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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

sports women's basketball

Gassion, second-half run aid IU victory

Sophomore guard Alexis Gassion attempts to get free for a shot during the Hoosier's game against the Mastodons on Wednesday at Assembly Hall. The Hoosier won 80-37 and advanced to 8-1.

Through one half of play Sunday, Alexis Gassion was the only thing going right for IU.

The Hoosiers had 10 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, and all five starters had committed at least two fouls. IU and Milwaukee traded baskets for the majority of the half, and the Panthers stayed in the game thanks to several IU missed shots and sloppy plays.

Gassion provided just the liftoff the bench IU needed.

She scored all nine of her first-half points in the final three minutes as a part of a 14-6 Hoosier run going into the break.

IU used that run and another 20-4 advantage in the second half to pull away from Milwaukee in a 82-56 road win Sunday.

“I think the player of the game for me is Alexis Gassion,” IU Coach Teri Moren said. “Without her we wouldn’t have won the game.”

While she entered just less than five minutes into the game, Gassion contributed most in the final few minutes of the first half. At the 2:53 mark, Gassion hit a three off an assist from sophomore Larryn Brooks. It extended IU’s lead to 31-25, the largest for the Hoosiers up to that point.

On the other end of the court, Gassion grabbed a rebound and returned the favor, assisting on a Brooks 3-pointer. Gassion then turned an offensive rebound into two more points.

She scored on the final two possessions of the half, giving IU a commanding nine-point lead at halftime.

Gassion finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists. Despite an impressive stat line, it was the sophomore guard’s defensive effort that stood out to Moren.

“The job that she did on number four defensively, those types of things never show up in a stat sheet,” Moren said. “If you came to the game today you know that, clearly, she did a tremendous job defensively.”

Number four was Milwaukee standout guard Ashley Green.

Green entered the game averaging 22.6 points per game, which is more than twice as many points as any other Milwaukee player, and eight rebounds.

Gassion held Green to just 14 points and five boards in the game.

Gassion was just as important in the second half as she was in the first. Coming out of the break, the Panthers got back-to-back scores and cut the IU lead to five.

But Gassion answered with a basket on the other end, the beginning of a 20-0 run for the Hoosiers. Thirty-two of IU’s 82 points came from contributions off the bench.

Moren said that stretch in the second half was a result of IU finally being able to turn defense into offense.

“Even though there was moments there where it seemed like things weren’t going our way,” Moren said, “I think we found a way to win the game tonight just by defending and rebounding.”

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