On a night when IU women's basketball honored its five seniors, it's only fitting that the veterans spearheaded the Hoosiers in a thrilling double overtime victory.
It's difficult to pick the one senior who left the biggest mark on Wednesday's 80-77 win over Iowa that propelled IU to a 9-6 record in the Big Ten, but each got her moment to shine on Senior Night.
Three fourth-year Hoosiers started the game — guards Karlee McBride and Alexis Gassion, and forward Jenn Anderson. All three were on the court for at least 38 minutes each, and the trio combined for 42 points.
Two other seniors, guards Amber Deane and Tyshee Towner, were both on the court in the closing seconds of the game as Iowa attempted to battle back from a deficit in the second overtime. Junior forward Amanda Cahill said the all-around contribution from the seniors in the marathon battle proved their worth to the program.
"In a game like that, everyone that comes in plays a big part," Cahill said. "That just goes to show a lot about the senior class this year and how versatile they are and how much they give to the team."
Aside from Cahill's miraculous 3-pointer that sent the game into overtime, it seemed as though an IU senior had her fingerprints on every clutch moment in the game.
Anderson, who finished with 20 points in 41 minutes, made IU's first basket of overtime and set the tone the rest of the way. She finished the game with 10 makes in 16 shot attempts and collected six rebounds. Anderson said the entire Hoosier squad was motivated when the overtime periods began.
"We were all really aggressive," Anderson said. "We knew that the overtime was when we all needed to step up and take a lead."
McBride scored 12 points, marking the third game in a row she's hit or surpassed that mark, but her game-tying 3-pointer as IU's shot clock expired with 30 seconds left in the first overtime was one of the biggest shots of the game. Moren said McBride's drive to win was on full display.
"We had good juice from Karlee, I thought her leadership really showed for her teammates," Moren said. "She and Tyra are so competitive, and just desperately wanted her teammates to get stops."
When junior guard and IU's leading scorer Tyra Buss fouled out with just more than two minutes remaining in the second overtime period, it was Deane who checked in to replace her, and Gassion who took the game over.
Seconds after Buss fouled out, Gassion hit a layup to extend IU's lead to five points. Moren said she had complete faith in Gassion to lead the Hoosiers the rest of the way.
When Iowa had the ball with less than 30 seconds to go and trailed by just three points, it was Towner, a defensive specialist, who checked in to help stifle the Hawkeyes. The final shot, by Iowa's senior guard Alexa Kastanek, didn't even come close to hitting the rim.
At the end of the game, an eight-minute tribute video to the seniors was shown on the scoreboard at Assembly Hall, and coaches and players alike sat sprawled along the Hoosier bench, reflecting on the quintessential Senior Day victory — won by the seniors, for the seniors.
"I'm really, really pleased that we made it possible that they have not just a memory, but I think a very special memory that we created tonight for those guys," Moren said.
