Hoosiers badger Wisconsin

The Hoosiers are back to their winning ways.\nAfter a road loss to Michigan last Thursday snapped a three-game winning streak, the Hoosiers found their way back into the win column with an 86-62 victory over Wisconsin in Assembly Hall Thursday night.\nIU (13-8, 6-3) used a balanced scoring attack and aggressive defense to earn its thirteenth victory of the season. \nJunior forward Whitney Thomas scored 16 points to lead five Hoosiers in double figures and added a career-high seven assists.\n“Coach Jack was on me about reverse pivoting every time I got the ball in the block,” Thomas said of her assists. “That really opened it up and allowed me to see other players and see what was open.”\nFreshman guard Haylie Linn scored 15 points off the bench, including four first-half 3-pointers. Juniors Amber Jackson and Kim Roberson added 15 and 13 points respectively and sophomore Jamie Braun finished with 12 points.\nIU turned up its defensive pressure from the beginning of the game and built a 42-25 halftime lead behind its strong defensive effort. The Hoosiers forced Wisconsin into 23 turnovers, including 15 in the first half. On the other side, the Hoosiers committed only 12 turnovers.\n“Twelve turnovers for any team is great,” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “If we can continue to control the turnover category I think we will be very successful.”\nJolene Anderson, the Big Ten’s leading scorer, led the Badgers with 23 points in the game, despite the Hoosiers holding her scoreless in the first half.\n“We didn’t think we could hold her scoreless for a half,” Legette-Jack said. “But we said that if we could pay attention to her, because we thought their offense went through her, then we could be successful.”\nThe Hoosiers played a match-up zone and made sure they always had a defender on Anderson.\n“They were always there with me,” Anderson said. “Whether I was standing there or I was moving, there was always someone following with me.”\nIU’s defense frustrated Anderson in the first half and limited her looks at the basket.\n“She only had two touches in the first half and that isn’t enough for an All-American,” Wisconsin coach Lisa Stone said of Anderson.\nAnderson only attempted two shots in the first half, but Stone challenged her at halftime and she came out more aggressive in the second half.\n“I got called out at halftime,” Anderson said. “I’m a senior captain and I wasn’t leading the team the way I should. I knew coming into the second half that I had to pick it up in every aspect.”\nThe win over Wisconsin is IU’s sixth Big Ten win, which already matches last year’s total. The Hoosiers will travel to Iowa on Sunday in search of their seventh conference win.\n“We have to go after Iowa and get to number seven,” Legette-Jack said. “Seven is my favorite number. It’s going to be fantastic to get to that number.”