Sophomore forward Amanda Cahill launched a 3-pointer with 6:21 remaining in the game. Her shot rattled around the rim for what seemed like an eternity. Wednesday’s announced crowd of 2,496 gasped as Cahill’s shot appeared to be bouncing out of Assembly Hall’s north cylinder.
That never happened, though. Cahill’s shot bounced in to give the Hoosiers a 13-point lead. The IU faithful roared, as Cahill’s shot was a dagger for any hopes of a comeback.
Although the Hoosiers shot just 18-of-52 from the floor against the Scarlet Knights, IU capitalized on plays such as Cahill’s all night long. Sophomore guard Tyra Buss scored 24 points and corralled seven rebounds as IU won 64-48 against Rutgers.
The win kept the Hoosiers unbeaten at home, with a perfect 9-0 mark inside Assembly Hall. IU improved to 13-8 (5-4) — their best Big Ten start since 2009-2010.
Rutgers cut the IU lead to 45-40 with 9:21 remaining after a jump-shot from junior guard Tyler Scaife. The Hoosiers responded with an 8-0 run, courtesy of junior guard Karlee McBride’s 3-pointer and Cahill’s favorable bounce from long-range.
“We knew they were going to make a run,” IU Coach Teri Moren said. “Give our kids credit for not giving up the lead. Once Karlee hit that three and Cahill came down and hit a three, we had a lot of momentum on our side.”
For the first time since their second game against Chattanooga, the Hoosiers held their opponent to under 50 points and won. Likewise, as in many games this season, IU closed out the game in dominating fashion. Rutgers shot just 4-of-15 from the field in the final frame.
“It’s definitely a good feeling to know that we’re actually getting better at defense,” McBride said. “We’re getting stops and that’s the most important part. You can’t go on offense if you don’t play defense. We really take pride in that and we’ve bought into coach’s system.”
Multiple Hoosiers were not able to shoot at a high percentage against the Scarlet Knights — junior guard Alexis Gassion was just 1-of-10 from the floor, while sophomore guard Jess Walter and junior center Jenn Anderson combined for an 0-of-6 performance from the field.
Buss paced her team through rough patches against Rutgers. For the 10th time this year, the 5-foot-8 point guard scored over 20 points in a game. Buss was 4-of-7 from 3-point range and converted all eight of her free throws.
“My teammates got me open and I was feeling it a little there,” Buss said of her 3-pointers. “I think I hit couple in a row. My teammates got me open looks and I was just knocking them down for them.”
After a come-from-behind victory vs. Illinois last week and its first conference road win in 18 games against No. 20 Northwestern on Sunday, the Hoosiers are riding a three-game win streak for the first time in Big Ten play.
Wednesday’s win solidified IU’s position in the Big Ten standings, as the Hoosiers sit in seventh with nine games to play. IU travels to second-place Maryland Saturday afternoon.
“I hope that they’re a confident group,” Moren said. “We’ve worked extremely hard. There have been some peaks and valleys, for sure. If you ask them, there’s two in my mind that we think we gave away. The past is the past and we move forward.”
