IU sophomore guard Jaelynn Penn said the team can’t beat themselves.
Coming off a two-game road trip, that was Penn’s biggest takeaway aside from the fact that road games are tough within the Big Ten.
One game saw IU crumble to the pressure of Ohio State, losing 55-50. The other game saw the Hoosiers flourish from the start against Wisconsin, winning 75-68.
The win at Wisconsin was enough to keep the Hoosiers ranked in Associated Press top-25, claiming the No. 25 spot for the second week in a row.
Now the Hoosiers return back home Wednesday for the first time since Jan. 6 to welcome the Northwestern Wildcats.
Northwestern is 9-7 on the season and 2-3 in the conference, but a lot of its games could have gone either way. Like IU, Northwestern shares victories over Illinois and then-No. 15-ranked Michigan State. The three Big Ten losses were by four points to Rutgers, one to Michigan and three to Purdue.
The Wildcats are led by sophomore guard Lindsey Pulliam. This season, Pulliam is averaging 15.6 points per game, and last season when IU defeated Northwestern in overtime, Pulliam scored 33 points.
It’s not that the Hoosiers couldn’t defend her, but at 5-feet-10-inches, the guard’s play is smooth.
“She has that pull-up game, and she’s just gotten better,” IU Coach Teri Moren said. “Not that we didn’t challenge her shots – she just had one of those special days where it just seemed like everything she shot went in.”
Sophomore guard Bendu Yeaney will most likely be tasked with defending Pulliam on Wednesday, but Penn might be assigned Pulliam duties as well.
Moren stressed that Pulliam isn’t the only player Northwestern has. The Wildcats have a post presence in senior forward Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah and junior forward Abi Scheid. Both are 6-feet-2-inches and both are averaging 11 points per game.
In order for IU to compete with Northwestern’s frontcourt, it will need senior forward Kym Royster to replicate her performance against Wisconsin, which saw 15 points, four rebounds and three blocks.
“She has to be an inside presence,” Moren said. “She has to be able to connect and hit shots at the low block. The word that seems like it is synonymous with Kym Royster is consistency. We need her to be consistent with her play on the low block.”
Another point of emphasis Moren said was the tempo she wants her team to play with. If junior Ali Patberg pushes the ball, Moren said her team is better off.
Patberg pushed the pace in the team’s win over Wisconsin, and as a result, the Hoosiers put up 37 points in the first quarter, which is the most points the team has scored in any quarter this season.
Wednesday is the first time all season IU will play in front of its fans with a ranking next to its name, but Penn said she knows they can’t get caught up in the number or too comfortable in the confines of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. She said they will need to be ready from the tip.
“I do think it’s important to have a good start,” Penn said. “Especially in the Big Ten.”
