Iowa surges late, steals win

It was a game the Hoosiers were supposed to win and a game they had all but wrapped up.\nThe IU women's basketball team (13-5, 2-3) lost to the Iowa Hawkeyes (11-7, 3-2) 71-67 on Thursday night at Assembly Hall, in a game in which the Hoosiers dominated until the seven-minute mark in the second half.\n"This one hurts because it was the one we should have taken advantage of," said IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack.\nWith IU up nine points with 7:54 to go in the game, Iowa slowly got its momentum back and eventually took a 59-58 lead with 3:52 left. At the same time, the Hoosiers had only turned the ball over six times and had forced 15 Hawkeyes turnovers.\nWith 18 seconds to go and down 67-64, that ratio had dissipated as IU more than doubled its turnovers yet still had possession and a chance to tie the game.\nThe inbound pass by freshman guard Jamie Braun summarized the story of the final minutes of the game, as sophomore Iowa guard Kristi Smith stole the pass and hit two free throws to seal the victory for the Hawkeyes.\n"This is one of those games that really hurts because you go out there and play your heart out and you have that lead, and then they come back," Smith said. "This is going to hurt for a little bit, but we have to put it behind us."\nMissed free throws and late turnovers hurt the Hoosiers in the final minutes of the game. While Iowa shot 82.6 percent from the stripe and 60 percent from beyond the arc, IU only mustered 59.1 percent and 26.1 percent, respectively.\n"We'll learn from our mistakes and we'll be shooting 100 free throws tomorrow, guaranteed," senior center Sarah McKay said.\nOn a team full of role-players that was heavily outmatched in size, McKay played much bigger than her 6-foot-7 frame in the loss to Iowa. She recorded her first double-double of the season with 17 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks.\n"Sarah's starting to get better every single day," Legette-Jack said. "She started to dictate with an attitude of 'I'm somebody, and you're going to have to respect me.' She played like she had a voice."\nAfter falling behind early to Iowa, IU was unable to take its first lead until a Nikki Smith layup put the Hoosiers ahead 27-26 amid a 16-3 IU run.\nWith the score 34-26 for the start of the second half, both teams came out strong, though the Hoosiers were able to extend their lead to 10 points with 16:32 to go in the game.\nThat lead vanished over the next 10 minutes as the Hawkeyes took advantage of several missed free throws and a "passive" attitude by the Hoosiers, winning their third road game of the season.\n"When we got in foul trouble, we played passive," Legette-Jack said. "There's nothing about what we're coaching that's about passivity. That part of our game will not show up again ever"