The road has been a mostly unkind place to the Hoosier women’s basketball team this season.
Tuesday, IU finishes a stretch of five road games in six matchups, so far winning just two. Both wins were against sub-.500 teams. IU hasn’t yet been able to come away with a marquee win away from the friendly confines of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
IU Coach Teri Moren and her team will get another shot to win a road game Tuesday when it travels to Denton, Texas, to face the North Texas Mean Green.
“It’s really good for us because that’s what a lot of Big Ten play will be,” junior forward Amanda Cahill said. “On the road, having one-day turnarounds, needing to adjust quickly to different teams. It’s good for us.”
IU, 4-3, has lost its last three away games away by an average of nearly 10 points. It was on opposite sides of comebacks but couldn’t get it done either time. IU nearly came back at North Carolina State and blew a 17-point fourth-quarter lead at Auburn. This is the schedule Moren said she wanted, however.
On Tuesday, IU will have another shot at a sub-.500 team, and will look for a chance to get things back on track before returning home Thursday for a three-game home stand. The Mean Green, 2-5, have lost their last two games and will also be looking to get back on track when the Hoosiers enter the Super Pit on Tuesday.
The Hoosiers are coming off a performance Thursday in which junior guard Tyra Buss scored 38 points and the team went on a 15-0 run yet couldn’t complete that comeback. Road games can be tough on teams, and IU freshman Bre Wickware said they require a bit of a different focus.
“You stay in a hotel, so you don’t do your normal home routine,” Wickware said. “Between shootarounds, you have to stay focused on yourself. I think the seniors help with that.”
IU has yet to put it all together in a road game this season, and there seems to have been one stat each game that has doomed them.
Whether it’s free throws, turnovers, rebounding or field goal percentage, IU hasn’t been able to put together a complete game on the road. The Chattanooga win was the closest, but IU was still out-rebounded and shot just 60 percent on free throws.
Against the Mean Green, the Hoosiers should have the advantage.
IU averages nearly 18 more points per game and has three players averaging in double figures compared to just one for North Texas.
IU assistant coach Rhet Wierzba stressed after the game at NC State the importance of playing with high energy from the opening tip. That lesson, if learned, will serve the Hoosiers well in the future.
“It’s really good for us since we’ve played really good teams so far at the beginning of the season,” IU senior guard Karlee McBride said. “It’s definitely preparing us for Big Ten play and the NCAA Tournament.”
