Hoosiers fall to Iowa on the road

The IU women’s basketball team traveled to Iowa City on Sunday afternoon with an opportunity to continue its rise up the Big Ten standings, but the Hoosiers suffered an 81-65 setback at the hands of Iowa. \nComing into the game, Iowa (15-7, 8-3) sat in a three-way tie for first place in the Big Ten conference standings, with IU (13-9, 6-4) only a half game behind.\nThe Hawkeyes used strong rebounding and 3-point shooting to distance themselves from the Hoosiers in the Big Ten standings.\nIowa scorched the nets all game long, shooting 10-20 from 3-point range. The Hawkeyes also outrebounded the Hoosiers 44-26, including an impressive 15 offensive rebounds. \nSophomore guard Jamie Braun led the way for IU, scoring 26 points. Junior forward Whitney Thomas recorded a double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Junior forward Amber Jackson added 11 points for the Hoosiers.\nKristi Smith scored 17 points to lead four Hawkeyes in double figures. Wendy Ausdemore and Megan Skouby scored 16 points each and JoAnn Hamlin added 12 points. \nIowa led by as many as 10 points in the first half, but a 14-5 IU run in the final five minutes cut the Hawkeye’s halftime lead to three points at the half, 36-33. \nThe Hawkeyes were hot from beyond the arc at the beginning of the game, shooting 7-13 from 3-point range in the first half. Iowa reversed any momentum the Hoosiers had before halftime, recording a 7-0 run to start the second half. \nA jumper by Braun cut the Hawkeye lead to 54-47 with 11:53 left in the game, but the Hawkeyes regained a 10-point advantage at 63-53 with 7:46 left to play. The Hoosiers could not chip away at the lead any further. \nIU forced Iowa into 18 turnovers but committed 16 turnovers of its own. \nThe Hoosiers will look to rebound in Big Ten action when they face Northwestern at 7 p.m. Thursday at Assembly Hall.