No. 14 IU women’s basketball got the win it was looking for, even if it wasn’t the best 40 minutes the team has played this season.
In its return to Assembly Hall after nearly three weeks on the road, IU defeated the University of North Florida 72-45.
Without leading scorer and sophomore guard Grace Berger for the second consecutive game, the Hoosiers relied on scoring from senior forward Brenna Wise’s 22 points.
“On a night where we couldn’t get things going, it was big,” IU head coach Teri Moren said. “Obviously, she took it upon herself to make some aggressive plays at the rim. She was probably the bright spot of the night offensively. You expect your seniors to step up when you have situations like we did tonight.”
Wise was the primary offensive option for IU’s offense as the Hoosiers once again looked unsure of themselves, at least through two quarters.
The Hoosiers went on a 17-0 scoring run in the first quarter, with four points from Wise and six from junior guard Ali Patberg. The defense was gashed in the second quarter, allowing the Ospreys to go 3-5 from deep while cutting the Hoosiers’ lead to just nine at halftime.
“We had to play kind of funky tonight,” Moren said. “We were trying to switch their ball screens, and so we played small. And we hadn’t played small yet in the season.”
After scoring a first-half season-low 28 points, IU erupted for 44 in the second half.
Junior guard Jaelynn Penn caught fire again, scoring 10 of her 14 points in the second half, while freshman Mackenzie Holmes chipped in 10 points off the bench.
But it was Wise’s season-high output that made the difference. Not only did Wise put up 22, but she did so on an almost perfect 7-9 from the floor and 6-7 from the free throw line.
Penn and Wise have seen an uptick in their scoring totals the last couple of games, and it’s been a welcome return to form for both after early-season slumps.
“We have great confidence going into every game,” Wise said. “We put in the work, every day we’re getting into the gym, putting in that work, so it’s just tapping into that resource and relying on that.”
While the offense struggled through the first 20, defense was strong throughout. The Hoosiers held the Ospreys to just 26% from the floor for the game. The Hoosiers came up with eight steals and three shot blocks, while allowing a season-low 45 points.
“It was very important to protect our house,” Penn said. “When we came out for the second half, our key was to play better defense. That was a big emphasis we had and we stepped it up.”
Strong defensive efforts have been a necessity for IU in its last two games but really the whole season as well.
“The nights you have like tonight, you have to rely on something,” Moren said. “We’re a program that hangs its hat on the defensive end.”
IU still has some issues to clear up, most notably its 65.4% team free throw percentage and 14 turnovers, numbers that Moren said she would like to see higher and lower, respectively.
A positive for the Hoosiers is that a return to full strength looks to be in order soon.
Moren was confident in the postgame press conference that Berger would play Wednesday night at Butler University and hinted that junior guard Bendu Yeaney’s season debut was right around the corner.
