IU Coach Teri Moren delayed talking about IU’s past two games for as long as she could.
On her radio show with Greg Murray on Monday night, she instead went back to last Monday’s game against Purdue, a decisive 72-55 win at Assembly Hall. It was the first night in awhile that the Hoosiers put together a complete game. They shot well from long range and ended a four-game losing streak.
Moren praised the play of her starting forwards Amanda Cahill and Jenn Anderson.
She said they “frustrated” Purdue’s Whitney Bays, who scored 27 points against the Hoosiers in a 22-point loss in the teams’ first meeting.
But that’s something Anderson has done all season on the defensive end.
It isn’t uncommon for the 6-foot-4 sophomore to draw a charge – or more than one – in every game.
“When she doesn’t have a charge, we’re surprised,” Moren said Monday night.
The way Anderson plays isn’t characteristic for the tallest player on the team. Normally it’s the smaller guards drawing charges as they defend on drives to the basket or defend in transition.
Moren said it’s just the kind of player Anderson is. And every charge she draws energizes the entire team.
“It says a lot about Jenn Anderson, the type of teammate she is,” Moren said. “As I always say, that’s one of the most selfless things you can do.”
Anderson’s aggressiveness, however, led to foul trouble against Northwestern last Thursday. Moren said the Hoosiers can’t afford for their only “true five” to be sitting on the bench, making their team even smaller than it already is.
She now wants to see Anderson be smarter about when the right time is to take a charge, as well as being more cautious on the offensive end.
“There are moments there when she’s probably doing too much,” Moren said. “We’ve asked her to really be more disciplined on that end.”
Starting strong
Moren’s theory that when her team shoots well early, everything falls into place proved true against the Boilermakers a week ago.
After shooting poorly during a four-game losing streak in January, IU broke out of its slump, shooting 48 percent from the field in the first half. That pattern continued through the next two games.
Against Northwestern, though, the Hoosiers fell short by six points, and at Ohio State it took them an early deficit to wake up before losing 78-70.
The Buckeyes opened the game on a 13-2 run, probing Moren to call a timeout.
“We just reminded our kids, ‘Okay, let’s don’t do this again,’” she said.
Moren wasn’t going to watch a repeat of a 103-49 loss on Jan. 8.
“There was no question when we went up to Columbus, we were not going to have the performance we did a month ago here at Assembly Hall against them.”
The Hoosiers settled in after a rough start and found success the same way they had against Purdue – hitting shots. They made 11 3-pointers. Moren was disappointed in the way her team closed out the Northwestern game, not taking advantage of “a night where Northwestern probably didn’t play their best.”
She said that was a major influenced in the way IU came to play against Ohio State. They didn’t want to forget about that game and how poorly they had played.
“That bothered them,” Moren said. “And it should’ve bothered them.”
Moren said she was most proud of the way they played on the defensive end against the Buckeyes, creating some offense for themselves.
“Our offense wasn’t perfect at times, but we still figured out ways to score,” Moren said.
Gassion adjusting to starting role
Alexis Gassion is getting used to being one of the first five on the court.
The sophomore guard had a double-double against Ohio State on Sunday, scoring 14 points to go with 11 rebounds. Whereas at the beginning of the season, when she was coming off the bench, Gassion was counted on for her rebounding and ability to guard the opponent’s best offensive player, Moren now sees her as a scorer.
“We’d like her to be more consistent and more aggressive on the outside as well, not just make than high-post area her go-to place,” Moren said. “She’s really good in the open floor, she’s great coming off ball screens.”
Moren added that Gassion’s athleticism and “bounce” gives her a great mid-range game.
“Now that she’s in the lineup, there’s a comfort level there for her,” she said. “I think she’s becoming more comfortable with what we want her to do and that’s scoring the ball.”
