Hoosiers steal Miller’s first win as head coach

Trailing by one with five seconds left, senior forward Linda Rubene found senior center Sasha Chaplin inside for the go-ahead layup to secure the first win of the IU Coach Curt Miller era as the IU women’s basketball team defeated Murray State 63-62 Monday night.

Prior to the basket, Murray State’s Mariah Robinson sunk a three to give the Racers a 62-61 lead with 11 seconds remaining, the first lead they had in 30 minutes.

But the Racers could not answer Chaplin’s bucket, as Robinson missed a three-pointer as time expired.

“This season for us is not necessarily about wins and losses, but changing a culture, creating a new era and creating a culture of something very special for the future,” Miller said.

“For them to make that last play, I’m proud of them.”

With the basket, Chaplin penciled in her eighth career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Senior guard Jasmine McGhee led all scorers with 20 points on 6-23 shooting.

She also set a new career-high with two three-point field goals.

Senior forward Aulani Sinclair rounded out the double-digit Hoosier scorers with 16 points.

“It’s one of those games that I don’t think was pretty played either way, but you hate to see anyone lose that game, because both teams really tried,” Miller said.

The Racers (0-2) jumped to an early 12-4 lead, but IU answered with a 13-2 run to take a 17-14 lead with 9:09 to go in the first half.

The Hoosiers would not surrender that lead until Robinson’s three with 11 seconds left.
At halftime, IU (1-1) led 34-28 behind 25 points from Sinclair and McGhee.

“Early on, it was very evident most of our shots were going to come from guards,” Miller said.

Chaplin’s first career three-point field goal gave the Hoosiers a 12-point lead early in the second half as the team jumped out on a 10-4 run to open the half.

Robinson shot Murray State back into the game, scoring 10 of her team-high 19 points in the second half.

In a game in which the teams were almost statistically even, the one-point difference could be found in free-throw shooting.

The Hoosiers went 14-19 while the Racers shot 13-19.

“Shooting under 33 percent from inside the arc is very disappointing for us,” Miller said.
The one-point victory is IU’s smallest margin of victory since beating IUPUI 65-64 on Dec. 11, 2011. Last season, the team also lost two games by one point each.