Following a 17-point outburst earlier in the week against Michigan State in her first collegiate start, junior guard Karlee McBride hit a jumper with 38 seconds remaining in the game to give IU a one-point lead in Minnesota.
Those would be McBride’s only points on Sunday afternoon. The 5-foot-10 guard was not able to duplicate her Michigan State performance.
The Gophers’ senior guard Mikayla Bailey responded with a 3-pointer to give her team a 78-76 lead with 24 seconds to play.
IU junior center Jenn Anderson, who set a season-high of 14 points and added six rebounds Sunday, missed the go-ahead jump shot with six seconds remaining as the Hoosiers fell 78-76.
“It’s a tough road loss,” IU Coach Teri Moren said. “I thought we were in control there. We didn’t shoot it great this afternoon but still managed to be in the game with 38 seconds to go. It should have never come down to the last play.”
The Hoosiers (10-8, 2-4) trailed 43-38 at halftime after falling behind by as much as ten points in the second quarter. Sophomore guard Tyra Buss scored 13 of her team-high 17 points in the first half to lead IU in the first two frames.
A 14-6 spurt to start the second half gave the Hoosiers a 52-49 lead with 5:47 remaining in the third quarter.
The Gophers (11-6, 3-3) were able to pull away after a strong start to the fourth quarter — Minnesota led IU 73-67 with just 3:57 to go in regulation. Five consecutive points from sophomore forward Amanda Cahill allowed the Hoosiers to take the lead with seconds remaining.
Moren, who has seen her team struggle to support scorers such as Buss, Cahill and junior guard Alexis Gassion, saw four Hoosiers finish in double-figure scoring. Along with 14 points from Anderson, freshman forward Kym Royster poured in a career-high 17 points and eight rebounds.
Royster, whose previous career-high was 11 points in a loss to Ohio, shot 9-of-11 from the free throw line.
“I’m just looking for consistency from her,” Moren said. “She needs to be able to come in every night and give us a spark like that. It can’t be situational, it can’t be every other week. It has to be week-to-week in the Big Ten. That’s the biggest thing we need from her — consistency.”
IU will attempt to remain unbeaten at Assembly Hall (7-0) on Tuesday night against a struggling Illinois team. The Fighting Illini (8-9, 1-5) snapped an eight-game losing streak and earned their first Big Ten win Sunday against Wisconsin.
The Hoosiers lost to the Badgers in Madison, 69-68, earlier in the season.
