Hoosiers fall to Penn State on the road

For the second consecutive game, IU Coach Curt Miller began with five freshmen on the floor.

The second verse would not be the same as the first.

After first-year players contributed 76 of the team’s 83 points Sunday against Minnesota, IU only managed 40 from the same group in a 65-52 loss to Penn State.

The defeat marks the Hoosiers’ fourth consecutive loss to the Nittany Lions.

“Unfortunately, unlike last game, we couldn’t pull off the upset with our five freshmen,” Miller said.

IU fell to 15-4 overall — 2-4 in conference play — while Penn State improved to 14-4 overall, 4-1 in conference play.

Nittany Lions senior forward Ariel Edwards and senior guard Maggie Lucas led all scorers with 18 points each.

Senior forward Tabitha Gerardot lead the Hoosiers with 12.

The Hoosiers appeared to be gaining momentum going into halftime after freshman guard Alexis Gassion hit a buzzer-beating layup, but officials later ruled the basket did not count.

Had the basket counted, IU would’ve closed the final three minutes of the first half on a 7-2 run.

Instead, the Hoosiers finished with a 5-2 run and faced a 31-24 deficit at halftime.

The Nittany Lions opened the second half 5-for-5 from the field and did not miss a shot until the 16 minutes 39 seconds mark in that half.

It finished the game shooting 38.5 percent from the field.

Penn State’s hot start lead to a 20-7 run from the start of the second half until the nine minutes 22 seconds mark in that same half.

Although Penn State shot the ball well in the second half, the same could not be said for IU.

After senior forward Tabitha Gerardot hit a mid-range jumper with 18 minutes and 23 seconds, IU did not hit a field goal until the nine minutes 22 seconds mark.

Freshman guard Larryn Brooks broke the scoreless streak on a runner from the left baseline, but IU still trailed Penn State 52-33.

The Hoosiers missed 11 shots, shooting 2-of-13 in that stretch alone and 8-of-28 in the entire second half.

They finished the game shooting a dismal 15-of-58.

Shots from behind the arc accounted for over 50 percent of the Hoosiers’ total shot attempts.

IU attempted 30 3-pointers, but only made nine.

“We knew we had to make a bunch of threes, but we wanted to play a little bit more balanced inside-out,” Miller said.

IU didn’t struggle from just the field, either.

The Hoosiers could only manage to convert 11 of their 17 attempts.

The Nittany Lions were 22-of-31 from the free throw line.

Opportunities also presented themselves off of turnovers.

Mixing it up between man-to-man and 2-3 zone looks on defense, IU forced 21 Penn State turnovers but failed to capitalize.

The zone defense was effective in the first three minutes and 26 seconds of the first half, when the Hoosiers forced four early mistakes.

However, they only scored two points off those turnovers during that time span.

Miller said the loss was a learning lesson for his team.

“I think we’ll be better,” he said. “Ultimately, we lost to a nationally-ranked team by 13 and didn’t play very well.”

Follow reporter Stuart Jackson on Twitter @Stuart_Jackson1.