If you grew up around sports, I’m sure you’ve heard many cliches, such as “defense wins championships” and “we had to overcome adversity.” But no cliche better describes the game between No. 12 IU women’s basketball and Butler University than “sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good.”
In their previous nine games, the Hoosiers played great basketball, with all of their wins coming by double digits. Even in the one loss, they scored 62 points and shot over 40%. For the first time all year, IU played a bad game but still won by 11 because it was the luckier team.
The offense stayed consistent in many areas. IU shot 54%, its second-highest percentage all year. It stayed aggressive and got to the line 25 times, its third-most all year. But in other areas, the offense was just bad.
The 21 turnovers marked a new season high. Grace Berger led the team with six in her first game back from a concussion. IU got beat on the offensive glass 14-11. It missed nine free throws. And for a team that prides itself on sharing the ball, it tallied only nine assists, marking the first game the team failed to reach double-digit assists.
It all started in the first half. IU went into the locker room with a nine-point lead but could have just as easily been trailing by nine. IU had 14 turnovers, four shy of its game average. But luck was on its side, as Butler managed just seven points off those turnovers. The Bulldogs could have used the Hoosiers sloppy play to comeback and even start to pull away. Instead, they failed to capitalize and had a hole to dig themselves out of.
Now, turnovers were just the start. IU managed just four offensive rebounds in the first half but allowed 11. Once again, Butler could have capitalized and used the extra possessions to come back, but failed time and time again. The Bulldogs had zero second-chance points in the first half. Zero. Had they scored on just half of those extra chances, they’d have taken an extra 10 points and the lead into halftime. But they shot poorly and ultimately let this game get away.
The biggest reason IU took a lead into halftime is Butler could not shoot. It seemed like the players forgot how to score a basketball as the Bulldogs made just one field goal in the second quarter. That’s only two points scored in 10 minutes of basketball. Butler could have made shots and kept this one competitive, but luck was all on IU’s side.
The second half started with more sloppy play. IU added six more turnovers to its total in the third quarter. It also shot 44.4% from the field, a big fall from the 75% it shot in the second. Luckily for IU, Butler shot 30%.
IU did pick it up in the fourth quarter, creating momentum into its next game. The Hoosiers only turned the ball over once. They shot above 50%. They outrebounded the Bulldogs on the offensive side. The bad news for Butler is it had also started to get things going.
The Bulldogs shot over 40% and didn’t commit a turnover. They even got to the line seven times, after going just nine times the rest of the game. Had they played like that throughout the whole game, this could very well be a different story. I would be writing about how IU’s mental errors and Butler’s hustle play led to an upset. But that’s not the case, as Butler got going too late. It was just an unlucky night to be a Bulldog.
With the win, IU improves to 9-1 through its first 10 games. If it wants that success to continue, it can’t leave things to chance. The Hoosiers need to come out strong and disciplined against teams, especially with Big Ten play coming up. They can’t count on luck against good teams.
Like IU head coach Teri Moren said, this was a “just okay” game. Just okay isn’t going to win championships.
