Zahui B., Minnesota too much for IU

Freshman center Amanda Zahui B. scored 26 points and grabbed 19 rebounds, leading Minnesota to a 73-62 win over IU.

Freshman guard Alexis Gassion led the Hoosiers with a double-double of her own, finishing with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

“Disappointed with the end result tonight,” IU Coach Curt Miller said. “But I thought we really battled.”

The Hoosiers appeared to be in control until Gophers senior guard Sari Noga hit back-to-back 3-pointers with 6:54 remaining in the second half. Noga’s pair of shots from the perimeter sparked an 18-1 run for Minnesota.

After taking a 54-53 lead in the midst of that run, the Gophers never relinquished their lead.

Minnesota closed the game on a 25-9 run overall.

“We got to the under-eight minute media timeout up five, and Sari Noga came out, made two big threes, their first two threes of the game,” Miller said. “They just completely outplayed us the last eight minutes of the game.”

IU struggled from the free throw line, shooting just 8-of-19. It’s the third consecutive game the Hoosiers have shot the ball poorly from the line.

The free throw percentage against Minnesota was also the worst of the three games.
IU shot 54.5 percent from the free throw line against Michigan on Feb. 19 and 52.6 percent last Saturday against Illinois.

Minnesota had plenty of opportunities at the free throw line and made the most of them, converting on 20-of-28. The Hoosiers also struggled from the field overall, shooting just 22-of-72. The Gophers did not perform better by much, as they shot only 25-of-64.

“All those things add up, when you miss 50 shots and shoot 40 percent from the foul line,” Miller said.

Both teams’ leading scorers struggled from the field. Freshman guard Larryn Brooks scored only nine points on 3-of-14 shooting from the field for IU.

“Larryn’s really talented,” Miller said. “We put the ball in her hands a lot. She was driving in there amongst trees but she really got everything going with our dribble offense. It just wasn’t enough.”

Minnesota junior guard Rachel Banham finished with 20 points, but shot 7-of-22 from the field.

Banham’s poor shooting night followed a previous poor shooting night against Michigan State. Though she scored 31 points against the Spartans, she did so on 11-of-30 shooting.

IU will travel to East Lansing, Mich., to face Michigan State at 6 p.m. this Sunday to close out the regular season.