Seven seconds into her team’s second game of the season, IU women’s basketball junior forward Brenna Wise knocked in a three pointer to give her team the first lead of the game.
From then on, IU would not look back — holding the lead the entirety of the game after Wise’s shot — en route to a 59-32 win at Oakland University.
“No complaints with how quickly we got out of the gates,” IU Coach Teri Moren said in an audio clip provided by IU Athletics.
IU set the tone early on defense by allowing just three points in the first quarter. The Hoosiers were able to force six turnovers in the quarter and 17 in the whole game.
“You’re always encouraged by holding teams to 32 points,” Moren said. “It’s sometimes hard to be overall just satisfied because you know that you left points out there to get.”
IU’s offense did not do any better protecting the ball. The Hoosiers had 26 turnovers in the game after having 10 in their win Wednesday over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
“As a staff, what we’re most disappointed with is that turnover,” Moren said. “You’re not going to beat very many good teams turning the ball over like that.”
Wise was the points leader for IU again, scoring 14 Sunday after her 17-point performance in the season opener.
In the season opener, Wise and junior guard Ali Patberg made their IU debuts after being forced to sit out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. The two have shown that they were able to build strong chemistry while sitting out together.
To go along with Wise’s performance against Oakland, Patberg was just two rebounds short of a double-double while scoring 13 points.
Through two games, the duo has combined for 45 points — making up about 35 percent of the team’s offense.
“I’ve been really pleased with Brenna and Ali and how they’ve performed so far,” Moren said. “Each game that we play we’re going to learn something different about ourselves and have to be able to execute and play differently from time to time.”
Freshman Aleksa Gulbe also made her IU debut against Milwaukee, but unlike Patberg and Wise she scored just two points.
However, the Latvia native was able to produce more Sunday, as she scored 10 points along with seven rebounds.
IU will now have a week off before returning to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Nov. 18 to face the University of North Florida.
