 18 points, grabbed 10 boards and dished for three assists.

IU will try to end its losing streak Sunday when it travels to IU-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Legette-Jack plans to have her team ready to snap the unwanted streak.
“We just didn’t come ready to play tonight,” she said. “We’ll get back in the gym when we get back to prepare for an in-state battle with IUPUI on Sunday.”