IU women's basketball splits first 2 games of season in WNIT

As IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack looked at the box score following her team’s WNIT second-round defeat at the hands of No. 22 Xavier, she didn’t immediately point to the Hoosiers’ 35.7 percent shooting or 66.7 percent free-throw shooting.

Legette-Jack expressed disappointment in one number among many on the stat sheet – 506.

The stat represented the attendance for the Hoosiers’ 62-59 defeat against the Musketeers in Assembly Hall on Sunday.

“I look at my box scores, and the worst number I see is 506,” Legette-Jack said. “On a Sunday afternoon, when our young women are going all-out to compete for this great institution, for this great community, and this is no support.”

The Hoosiers got off to a quick start, as sophomore guard Jori Davis scored the first six points of the game, and IU led by 13 at the 10:26 mark of the first half.

The Hoosiers held the lead all the way until 16:44 to go in the second half, when a 3-pointer by Xavier guard Jerri Taylor gave the Musketeers a 36-35 advantage.

On the final possession, with IU down by three points with 14.1 seconds to go, junior guard Jamie Braun had a good look to send the game into overtime, but could not convert.  

Each team had four players score in double figures, as Davis led IU with 13, followed by senior forwards Whitney Thomas and Amber Jackson, each with 12.

Thomas, who played all 40 minutes in the game, had 14 rebounds to go with her 12 points, and playing down low, she absorbed plenty of hits, including one that forced her to pause and wipe blood from her nose.

But she kept getting back up – Thomas expected a rough game.  

“We knew coming into this game how Xavier played and how they like to pound it into the post and back you down,” she said. “Like Coach Jack said, (the referees) let us play and we just kept on going out there and competing against each other.”

Jackson said she thought she and Thomas battled well.

“Xavier’s post players are very physical, and myself and Whitney Thomas tried to, and we did, battle just as hard as they did,” she said.  

Legette-Jack expressed pride in Thomas for all the hard work and resilience with which she played.

“She is a tough cookie, I tell you, and this game is a microcosm of the way she demands to lead her life,” Legette-Jack said. “This is going to help her get tougher when things get tough outside of basketball.”

After averaging just more than 86 points in exhibition games against Southern Indiana and Indianapolis and a first-round victory against Ball State, the Hoosiers played a much closer game against Xavier, a team Legette-Jack said embodies what she thinks her team can become.

“We played against a team that is very accustomed to playing in March, and we are trying to inspire to get there, and we’re getting closer,” she said. “One day, we will have our time.”

Overall, the Hoosiers appeared to bring much of the same intensity and passion that allowed them to beat Ball State 84-68 on Friday. But the Musketeers, the back-to-back Atlantic 10 champions, posed a greater challenge.  

Xavier coach Kevin McGuff said he believes the Hoosiers will be a strong team this year.

“I think Indiana is going to have a terrific season,” he said. “I would be hopeful that all of the Hoosier faithful will really come out and support this team.”

As for Legette-Jack, she said no matter what support her team gets, the passion and intensity won’t change.

“We are not going to change who we are. We are not going to change what we do,” she said. “Our hope is that more will come, but if no one shows up, we are going to compete as if it’s the last day of our lives, and we’re going to leave it out on the floor.”