Despite leading by as much as 13 points earlier in the game, IU was up just two with 32 seconds remaining.
Sophomore guard Alexis Gassion got the ball to Amanda Cahill at the free throw line, and the freshman forward dribbled right, spun left and put up a left-handed layup while being fouled to give IU a five-point lead.
All five Hoosiers occupying the floor came together and embraced, freshman Tyra Buss turning bright red with enthusiasm. IU was on its way to winning the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, 68-63.
“We laid everything on the floor tonight and that’s all we could ask for,” sophomore guard Larryn Brooks said.
IU (15-15, 5-14) came into Wednesday night without winning a game decided by fewer than eight points. When Penn State went on runs, IU hung on and responded with its own.
After ending the season with four road tests in five games, a flight delay that got them in late Monday morning and one day of preparation for Penn State, the Hoosiers showed the resilience IU Coach Teri Moren has ?requested.
“We talk about toughness, it’s kind of a buzz word that everybody throws out, but we had to have that,” Moren said.
Whether it be giving away a 38-minute lead against Minnesota in January or falling apart against Northwestern, IU has failed to finish games that test the freshman- and sophomore-oriented team.
Wednesday night, the final five minutes were one big test. Whenever IU would gain some breathing room, Penn State would drive to the rim and get a basket, often ?accompanied by a free throw.
“In the past, there have been moments where we have hit the panic button and haven’t responded in the way we needed to win a basketball game,” Moren said. “I thought that our kids did just a tremendous job of showing some toughness, especially down the stretch.”
Penn State had the size advantage, that was a given. The Nittany Lions trotted out forwards and centers standing at 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-5 and wings at 6-foot-2. They outscored IU 44-18 in the paint.
But IU fought. It got to the line 17 times, 11 in the second half. It forced 17 turnovers. The Hoosiers were outrebounded, but they fought for each jump ball.
Freshman guard Larryn Brooks said Tuesday that she learned last year in this tournament how important it was to give it their all.
“That was the main thing going in, we just wanted to play every game like it was our last,” Brooks said.
It was not their last game.
IU now plays Rutgers tomorrow after playing just four days ago in Piscataway, N.J. IU trailed by just four at the half, but Rutgers won 71-60. Moren said it was not anything in particular Rutgers did, IU just turned the ball over too often.
This is Moren’s first Big Ten Tournament as IU’s coach, and she finally saw the toughness she has pleaded for her team to display.
“We are just real excited about the fact we will be playing tomorrow,” she said.
