Hoosiers look to upset No. 14 Purdue

They will try to stop the bleeding, but they will have to do it on the road against a nationally ranked opponent.

When the IU women’s basketball team plays No. 14 Purdue at 6:30 p.m. today in West Lafayette, it will be looking to snap several dubious streaks against one of the Big Ten’s toughest teams.

IU (10-10, 1-6 Big Ten) comes into the game on a five-game losing streak, has not scored more than 50 points since beating Northwestern on Jan. 6 and has not shot at least 40 percent from the field since Jan. 3 at Michigan.

“We just know that it’s a big game overall,” senior center Sasha Chaplin said. “No other game matters this season, but when it comes to playing Purdue, it’s the archrival. Regardless of what slump we’re in, we know we need to shake it and go out there and have confidence.”

Purdue (17-3, 6-1) is coming off a double overtime road win against Michigan State on Sunday and will enjoy the familiarity of Mackey Arena, where the rival Boilermakers are 8-0.

Most important to slowing down a potent Purdue attack — the Boilers rank fourth in scoring offense in the Big Ten, averaging nearly 70 points per game — is forcing the team to play half-court offense, IU Coach Curt Miller said.

“They’re a tremendous running team and can run you right out of the building in a hurry,” he said. “We’ve gotta get back in transition, first and foremost. That’s the first way to control tempo defensively.

“We believe we’ve gotta hold them about 15 points under their season average of points to give ourselves a chance, and that’s asking a lot.”

The main contributors to Purdue’s high-octane offense are juniors Courtney Moses, a 5-foot-6 guard who leads the team with 14.4 points per game, Drey Mingo (12.5 PPG) and KK Houser (11 PPG).

To the Hoosiers’ credit, they allow just 58 points per game, fourth-best in conference. Those defensive efforts, however, have often gone by the wayside because of the team’s offensive struggles.

In particular, the Hoosier frontcourt has seen its production dip. Against Northwestern on Monday, starters Simone Deloach and Linda Rubene combined to make just one basket (1-of-11 shooting) for the second straight game.

“I still think that they’re taking shots that they’re capable of making,” Miller said. “They’ve got to be able to prove to themselves night in and night out that they can go and score against elite post kids in the Big Ten.”

Senior forward Aulani Sinclair, who leads the team in scoring at 17.1 points per game, is also mired in a prolonged shooting slump. In her last five games, Sinclair has shot 22 percent (15-of-67) and averaged 8.4 points per contest.

It is possible fatigue is contributing to the slump. Sinclair has played at least 38 minutes in each of the last seven games and averages 37.7 per game.

She refuses to use it as an excuse, though.

“When I’m tired I have to fight through, because I know that the team needs me, and we really don’t have any subs to come in,” she said. “I know every four minutes is gonna be a media timeout ... so I just have to work very hard in those four minute periods, and then I get a break.”