Midway through the second half of IU’s game against Michigan State on Wednesday night, sophomore guard Alexis Gassion stepped to the line for two free throws.
Teammates Amanda Cahill and Jess Walter stood across from each other along the lane lines.
On the state of Indiana painted at center court, Tyra Buss and Larryn Brooks stood together.
Every IU player on the court was smiling.
The Hoosiers (11-2, 1-1) had just taken their largest lead of the game – by 27 points – and were well on their way to defeating the No. 24 team in the country.
With a 70-51 final score, it was IU’s biggest win over a ranked opponent since an 82-58 win against Iowa on Jan. 21, 1994.
“We still have a ways to go, but this is a great win for us,” IU Coach Teri Moren said. “Our communication tonight was probably the best it’s been. And because of that we beat a good team tonight.”
There was more than one reason for players, and Moren, to be smiling after the win. Sophomore Jenn Anderson, who had just six points and four rebounds in a loss to Rutgers on Sunday, scored a team-high 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
Two of those plays were and-1 opportunities for the forward, and Anderson added three charges on the defensive end.
She was much more a part of the action than she had been recently – something Moren said they’re trying to get back to.
With IU inevitably being the under-sized team against most conference opponents, production from the forwards will be crucial. And it was Wednesday, as IU out-rebounded Michigan State – who previously led the Big Ten in rebounding and rebounding margin (+11.8) – 49-34.
Moren said one of the keys going into the game was to get back to giving Anderson more touches, something they had gone away from.
“We gotta get back to that,” Moren said. “We gotta get back to getting post touches on the inside. I thought Jenn just handled herself tremendously. There in the second half, she’s why we got both their bigs in foul trouble.”
While Anderson took care of the scoring, Buss and Cahill combined to collect 28 of the 49 rebounds. Both freshmen had double-doubles in the game.
Buss finished with 10 points, and Cahill had 13.
Buss, who tweaked her ankle at the end of the first half but came back healthy in the second, said her team’s aggression on defense and on the boards was triggered by that 15-point loss to Rutgers.
“Coach talked about after Rutgers how they just wanted the game, wanted to win more than we did,” Buss said. “Our two practices we had to prepare for Michigan State we really brought a lot of energy, and we were excited. We were mad that we lost.”
The Hoosiers made a not-so-simple task look easy. They got Michigan State star guard Aerial Powers – a sophomore who averages a double-double per game – into foul trouble early.
And they took advantage of her being on the bench.
IU used a 16-0 run at the beginning of the first half to take an 18-7 lead. From that point on, the Spartans got as close as four points before the Hoosiers took a 37-26 lead into halftime.
Powers and sophomore guard Tori Jankoska, who both average over 18 points per game, had 21 and 19 points, respectively.
But the Hoosiers dominated areas they don’t normally – they scored 42 points in the paint to Michigan State’s 20, and committed just nine turnovers compared to 21 committed against Rutgers.
Though a win like this may be the confidence boost for a young team going into Big Ten season, Moren said that’s something her players already have a lot of.
“One of the things I’ve learned about this group is that in spite of them being young, they’re really confident,” Moren said. “They have enough confidence in their abilities that if they play together, they can beat anybody.”
