Hoosiers squeak past Louisville for win

After letting a 58-51 lead dwindle to a point with just more than a minute remaining in the game, the IU women's basketball team looked like it might fold under the pressure. Instead, timely free throw shooting and defense saved the day for the Hoosiers Friday in a 61-57 win against the University of Louisville.\nWith IU (3-2) clinging to a one-point advantage, junior guard Cyndi Valentin sank two free throws giving the Hoosiers a three-point lead with 20 seconds on the clock.\nThe Cardinals (2-3) quickly ran the ball down court but a three pointer by sophomore forward Missy Taylor hit nothing, giving the ball back to IU. Sophomore guard Annika Boyd ended any hopes for Louisville by hitting the second of two free throws, providing the final margin.\nMaking free throws proved to be a strength for the Hoosiers, as they outscored the Cardinals by nine points from the line, Boyd said.\n"Free throws are always important, because they can change the game," she said. "We work hard on them in practice and they paid off tonight."\nThe bench played a key role for IU throughout the night as the Hoosiers outscored Louisville's bench 21-2. Boyd provided 15 of those points, but junior guard Kali Kullberg provided the team with a defensive boost in addition to a point guard presence as she led the team with three assists.\nHaving Kullberg emerge as a leader on the court paid dividends in the win, IU coach Kathi Bennett said. \n"We needed ball pressure, and that was the difference. We had no ball pressure to start the game," Bennett said. "She came in and gave an immediate presence. Her spark really helped."\nWhile the Hoosiers relied on bench play for much of the night, the Cardinals went to their starters for support, as the starters scored all but two of their team's points.\nLouisville was paced by junior center Jazz Covington and Taylor. The duo gave IU fits most of the night, especially in the first half as the pair scored 19 points. Covington scored all nine of her points in a two-minute span that gave the Cardinals their largest lead of the night, 16-9.\nThe Hoosiers responded with a 15-6 run to take the lead 24-22 before going into the break tied at 28.\nThough the pair picked up 15 more points in the second half, Covington led all scorers with 20 points, they weren't given the same opportunities as before, senior forward Jamie Gathing said.\n"The post defense was really important," Gathing said. "We had to change our mentality (in the second half). We had to stop them in the post, because that is where they were getting their offense and that was getting them easy layups."\nNext up for the Hoosiers is Indiana State (3-1) at 7 p.m. tonight in Terre Haute at the Hulman Center. The game marks the beginning of a three-game road swing for IU, the first of three the Hoosiers will face this season. \nGaining some momentum for the Hoosiers before facing a good Sycamores team was important, Bennett said.\n"We needed this," she said. "We have been playing good basketball, but we needed a win like this against a quality opponent. Tonight was nice."\n-- Contact staff writer Dan Click at daaclick@indiana.edu.