IU refuses to quit before taking on Ohio State

Losing on a last-second shot in front of a home crowd could be seen as devastating to some teams. But for the IU women’s basketball team, it’s only one loss in a season filled with 20, including 12 straight to conference opponents and a winless Big Ten record.

Even as the Hoosiers travel Thursday night to Columbus, Ohio, to take on the No. 9 Ohio State Buckeyes, who are currently second in the Big Ten standings, IU women’s basketball Coach Felisha Legette-Jack’s players sound as positive and as confident as ever.

“Our effort and heart is there more now than it’s ever been, despite our record,” junior forward Aulani Sinclair said. “We come out with the hunger we need to have, and whether it’s with rebounding, which we’ve improved on the whole year, or whether it’s getting a defensive stop everyday in practice, it means more every day.

“We have more hunger and more resilience to get the next win than ever.”

The Hoosiers put up a fight in the first half of their first meeting against the Buckeyes on Jan. 26 in Assembly Hall. IU led by as many as eight points in the first 20 minutes, and it still had a one-point lead at halftime.

But Ohio State scored the first 13 points of the second half, all but destroying any hopes of the Hoosiers stealing an upset win as the Buckeyes went on to
win 73-55.

Though the Hoosiers were shut down during those opening minutes of the second half during that game, Legette-Jack said the Hoosiers might have recently played against a more challenging defense. After the Illinois loss Sunday, Legette-Jack touted the Fighting Illini as one of, if not the best defensive team in the Big Ten, which she said could be good preparation to face the Buckeyes.

“They (Illinois) are one of the best defensive teams in our conference,” she said. “It’s going to be fun to play our next Big Ten opponent in Ohio State, but we aren’t going to see that kind of pressure from any other team,” Legette-Jack said.

But whether the Hoosiers pull off an upset victory Thursday against the Buckeyes or fail to win another game this season, Legette-Jack said her team will continue to fight just as hard every day, both in practice and during the rest of its battles in the Big Ten.

“I couldn’t be more proud of my team than I am today,” Legette-Jack said. “They play with such resiliency, and they fight to try and get better every single day. No one would ever know that we’ve lost 20 games already by the way we practice every day.

“I don’t know what this mess is all about, but I do know one thing: There is no quit in us.”