After heading into the locker room with a slim halftime deficit of 42-39, IU would be outscored in the second half, 42-30, to allow DePaul to pull away and win the semifinal match, 84-69.
The Hoosiers turned the ball over 14 times in the first half but managed to keep the Blue Demons to a 40.5 field goal percentage and maintain a 3-point deficit.
DePaul also attempted 22 three-point field goals and hit just eight of them in the first half for 24 of its 42 first half-points, but it also allowed IU to box out and bring down 18 rebounds.
IU set the pace throughout the first half as it did throughout its first three games by giving the ball to sophomore guard Tyra Buss and running up and down the court on offense and defense. In the second half, the Hoosiers slowed it down without eliminating the turnovers.
Committing nine second half turnovers, IU could not find a way to speed up the pace while DePaul continued to score off the turnovers, finishing with a total of 28 points off turnovers.
After DePaul struggled with personal fouls in the first half, IU mirrored the same struggle in the second when the Hoosiers recorded 10 of their 15 total fouls, including its first foul-out of the season by sophomore forward Amanda Cahill. Even when IU got to the line, it only went 7-of-17 on free throws.
The most notable difference in the Hoosiers’ play between the first and second halves, though, was field goal percentage, as they went into halftime shooting 63 percent and shot just 45.8 percent in the second half. While the Hoosiers were finding penetration through gaps in the Demons’ post defense, those gaps closed in the second half but opened in the Hoosiers’ defense as the game went on.
During the third quarter, Buss drove toward the basket and after rolling a layup onto the rim, she came down on her left wrist. The guard was given medical attention, and she returned to the game with that wrist wrapped.
Buss was flexing her hand and wincing throughout the rest of the game and had an icepack strapped around her wrist after the game.
The loss was IU’s first of the season and eliminated the Hoosiers from the Preseason WNIT. The next game for IU will be on the road again, as the Hoosiers travel to Fort Wayne, Indiana, to take on IU-Purdue University Fort Wayne at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Taylor Lehman
