Hoosiers blown out at Wisconsin in crushing road defeat

The IU women’s basketball team (15-12, 8-7) started slowly at Wisconsin (14-11, 7-8) on Wednesday night and never recovered en route to a crushing 81-51 loss. \nThe Hoosiers began the night in fifth place in the Big Ten standings and needed to win every remaining game to make their case for an NCAA tournament bid. \nHowever, a 17-2 Wisconsin run to begin the game quickly hindered the Hoosiers’ effort to earn a big road victory. The Badgers shot 57.7 percent in the first half on their way to a 39-25 halftime lead. \nWisconsin erased any chance of an IU second-half comeback with another run to begin the second half. This time, the Badgers used a 13-4 stretch to extend their lead to 52-29 and put the game out of reach for the Hoosiers. \nJunior forward Amber Jackson led the way for IU with 18 points. Jackson was the only double-figure scorer for the Hoosiers, who have four players averaging double-figure scoring on the season. Sophomore guard Jamie Braun entered the game averaging 15.4 points per game, but Wisconsin held her to seven points on 3-11 shooting from the field. \nJolene Anderson scored 18 points to lead three Badgers in double-figures. Danielle Ward and Mariah Dunham added 14 and 11 points, respectively. \nThis game took on a far different look from last month’s meeting between the two teams, when IU cruised to an 86-62 victory at Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers have struggled on the road lately and this marks their fourth straight road loss.\nWisconsin shot well, going 7-15 from 3-point range on the way to a 50.8 percent shooting clip for the game. While the Badgers were hot from the field, IU struggled. The Hoosiers shot a woeful 39.2 percent shooting for the game, including a 3-10 clip from the 3-point line. IU also struggled with foul shooting, going 8-18 from the free-throw line. \nThe Badgers also won the battle of the boards, out-rebounding the Hoosiers 41-24. Both teams struggled taking care of the ball, with IU turning the ball over 24 times to Wisconsin’s 20.\nIU will take on Ohio State, currently in second-place in the Big Ten, on Monday at Assembly Hall.