IU junior forward Amanda Cahill was battling down in the post all game long against Valparaiso’s leading scorer, Dani Franklin. The Hoosier kept getting hit and bodied up, but as she normally does, Cahill just kept playing her game.
In the end, she earned a double-double.
Behind 16 points and 11 rebounds from Cahill, the Hoosiers dispatched the Crusaders, 87-58, Sunday in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
“It was a physical game,” Cahill said. “We came into the game wanting to do that and make sure we got box outs and more physical in the post and not letting them get easy buckets. I got kind of bumped in the nose — it was a little rough, but it was good.”
Cahill tallied six offensive rebounds to go along with a double-double. Those six rebounds on the offensive glass were more than any Crusader.
There were two plays Cahill made that stuck out to IU Coach Teri Moren. The first was when Cahill had a high-post jumper that she was able to knock down with a hand in her face. The second came when she got on the floor for a 50-50 ball to swing the momentum heading into halftime. The latter play didn’t show up in the box score but gave IU a spark of energy.
“It may not be her best game, but you’re going to get her best effort every night,” Moren said. “That’s what we love about having a kid like Amanda Cahill on our team.”
It was the Clyde, Ohio, native’s 20th career double-double. She also grabbed at least six rebounds for the 10th time in as many games along with scoring in double figures for the ninth time this season. From the field, Cahill shot the ball right around the team’s average. She was 6-of-14 from the field in 28 minutes while making one of her four 3-point attempts.
Cahill has shown throughout the season that she can do it all for the Hoosiers. She showed it Sunday on both sides of the ball. The double-double showed what she did on the offensive end. On the defensive end, she played her lock-down style of defense.
Franklin came into the game averaging upwards of 21 points. Cahill contained her, as Franklin finished with 18 points on just 5-of-16 from the field.
Cahill bought into what Moren had to say about the defense after the Northern Kentucky this week in practice.
“After the Northern Kentucky game, we really focused on the defense,” IU junior guard Tyra Buss said. “We allowed the 58 points, which I don’t think Coach Moren will be very happy about in practice, but I think we’re going to watch film and see what the defensive breakdowns were and work on that for the next week.”
