INDIANAPOLIS -- Even though IU was tied with Northwestern at halftime, it seemed as if the Hoosiers were constantly playing catch-up with the Wildcats in Friday’s Big Ten tournament quarterfinal.
IU had one real glimpse of momentum in the second half. At the end of the third quarter, sophomore forward Amanda Cahill converted a controversial buzzer-beating layup to cut the Northwestern lead to just 54-51 with one frame remaining.
Northwestern junior guard Christen Inman eliminated IU’s newfound momentum in a hurry. Inman scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to defeat IU 79-73 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
“We needed something like that to change the rhythm, to change our enthusiasm and our energy level,” IU Coach Teri Moren said. “I thought maybe that play with Cahill, which was huge, would help us. And we’ve been really good in the fourth quarter.”
IU, a team that almost always wins by scoring on fast-break chances, was outscored 14-2 by Northwestern in transition offense. Junior forward Nia Coffey was a large part in that, scoring a game-high 26 points and corralling 11 rebounds in the win.
“We really pride ourselves in transition, getting those fast breaks,” sophomore guard Tyra Buss said. “And I don’t think we got a lot of those. I don’t even know if we got, you know, any. So I think we were really upset about it in the locker room.”
Buss was visibly limited in Friday’s quarterfinal after falling hard on her left elbow midway through the second quarter. Though she quickly checked back into the game, Buss shot just 4-of-18 from the floor for 16 points.
“Yeah, definitely, it was bothering me,” Buss said. “I could feel it and there was a bump on it. But I definitely could have shot the ball a lot better than I did.”
Northwestern’s win over IU was its third win in as many days; the Wildcats became the first No. 12 seed to advance to the Big Ten semifinals by defeating Wisconsin and Minnesota prior to the quarterfinals.
Unlike last year, the Hoosiers had time off before playing their first game in the conference tournament. After earning the double-bye, IU had six days to rest compared to playing on the first day of the tournament last season.
“This was a different scenario than we were at last year,” Moren said. “But certainly something that we will reevaluate and see if the next time we’re in this situation maybe we approach it a little bit differently.”
While Coffey paced the Wildcats in the first half, it was Inman that torched the Hoosiers down the stretch. Coffey, the fifth-leading scorer in the Big Ten, scored 19 of her 26 points in the first half. Inman shot 5-of-6 from the floor in the final quarter, converting a pair of free throws in the process.
Northwestern’s largest lead came with 5:28 remaining, as an Inman jumper gave the Wildcats a 69-60 lead.
“I think they just hit shots,” Moren said. “I think Nia Coffey and Inman and Deary are a nightmare offensively. I think this is a really, really good Northwestern team.”
Now, the Hoosiers must wait until next Monday to see if their name is called for the 2016 NCAA tournament. IU has not qualified for the dance since 2002 after multiple appearances in the WNIT. An early exit in the Big Ten tournament certainly dampens IU’s chances, but the Hoosiers still think they deserve to play in the NCAA tournament.
“Today we didn’t play our best game,” Cahill said. “But we think that throughout the season we’ve proved that we deserve to be in that spot, in the top 64 teams in the country. It’s out of our hands so we’ll find out, I guess, next Monday.”
