Itlooked all too familiar for Hoosier fans Thursday night in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Twenty-four hours following the men’s basketball collapse against Rutgers, the women’s team suffered the same fate in a 69-64 loss to the No. 17 Scarlet Knights.
After losing by 20 points to No. 11 Maryland at home, IU came out firing at the RAC. The Hoosiers jumped out to an 8-2 lead and kept the Scarlet Knight stuck at two points for six minutes straight. Rutgers finished the quarter with 14 points, but IU stayed out in front with 19.
The second quarter saw a good start, a rough middle and a solid ending for IU. In the first half's final 10 minutes, the Hoosiers had a nine-point lead, which is the largest deficit the Scarlet Knights had faced at the half this season.
Other good news for IU was that it had just seven turnovers at the break.
With 8:54 left in the third, the Hoosiers grabbed their largest lead of the game at 38-24. Then, the turnovers happened.
Rutgers full-court pressed IU anytime it went to inbound the ball. The result seemed like an endless nightmare for Head Coach Teri Moren and her squad. Either IU would inbound it, and Rutgers would create a turnover with an immediate double team, or the Hoosiers wouldn’t be able to find anyone in the time allowed to inbound and pick up a five-second call.
The pressure allowed Rutgers to end the quarter on a 15-4 run and head into the fourth only down one point.
“The third quarter got us completely out of sync, and they got the momentum,” Moren said after the game.
IU’s offense continued to suffer from the stifling Scarlet Knight defense and its once 14-point lead was suddenly a five-point deficit with 1:19 remaining.
Freshman forward Aleksa Gulbe hit a fast-break layup and junior forward Brenna Wise, who finished with a team-high 15 points, hit two free throws to cut the lead to one with 55 seconds left.
The Hoosiers couldn’t keep from fouling the Scarlet Knights, who hit five straight free throws, and Wise and sophomore guard Bendu Yeaney both missed 3-pointers to make it a one possession game.
The second half saw 14 IU turnovers, which resulted in 20 Rutgers points off those turnovers and a 45-31 scoring advantage in the last 20 minutes.
“Ball security has been our issue,” Moren said. “It’s our Achilles heel right now until our kids understand that and take ownership for that and fix it.”
The positive, Moren said, is all the team’s issues seem fixable and the players watch a lot of film and know it’s a problem. She just needs it to go from their heads onto the court and keep control of the ball.
It’s the second straight loss where IU has committed over 20 turnovers, which Moren said is the difference maker.
With this loss, IU now drops to 5-5 in the Big Ten and 16-6 overall. IU continues its road trip Sunday against Nebraska.
“You got to steal a few,” Moren said. “In order to be where you want at the end of it, and you want to have an opportunity to play in postseason, you got to show that you can win on the road.”
