Hoosier women win late against Gophers

Down by as many as 14 points early in the first half, the IU women's basketball team (15-9, 4-7) staged a second-half 69-65 comeback win against Minnesota (13-11, 5-6).\nThe Hoosiers turned a poor first-half performance into an important win by relying on 25 Minnesota turnovers and a 71 percent field goal performance in the second half.\n"We had our backs against the wall and usually in the past we would surrender (that game)," IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. "But this team fought, and they fought and we made some changes."\nUp 67-65 with less than a minute to go, freshman guard Jamie Braun made a lay-up with 30 seconds to go. Braun's shot fell with only two seconds remaining on the shot clock to seal the victory for the Hoosiers.\n"I thought I got pretty lucky, actually," Braun said. "I thought I had (senior center) Sarah (McKay) open and I saw it go off her hand and went after the ball. I thought that was a pretty good turning point at that moment."\nThe Hoosiers started off cold against the Golden Gophers, hitting just 28 percent of their shots in the first half. \nMinnesota, on the other hand, came out of the gates fast, trying to catch IU off guard in transition. The strategy worked well for the Golden Gophers initially. They shot a collective 58 percent from the field en route to a 33-27 halftime lead.\nDown 27-13 with four minutes before the end of the half, however, the Hoosiers finally found momentum and went on a 14-6 run to bring IU within six points by the close of the half.\nAs the second half began, Minnesota silenced the Hoosier momentum to take a 41-32 lead within the first few minutes. Shortly after, IU regained its stride as the team took advantage of several Minnesota turnovers to come within two points.\n"We attacked more to the basket," sophomore forward Kim Roberson said. "We got open on executing plays and slowed the game down."\nThe Hoosiers scored five players in double figures, with Roberson leading all scorers with 20 points. Braun added 12 points of her own while sophomore forward Whitney Thomas, junior guard Nikki Smith and senior center Sarah McKay all netted 10 points.\nWhile Minnesota out-rebounded and outshot IU throughout the game, the Hoosiers stayed close by way of the free throw line and securing the ball. IU took 21 shots from the free-throw line and Minnesota only went to the stripe nine times. The Hoosiers also turned the ball over just four times in the second half, compared with the Gophers' 11.\n"We made some adjustments defensively and we followed our game plan," Legette-Jack said. "This team decided to just follow, they didn't question it. That's a sign of a team that's maturing as we go through the season. February's a time when you start blending and coming together. I think that's what we're doing right now"