Northwestern and Indiana’s numbers were eerily similar. Field goal percentage? Less than a percentage point difference. Rebounds? 33 to 32.
There was one statistic that made the difference in Northwestern’s (16-6, 6-5) 75-69 victory over IU (13-9, 3-8).
That difference was ?turnovers.
The Hoosiers turned the ball over 20 times. IU Coach Teri Moren said that Northwestern didn’t even play a particularly good game, but the turnovers held IU back from taking advantage of it.
“I think we were just going a little faster than we needed to be,” sophomore guard Karlee McBride said.
There was a moment in the first half in which IU turned the ball over, then got a rebound on a missed Northwestern shot. IU then turned the ball over again before making it past the free throw line. When the Wildcats missed a second time and Larryn Brooks got the ball, she turned it over once more.
Three turnovers in less than 15 seconds.
Brooks, a sophomore guard, turned the ball over five times in the defeat.
“She’s your point guard,” Moren said. “She has to be your best one at taking care of the ball.”
Another tough moment was with just more than one minute remaining in the game and IU trailing by six. Sophomore guard Alexis Gassion forced a steal and Buss took off on the ?fast break.
Buss and McBride had a two-on-one advantage on a Northwestern defender, but Buss threw the ball away and it bounced into the seats.
“You can’t turn the ball over 20 times against a team like Northwestern that’s really efficient,” Moren said.
The coach mentioned earlier in the week that Northwestern is not a team that turns the ball over often. IU shot 44 percent from the field, but the turnovers took away from that.
The Hoosiers are averaging 14.3 turnovers per game this season, but they had nearly that in the first half alone.
“It has nothing to do with the offense,” Moren said. “It is us being careless with the basketball and giving in when we are uncomfortable. That is when you have to push your head down and try to get to the basket, or try to make a play.”
IU is now 0-4 this season in games decided by six points or less. The team had Northwestern within reach, but Moren blames youth for the mistakes that kept IU from finishing them off.
The Wildcats played aggressive defense, and McBride said they had some good on-ball defenders.
“There were moments when Northwestern really got up in us and made us uncomfortable,” Moren said.
IU now falls to 3-8 in conference play after a 10-1 nonconference season. The tougher competition and physical opponents have been difficult for a young IU team to overcome.
“I think we got back on our heels on more than one occasion and it killed us,” Moren said.
