She went up for the layup and drew the defender toward her, but not before passing the ball to freshman guard Jess Walter who made the layup while being knocked to the ground.
And-one.
The two guards embraced as Walters went on to make the free throw.
Both McBride and Walter, who combined for the play of the game, came off the bench.
Several bench players for the IU women’s basketball team (8-1) played a big role in its 80-37 victory over ?IPFW (4-5).
The Hoosier reinforcements put together 32 bench points in the 43-point win.
Four different IU reserves got on the floor for 17 minutes or more.
This was an opportunity. The Hoosiers didn’t waste it.
“I thought Karlee McBride really took advantage of her minutes tonight,” IU Coach Teri Moren said.
McBride scored 13 points to go with seven rebounds and four assists.
“My role is definitely to try and get the team going when we aren’t scoring a lot,” McBride said.
McBride was not alone in her performance as Walter had seven points, four rebounds and three assists.
Moren consistently talks about how Walter runs each play like her it’s last and does not waste her minutes. The Hoosiers’ guard depth just makes it hard to get her more minutes.
“I think we are getting nice, balanced work from a lot of our perimeter players,” Moren said. “That’s a good problem to have.”
Walters was firing passes inside for easy layups.
“I feel really comfortable on the floor,” Walter said. “We have been working really hard in practice every day and that makes the transition on the floor so much easier.”
Sophomores Alexis Gassion and Lyndsay Leikem were the other two members off the bench that had large roles Wednesday.
Leikem and Gassion combined for 11 rebounds on the night. While Leikem provides size, Gassion fights for boards with raw energy.
Each of these four bench players saw the court for at least eight minutes in the first half.
One of the more enjoyable moments of the game was when senior guard Andrea Mize came in and scored her first basket of the season.
The crowd erupted as loud as they did for Walter’s and-one layup, cheering for a player that has not seen the floor much this season.
Getting bench players more time can be beneficial for developing players for down the road, Moren said.
That could be helpful when Big Ten season starts.
“That’s a whole different beast,” Moren said.
