The word “happy” could not be said enough by IU Coach Teri Moren after the Hoosiers’ 69-65 victory over the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday in East Lansing.
Moren said she was happy with her team, happy with their effort and happy they finally caught a break and had something go their way.
The Breslin Student Evans Center has haunted the Hoosiers for the past eight years. No coach or player on the current roster has ever picked up a win on the Spartans' home floor.
That changed when IU came out firing from all cylinders and exploded to a 42-16 advantage in the second quarter. The lead evaporated to just one late in the fourth, but the Hoosiers hung on to pick up their second conference win of the season.
Now, as IU returns to their home floor, they will seek their second-straight Big Ten victory, a feat that has yet to be accomplished this season.
The team to beat is the Wisconsin Badgers, who just scored their very first conference win of the season on Sunday against Northwestern, 58-46.
The Hoosiers and the Badgers sit at spots 12 and 13 in the Big Ten standings, respectively.
Like IU, the Badgers' leading scorer comes from the point-guard position. Senior Cayla McMorris averages 14.1 points per game as well as 5.9 rebounds.
The 6-foot guard will be matched up against the newest member of the 2,000-point club here at IU, senior Tyra Buss. Buss is the only woman to eclipse this mark and the sixth player in IU history to do so. She averages 20 points and five assists per game.
Buss was the catalyst behind the Hoosiers' hot start against Michigan State. She began the game 7/7 from the field and 5/5 from beyond the arc to accumulate 16 points in the first quarter. She finished the game with 28 points and seven assists.
Leading the charge behind Buss was senior forward Amanda Cahill, who finished with 17 points and nine rebounds.
Cahill averages 14.1 points on the season and 8.2 rebounds. Her rebound total is higher than any Wisconsin player, despite being out-sized by two to three inches by the Badger forwards.
Wisconsin will be the lowest-scoring Big Ten team IU has seen so far this season. After competing against ranked Ohio State, Michigan and Maryland, as well as tough Penn State and Michigan State teams, Wisconsin’s 61.7 points per game is a big drop-off from IU’s previous eight games.
IU averages 68.2 points per game and hopes to produce the same offensive outbreak they had against MSU.
Wednesday’s game starts a four-game home stand for the Hoosiers, something Moren said will be relaxing since the team won’t have to constantly be traveling every other day.
Tip-off with the Badgers is at 7 p.m.
