The Mocs entered Tuesday’s Preseason Women’s National Invitational Tournament quarterfinal clash against the Hoosiers with three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and 29-4 seasons.
Despite an off night in shooting from sophomore point guard Tyra Buss, the Hoosiers rose to the challenge against the Mocs as they used a 12-0 start to the fourth quarter to put away Chattanooga, 54-43, at Assembly Hall.
“What a terrific win for our basketball team and for our program,” IU Coach Teri Moren said. “We did it with the help of everybody. These players deserve it. They’ve worked extremely hard.”
Despite shooting 6 of 15 from the floor, Buss finished with a game-high 16 points and added six rebounds and five assists to the cause. Sophomore forward Amanda Cahill splashed a pair of clutch 3-pointers to finish with 13 points. Cahill corralled seven boards in the win.
“I can’t let that get to me,” Buss said about having an off night. “I have to keep attacking regardless of whether or not my shot’s falling, I have to look to pass more and create better shots for my teammates.”
IU trailed the Mocs, 37-35, at the end of the third quarter after freshman forward Kym Royster scored at the buzzer. Royster would go on to score the first four points of the final frame to put Chattanooga on its heels.
“‘This is our quarter,’” Moren told her team before the fourth quarter. “‘If we’re going to win this thing, we needed to push the ball in transition.’ At that point, we were just feeding them with confidence that we have to find ways to get stops and win.”
The Hoosiers and Mocs both struggled to score in a back-and-forth first half. The two teams combined to shoot 18 of 50 from the field in the opening twenty minutes.
Cahill was able to create early separation down low, leading all scorers in the first frame with seven points.
IU forced Chattanooga to turn the ball over 18 times, a statistic that the Mocs surpassed only three times in 2014-15. Moren’s defensive system, which relies on heavy on-ball pressure, forced the Mocs to play sloppily at times.
Although junior guard Tyshee Towner was kept scoreless, Moren said she was happy with how the junior college transfer played defensively against Chattanooga junior guard Alicia Payne.
“We played pretty tough tonight,” Moren said. “I thought Tyshee was terrific on the ball. She was defending the defensive player of the year in their conference last year. She did a tremendous job keeping her in front.”
Chattanooga’s balanced attack was paced by sophomore wing Keiana Gilbert and junior guard Chelsey Shumpert, as the duo finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively. The Mocs rebounded from a poor shooting performance in the first half. However, turnovers and transition defense plagued Chattanooga down the stretch.
The Hoosiers will continue Preseason WNIT play Thursday in the semifinals of the tournament. For the first game in its young season, IU will play away from the friendly confines of Assembly Hall. IU will travel to DePaul for an 8 p.m. start.
“It’s definitely encouraging for us to know that the work we’re putting in has been paying off,” Cahill said. “That’s the great part of having a harder non-conference schedule. We knew we would be tested early and find out what we needed to work on. It’s going to help us down the road. We’re looking forward to Thursday.”
