IU struggles against Northwestern

Senior guard Jasmine McGhee missed a layup off the rim halfway through the second half Monday night that summarized the kind of game the IU women’s basketball team played.

Shooting a season-low 21 percent (13-62) from the field, IU fell to Northwestern 53-39 Monday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill.

It is the Hoosiers’ fifth straight loss and is the fourth time in the last five games that the Hoosiers have shot below 33 percent from the field.

IU (10-10, 1-6) struggled from the perimeter, going 2-17 (11.8 percent) from beyond the 3-point line. It is the fourth time the Hoosiers have made under three 3-point field goals in a game this season. They have lost all four of those games.

Fifth-year senior center Sasha Chaplin led the Hoosiers with 14 points and six rebounds off the bench on 6-13 shooting. Freshman guard Nicole Bell also scored in double figures for the second straight game, recording 10 points.

Senior Dannielle Diamant and freshman Maggie Lyon, who scored 14 and 13, respectively, led Northwestern.

Senior Kendall Hackney also added 11 points for the Wildcats.

Northwestern (10-10, 2-5) also capitalized from the outside, shooting 6-14 from the 3-point line.

In the first half, the Hoosiers tied the game at 11 with 11:16 to go, but then Northwestern closed the half on a 15-4 run to take a 26-15 halftime lead.

The Wildcats then opened the second half on a 15-2 run to take a 41-17 lead that put the Hoosiers away.

Senior forward and leading scorer Aulani Sinclair shot 1-13 from the field and scored just two points, her lowest output of the season. She struggled from the 3-point line, finishing 0-7 from range.

Sinclair last scored under three points on Feb. 5, 2012 vs. Iowa when she shot 1-6 from the field.

The Hoosiers starting lineup combined for just 14 points, with McGhee scoring eight.

IU beat Northwestern on Jan. 6 for its only Big Ten conference win. In that game Sinclair scored 31 points on 7-13 shooting from the field.

Indiana has only scored above 48 points once in seven Big Ten conference games this season. Monday’s 39 points are the second-lowest output of the season, behind 38 points in a loss to Nebraska on Jan. 10.

The Hoosiers did manage to force the Wildcats into 17 turnovers, compared to 12 of their own. However, IU only managed eight points off of those turnovers, while
Northwestern scored 15.

IU will be back in action Thursday night when it travels to Purdue.