In a return to her home state, Jess Walter couldn’t miss.
Her first four 3-point attempts? Swish, swish, swish, swish.
The freshman guard came off the bench for IU to contribute a career high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. That included going 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
IU’s 88-61 win against Oakland (5-5) on Saturday was Walter’s first game back in her home state of Michigan. And the fans who showed up to watch her wouldn’t be surprised with what they saw.
Walter was the Miss Basketball runner-up in 2014. A Midland, Mich. native, she holds her high school’s record for most points in a season, most made 3-pointers in a season and most assists in a season.
Her consistent, all-around contributions have been a major factor throughout IU’s non-conference schedule.
“It was great to see Jess Walter play well in front of her hometown crew, family and friends,” IU Coach Teri Moren said.
While Walter led the Hoosiers in scoring, she was just one of ten different players to score on Saturday. IU stayed in control of scoring, and the flow of the game, from the opening tip.
The Hoosiers (10-1) opened the game on a 19-6 run that included points from five different IU players. Freshman Tyra Buss and sophomore Taylor Agler paced IU during that stretch with five points each.
That’s when the bench players took over.
Just after entering the game, Alexis Gassion scored a layup, Karlee McBride hit a three and Walter followed with another layup on an assist from McBride.
McBride and Walter each hit another three, on assists from each other, not long after, and IU took a commanding 46-29 lead into halftime.
The second half was more of the same.
Oakland wouldn’t get closer than 16 points in the final 20 minutes of play. Despite 19 points from Elena Popkey, IU’s 55-percent shooting performance, including 12 3-pointers, was too much to overcome.
IU sophomore guard Larryn Brooks and freshman forward Amanda Cahill each had double-doubles. Brooks scored 11 points to go along with 10 assists, and Cahill had 15 points and 10 rebounds to earn her fourth double-double of the season.
Twenty-five of IU’s 36 made baskets were assisted.
“It was nice to see balanced scoring this afternoon,” Moren said. “You always worry about these games right before Christmas, but I thought our kids did a good job of being locked in for 40 minutes.”
