Senior point guard Tyra Buss wasn’t the only player that stood out in IU’s 82-38 exhibition win over Gannon University.
Yes, the senior guard finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and seven steals, but her freshmen guard teammates, Bendu Yeaney and Jaelynn Penn, also had themselves a game.
Yeaney had 10 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks, while Penn finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
The success of the guards was due in part to the fast-paced offense with which the Hoosiers played. Not only is this offensive style the type that fans like to see, but it’s also a style IU Coach Teri Moren wants to see out of her team.
“We were really trying to get it out and create transitions,” Moren said. “We wanted an early flow on offense, and I think we did a really good job of pushing it in the second half.”
On a night when senior forward Amanda Cahill was 1-8 from the field with five points, the guards made up for it with their ability to advance the ball and get into the paint before the Gannon defense could set up in its zone.
Their rebounding was a big part of that. Buss, Yeaney and Penn had the three highest rebound totals of the game. Although the rebounds helped, it was what they did after they got the boards that was even more effective — push the ball.
“That’s our motto on offense,” Buss said. “Anyone who gets that rebound, it doesn’t necessarily have to be me, we want to get it and go.”
IU doesn’t only want to push the ball after defensive rebounds though. Buss said it’s all the time, whether the opposing team scores or it’s off a turnover, the team wants to get out and run.
The Hoosiers did just that, scoring 34 points off turnovers and 17 points off a defensive rebound and turning it into a fast break.
This pace showed that it favors the play of the guards. Buss, Yeaney and Penn had the three most shot attempts of anyone on the IU team.
Feeding the ball in the post is something Moren wants to do more because of the talent of Cahill and junior forward Kim Royster, but when their shots aren’t falling like against Gannon, the fast-paced offense is the way to go to get the guards going.
