Georgia Tech drove the ball toward IU’s basket, down by its largest deficit of six points, 66-60, with 1:40 left in regulation Wednesday night in Assembly Hall.
The lone pass of the possession found senior forward Roddreka Rogers — the Yellow Jackets’ leading rebounder and second-best scorer — in the post. She put up a shot but junior forward Jenn Anderson blocked it immediately and fought for the rebound.
After a scoreless Hoosier possession, the Yellow Jackets brought it back, just to turn it over to Anderson again on a strip-steal. Hitting two free throws on the ensuing possession, IU played defense again, up by eight points.
Senior forward Aaliyah Whiteside drove into Anderson’s chest, sending the junior to the floor and turning the ball over for the third consecutive time, giving IU the ball with 41 seconds remaining and sealing the Hoosier victory at 69-60.
“I’ve never seen Jenn move like that before,” junior forward Alexis Gassion said. “I don’t know where that came from. We’re all proud of her, and she played very hard today.”
Knowing the key to beating a Georgia Tech team that contains five players of 6-foot-3 statures would be battling in the post, IU Coach Teri Moren decided to start her own 6-foot-3 forward — Anderson — in the five spot.
Anderson hadn’t started a game yet this season after starting 31 last season, and she had averaged 10.8 minutes per game. But Moren wanted her frame against Rogers’ body on the inside, as the Yellow Jackets’ forward averaged a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game.
“We knew that Roddreka Rogers was going to be a load to deal with on the inside, so we really challenged Jenn with that matchup,” Moren said.
The forward ended the game with a season-high in points (11), rebounds (7) and minutes (31) while being the safe option for the Hoosiers in the post, as 6-foot-2 freshman forward Kym Royster and 6-foot-2 sophomore forward Amanda Cahill flirted with foul trouble throughout the night.
Moren said it was Anderson’s experience that showed up on the court, where she knew that she could not commit fouls but also needed to assert herself in post play.
“There’s no question that in that locker room there’s a lot of back-pats to Jenn from the job she did tonight,” Moren said.
The victory against a top-half Atlantic Coast Conference team in Georgia Tech was the third IU victory against teams that played in the NCAA Tournament in the 2014-15 season, something Moren wanted to implement in this season’s schedule.
After decisively defeating Tennessee State in the season opener, IU eventually trailed Chattanooga late in the game, just to regain momentum and find the win. The same thing happened against Georgia Tech on Wednesday night.
IU was down by five — Georgia Tech’s largest lead — with eight minutes to go, and sophomore guard Tyra Buss found a lane to draw fouls on three straight possessions, putting the Hoosiers back in contention.
Moren said those plays by Buss, the sparks from players on the bench — such as junior guard Karlee McBride and sophomore guard Jess Walter — and huddles on the court will be needed not only for the challenging non-conference schedule, but also for Big Ten play later in the season.
“They got excited for each other, and that’s what I was most happy with,” Moren said. “There’s no question that we’ll be in those situations come Big Ten play. Our kids wanted that. They’re excited about this schedule.”
