Four days ago, a 7-1 IU team helped keep a 2-5 IUPUI squad stay in the game early. The two teams traded baskets through the first 16 minutes before the Hoosiers pulled away with a 13-0 run at the end of the half.
The Hoosiers wouldn’t let the same thing happen Wednesday night against another in-state foe.
The difference: no second ?chances.
After losing the rebounding battle to IUPUI, IU made a point to box out an undersized IPFW team, small even compared to the guard-heavy IU team. IU secured the first five defensive rebounds of the game en route to a quick 12-4 lead.
That lead was soon extended to 28-13. IU led by as many as 19 points in the first half on its way to a 80-37 win against IPFW at Assembly Hall.
“I think (rebounding) is an emphasis for us every single game,” freshman forward Amanda Cahill said. “Especially since sometimes we’re going to be the smaller team we need to make sure we get our box outs and crash the offensive boards.”
The Hoosiers outrebounded the Mastodons 52-28, including 19 offensive boards. Getting second chances on offense is something IU Coach Teri Moren looked to emphasize after? IUPUI did the same to IU on Sunday.
IU turned those rebounds into 22 second-chance points.
Coming into the game, IPFW was averaging 73 points per game. Wednesday, the Mastodons had just 37 points on 14-of-54 shooting. They shot 12 percent from 3-point range.
Despite the best defensive performance of the season for IU statistically, Moren wasn’t satisfied with her team’s effort early in the game.
“I thought we looked particularly sluggish in the first half,” Moren said. “We were just late. We were a step late in everything we did tonight.”
In the final period, the Hoosiers responded. They had eight of their 14 steals in the second half, including four from freshman guard Tyra Buss.
Steals and forced turnovers led to a more efficient offense. The Hoosiers opened the second half on an 18-4 run to take a commanding 54-26 lead.
Sophomore guard Karlee McBride and freshman guard Jess Walter, who have seen an increase in minutes off the bench, provided a spark for IU in the second half.
Walter played 21 minutes, contributing seven points, four rebounds and three ?assists.
McBride had career highs in rebounds and assists with seven and four, and had 13 points in the game.
“It was a great feeling, but my teammates definitely got me more excited about it,” McBride said. “Just being able to share the ball and rebound the ball and give my teammates a better opportunity to get shots up was a great feeling.”
IU got a total of 32 points from players coming off the bench.
With a 49-percent field goal percentage and domination in almost every statistical category, there wasn’t much going wrong for IU in a 43-point victory.
It held IPFW scoreless for the final 7:57 of the game.
But Moren knows how far her team has to go before the Big Ten season starts up after Christmas.
“That’s a whole other beast, when you talk about league play,” she said. “We’ve showed that we’ve grown, but I thought tonight there were some moments where we just weren’t as sharp as I’d like us to be at this point in the season.”
