It was a game of runs between No. 25 IU women’s basketball and Wisconsin, but a big first quarter was enough for the Hoosiers to close out a 75-68 win.
IU, now 15-2 overall and 4-1 in the Big Ten, did not allow Wisconsin to get a lead the entire game, and bounced back from its Thursday loss at Ohio State.
Sophomore guard Jaelynn Penn led the way for the Hoosiers with 21 points, marking the sixth time she has scored 15 or more points in a game this season.
“The stroke looked good,” assistant coach Janese Constantine said on the team’s radio postgame show. “I thought every shot she went in was going in before it did. Either I’m a really good guesser, or you can just tell when JP is looking good.”
Penn scored 13 of her points in the opening frame, as the Hoosiers shot 82.4 percent from the field.
But the other three quarters for IU were not easy, as the team would end the game shooting 52 percent from the floor.
One major reason for IU’s offense slowing down after the first quarter was turnover struggles. The Hoosiers turned the ball over just once in the opening frame, but coughed it up over 17 times the next three.
Wisconsin would cut the lead to as few as seven points in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough as the Hoosiers kept the Badgers at bay late.
Constantine, who played for the Badgers from 2005-2008, said she expected that from her alma mater.
“You knew this team was going to fight,” she said. “You knew for 40 minutes you were going to get their best. We just had to keep chipping away. We’ll definitely take the road win.”
Despite being out-rebounded 34-29, IU's inside presence was strong. Senior forward Kym Royster led the way on the blocks, scoring a season high 15 points.
With freshman forward Aleksa Gulbe struggling to get in a groove before fouling out, Royster was important against a Wisconsin team that thrives inside the paint.
“We want to always make sure we have an inside-outside threat,” Constantine said. “We want to make sure inside that they’re getting quality looks, that way it frees things up for our guards and vice versa.”
Four Hoosiers scored in double figures, while junior guard Ali Patberg finished just one assist away from her third double-double of the season.
The upcoming week for IU includes a home game Wednesday against Northwestern and Sunday at Purdue.
