Hoosiers hope to sweep season series against Northwestern

After an 81-65 road loss at Iowa on Sunday, the IU women’s basketball team will look to rebound against Northwestern (4-18, 0-10) Thursday night at Assembly Hall.\nThe Hoosiers won the first meeting between the two teams, cruising to an 84-53 win on Dec. 31 at Northwestern. IU (13-9, 6-4) is in fourth place in the Big Ten conference while Northwestern sits at the bottom of the standings. Despite the Wildcats’ record, IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said Northwestern improved since the teams previously met.\n“They are a tougher team,” she said. “I think (Amy) Jaeschke, her hand is better, she’s shooting the ball better and her cardio is there now.”\nJaeschke broke her left hand in Northwestern’s first game of the season and was still limited by the injury against the Hoosiers on Dec. 31. She scored six points and managed to grab nine rebounds. With her hand finally healed, Jaeshke is hitting her stride lately, scoring in double-figures in five of her last six games.\nAfter Iowa outrebounded IU 44-26 on Sunday, the Hoosiers will try to keep Jaeschke and Northwestern off the glass. \n“Our first focus is boxing out and we didn’t do a good job of that against Iowa,” junior forward Whitney Thomas said. “We’re going to focus on that and make sure we pick that up.”\nLegette-Jack said the Hoosiers have been working on box-out drills in practice and said rebounding success is largely due to effort.\n“It just takes heart,” she said. “It doesn’t matter how big you are if you block somebody out. It’s hard to get the rebound without your legs. We’re going to work on trying to keep that box out important to us.” \nAgainst Iowa, IU struggled defensively, allowing the Hawkeyes to shoot 10-20 from the 3-point line, but Legette-Jack expects IU’s defense to toughen up starting Thursday.\n“I don’t think our defense was nearly as good as it’s going to be moving forward,” she said. “It’s easy to shoot when you have time to look at the rim. We’re not going to give people time to look at the rim.”\nDefense has been a staple of Hoosier basketball all season, and junior guard Kim Roberson said IU is ready to return to its aggressive approach on the defensive end.\n“We’re just trying to play Indiana basketball,” she said. “Pressure the ball, get in people’s shorts and make sure we dictate, not them.”\nSophomore guard Jamie Braun leads the Hoosiers in scoring at 15.3 points per game and has scored in double-figures in eight consecutive games. She scored 20 points in the first meeting between the two teams.\nLegette-Jack urged her team in practice on Wednesday to play with energy. \nAfter practice, she said she expects Northwestern to come out strong and push the tempo.\n“Their guards are better. They are just running the floor real well,” she said. “We’re going to have to match their energy and surpass it.”