Hoosiers fall to No. 21 Florida State in Big Ten/ACC Challenge

Missed free-throws will drive any basketball coach crazy. \nAfter the IU women’s basketball team’s 85-78 loss to No. 21 Florida State on Friday night in Assembly Hall, IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said missed foul shots made the difference in the game. \nIU shot 10-of-18 from the foul line while Florida State shot 24-of-39. But of all things that could trouble Legette-Jack, she said free-throw shooting is a minor problem.\n“This is a team that is competing with the Top 20, and the problem is our free throws,” she said. “That just wakes me up every morning, because we can fix that. We can’t fix heart, desire or competitiveness. We can’t do all those things, but we can certainly fix a free throw.”\nThe heart and desire that Legette-Jack spoke of was on display, as the Hoosiers fought a tough Seminole team all the way to the final buzzer. \nIU led the game, part of the inaugural Big Ten/ACC Women’s Basketball Challenge, by as many as nine points in the first half before a Florida State three-pointer at the buzzer cut the halftime lead to 41-37. The Seminoles took the lead for good at 54-53 with 12:02 remaining in the second half.\nFreshman forward Jori Davis made a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left in the game to cut the Florida State lead to 80-78, but Nashville, Ind., native Mara Freshour made two free throws to seal the game for the Seminoles. \n“I think what you witnessed today is the way Indiana women’s basketball is going to be for a very long time,” Legette-Jack said. “We went out, we played hard, we competed, we didn’t back down, we didn’t look at our mistakes and drop our head.”\nFreshman guard Haylie Linn scored a career-high 16 points for IU, and sophomore guard Jamie Braun recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. \n“My teammates and coaches keep encouraging me to shoot the ball,” said Linn, who was 5-of-5 from three-point range. “I had some open looks and was fortunate for them to go in.” \nPlaying in front of friends and family, Freshour scored a game-high 21 points for the Seminoles in her return to the Hoosier state. \n“I just had to shake that nervousness and butterflies out of the way,” Freshour said. “Once we really got going, it helped and I was able to push back the fact that all of my family was here and all the other people.”\nThis young Hoosier squad, now 4-3, hasn’t backed down from any challenges and opposing coaches are taking notice. \n“They’re playing tough teams, and I think that speaks well for what Felisha is doing with the program,” Florida State coach Sue Semrau said. “She wants to play teams that have established themselves. She did that with three games in three days in the Virgin Islands. I think what she’s doing is preparing herself for conference.”\nLegette-Jack agreed that her team should grow as conference play approaches. \n“I think we are going to be good late,” she said. \nBut after a moment’s thought, she corrected herself. \n“No, I think we are going to be better late,” she said. “We’re already pretty darn good.”