Women’s basketball tops Indiana State, improves to 3-0

With the Hoosiers’ win against Indiana State Friday, the women’s basketball team has now matched the number of road wins it had last season with two.

Indiana (3-0) defeated Indiana State (2-1) 57-54 in Terre Haute. IU Coach Curt Miller said he was proud of his team, which matched its best start to a season since 2009-2010.

“It’s a really exciting road win for us, I’m very proud of our team tonight,” Miller said. “We were gutty and found a way to win a different way than we won our first two games.”

In its first two games of the season, the Hoosiers averaged 82.5 points per game while attempting 60.5 shots per game. On Friday, Indiana managed to attempt 45 shots.

Playing against a defensive-minded team, Miller said his team’s victory proved it could play and win in different styles.

“We won our first couple games with offense,” he said. “Tonight we proved we could win in a defensive struggle.”

Freshman guard Larryn Brooks led the Hoosiers in scoring with sixteen points. It was her third straight game to finish with double-digit points.

Talking about Brooks, Miller said though she faced more opposition than in her first two games, Brooks still managed to have an effect.

“They have better quickness than the first two teams that we played, so she wasn’t getting to the rim as easy as she could,” Miller said. “But to her credit, she found a way to get to the foul line.”

Senior forward Tabitha Gerardot added eleven points while co-leading the team in rebounds with eight. Freshman guard Alexis Gassion, making her first career start, pulled in eight rebounds as well.

The game was played close throughout and, with 38 seconds remaining, was a one-point game. Freshman guard Taylor Agler, who played the entirety of the game, was fouled, sending her to the free throw line. Agler would convert both free throw attempts to give the Hoosiers a three-point lead they would not relinquish.

For the game, Indiana shot 42.2 percent from the field as a team, while holding Indiana State to just 28.8 percent shooting. The Hoosiers, however, were forced into 22 turnovers.

“We didn’t handle the pressure for forty minutes,” Miller said. “We handled it in stretches and shot a good percentage. We just didn’t get enough possessions because of those turnovers.”

The Hoosiers will play at 7 p.m. tonight at Assembly Hall against Central Arkansas. It will be the first of five straight home games for the Hoosiers.

After Friday’s game, Miller emphasized the enormity of the Hoosiers’ victory.

“Their defense is just outstanding, and they’re the preseason conference favorites,” Miller said of Indiana State. “We were the underdogs tonight. Make no mistake about the name of school. We were the underdogs tonight, and that’s a huge road win for us.”

Follow women's basketball reporter John Bauernfeind on Twitter @JohnBauernfeind.