IU falls to Virginia 65-49

The Hoosiers are playing two games this week for “bragging rights” in the conference.

“It’s important to go out and compete and represent Indiana and the Big Ten in the best fashion that we can,” IU Coach Felisha Legette-Jack said.

On Thursday in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Virginia defeated the Hoosiers 65-49.

Virginia’s balanced scoring, with four players in double figures, troubled the Hoosiers.
Ataira Franklin led the Cavaliers with 16 points.

UVA led the entire game and outrebounded the Hoosiers 44-39.

Virginia brought experience to the court, which Legette-Jack said the Hoosiers couldn’t counter.

“You can’t just come to an ACC school like Virginia and not be seasoned,” Legette-Jack said.

Players agree that you have to bring that extra effort on the road.

“You have to work even harder on the road,” senior forward Georgia Jones said.

Offensively, the Hoosiers weren’t proactive with getting to the rim, Legette-Jack said.

“You have to go with attack mode, and tonight we played passive, and we learned a lesson,” she said.

The Hoosiers’ lack of consistency on offense was a problem, as they shot 26.5 percent from the field.

Junior center Sasha Chaplin recorded a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds, while junior forward Aulani Sinclair led the Hoosiers with 12 points, her fourth consecutive game in double figures.  

Although IU (2-4) wasn’t able to come out on the winning side, it will have another chance to help the conference Sunday against Oklahoma State in the Big 12/Big Ten Challenge.

Oklahoma State (3-0) is building on a season off of early woes. Two of their games were canceled due to the deaths of Head Coach Kurt Budke and Assistant Coach Miranda Serna in a plane crash Nov. 17.

“I can’t tell you how I feel because words don’t describe what I feel for what they are going through,” Legette-Jack said. “It’s a sad situation. It puts things in perspective. It makes you hug your children a little bit longer.”

The Hoosiers will have to slow down two top scorers for the Cowgirls.

Guard Tiffany Bias averages 15.3 points per game and center Kendra Suttles adds 13.7 points per game. Suttles also leads the team with nine rebounds per game.

Coming back to Bloomington after Thursday’s defeat, the team is hoping for a positive result.

“We want to become a team that learns lessons through wins,” Legette-Jack said.