Women's basketball falls in WNIT

The IU women’s basketball team’s historic season came to an end Sunday in Brookings, S.D., as South Dakota State defeated IU 76-64 in the quarterfinal round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

The Jackrabbits ended the Hoosiers’ run in the WNIT by building an opening half lead and converting on timely shots in the second half. They spoiled IU’s comeback hopes every time IU began to make a run.

Despite shooting well — IU shot 44.4 percent from the floor and 8-of-18 from beyond the arc — IU could not match offensive spurts and defensive stops long enough to regain the lead.

“The stats are nearly identical,” IU Coach Curt Miller said. “Both teams shot the ball well, both teams made 3s, both teams made big plays when they needed to. The big difference was we just couldn’t get to the foul line like they did. We said coming in here that we had to be 10 points better than them to win the game, and we weren’t.”

In the early half of the game, the Hoosiers (21-13) and Jackrabbits (26-9) exchanged baskets.

After being tied at 13-13 with 13:28 left in the first half, the Jackrabbits made a 6-0 run to pull ahead. They quickly added a 12-3 run shortly after to build a 25-16 lead.

The Hoosiers responded with a 10-0 run to go up 26-25 with 4:39 remaining in the first half, but that would be the last time IU would lead. South Dakota State used an 11-3 run to close the opening half to take a 36-29 lead into halftime.

Freshman guard Alexis Gassion began to heat up during the second half and cut the deficit to 54-51 with 7:33 remaining, but South Dakota State senior Steph Paluch would convert on a 3-pointer on the following possession.

Shots like Paluch’s 3-pointer were common in the second half, stymieing IU’s comeback hopes.

IU’s final push came as senior forward Tabitha Gerardot cut the deficit to five points with 3:21 remaining, but senior forward Hannah Strop nailed a 3-pointer during South Dakota State’s next possession.

Down by 10 points with two minutes remaining, Brooks threw a crosscourt pass to freshman Taylor Agler, who wasn’t paying attention.

The ball went past Agler and out of bounds, much to the delight of the 3,792 fans packed into Frost Arena.

Gassion finished the game tying a career-high 22 points. Her emergence as a scorer down the stretch of the season has impressed Miller, he said.

“She’s really come on offensively,” Miller said. “She’s had a great second half of the year. She’s got more and more confidence, so it’s really exciting how young we are.”

IU’s 21 wins tied a program record for most wins in a single season. The Hoosiers also scored 2,369 points — the second most in a single year — thanks in large part to making a program-record 259 3-pointers this year.

Miller said multiple times that he was excited about his team’s success and that the Hoosiers are ahead of his schedule.

He said he believes the Hoosiers have set a framework for a program that can become a contender in the Big Ten in upcoming years, crediting the seniors who played their last games for helping rebuild the program.

“I can’t thank them enough,” Miller said. “It’s tough when you come in, and you haven’t been the coach that recruited them. They had a lot of adversity and, frankly, not a lot of success. They’re listening to a new coach coming in after they’ve won six games. They could have ridden out the last two years of their careers, but they didn’t. They were the biggest believers, and they helped us start something that we think has a chance to be special.”

Follow reporter Sam Beishuizen on Twitter @Sam_Beishuizen.