No. 12 IU women’s basketball lived and died by its 3-point shooting in Sunday’s win over Youngstown State University. Despite a lackluster shooting performance in the first quarter, IU turned up the heat to finish with a season-high 12 threes to down YSU 93-56.
The Hoosiers suffered from early turnovers, but ball handling was not the issue. None of the team’s shots were falling.
“I thought we were getting good ones; they just weren’t going down the way they were in that second half for us,” IU head coach Teri Moren said.
Nearly every Hoosier who played in the opening quarter got an open shot off. Screens down low freed up guards, and the passing set up solid looks around the perimeter. Still, nothing gave way for the Hoosiers.
“We have to give credit to Youngstown State,” junior guard Ali Patberg said. “They came out, and they stifled us.”
It wasn’t until the 2:11 marker where IU got its first field goal and three from junior guard Keyanna Warthen. The team finished the quarter shooting 18%, and something needed to change.
That something began to take form after an early second quarter timeout.
Junior guard Jaelynn Penn converted two field goals out of the timeout. Her 3-pointer led to another perimeter shot from freshman guard Chanel Wilson, who began the trend of shooting from beyond the arc.
As the shots started falling, Patberg and sophomore guard Grace Berger facilitated IU’s offense from the top of the arc and made YSU pay for leaving players open.
Patberg found senior forward Brenna Wise for a three, and Berger dished a pass in traffic to Penn for another IU three on the next position.
By the half, IU was shooting 41% from behind the arc and had seven 3-pointers. New life was breathed in the team as the confidence to pull the trigger from three point range escalated.
“When you see that thing go in, the rim becomes three times its size,” Moren said.
With confidence brimming and the offensive woes of the first quarter out of sight, Moren’s offense exploded for 22 points in the third quarter. That offense was led by Patberg’s passing and shooting.
Patberg found her teammates left and right as they gave her open targets to dish the ball to. The Hoosiers returned the favor to Patberg, finding her for a team-high four 3-pointers in a dominant second half performance.
“The goal was to be aggressive on both ends, and that’s what we came out and did,” Patberg said. “We felt the momentum change because of the way we approached the second half.”
