Hoosiers prepare for Wildcats

A sense of normalcy returned to IU women’s basketball practice this week as the Hoosiers prepared to play Northwestern tonight at Assembly Hall.

After going through a stretch of five games in 11 days — four of which were on the road — IU Coach Curt Miller said his team was able to focus more on improving this week.

The more conventional schedule allowed players to take their first days off in almost two weeks.

Miller called the previous two-week stretch the toughest of his career and the compact schedule took a toll on the Hoosiers.

“With a young team grinding, it can be really not only physically exhausting, but it can be mentally exhausting,” Miller said. “So they came back, I think, with a little bit fresher mind.”

Miller will find out if the break paid off at 7 p.m. against a Northwestern team that comes to Bloomington having just upset No. 21 Nebraska at home on Sunday 63-59.

The Wildcats (13-7, 3-4) play an unconventional lineup that can potentially feature five natural guards on the floor at once.  

Because of the guard-heavy lineup, Northwestern rarely turns the ball over, and it can create high-percentage shots on the offensive end. The Wildcats have a turnover margin of 3.2 — second best in the Big Ten.

Contrarily, the Hoosiers (15-6, 2-5) tied a season-worst with 22 turnovers in an 84-75 loss on Jan. 25 against Iowa. The Hawkeyes were able to score 29 points off IU’s 22 turnovers.

Limiting that number has been a talking point in practice this week.

“I think that you have to realize the value of each possession even more than we have,” senior forward Tabitha Gerardot said. “I think a lot of what we are messing up right now comes with confidence. We just need more confidence and calmness about us so we can play with confidence and play our games.”

Northwestern is led by freshman Nia Coffey. The 6-foot-1 forward is averaging 16.1 points per game — second most among freshman in the Big Ten behind IU’s Larryn Brooks.

Coffey also leads the Wildcats in rebounding with 8.3 rebounds per game. Her versatility as both a scorer and rebounder makes for a tough matchup for the Hoosiers.

“I clearly believe Coffey is the best — single best — freshman in the league and is poised to become one of the best players in all of BCS basketball,” Miller said. “She’s that talented.”

IU has lost four of its last five games and is now in a four-way tie for ninth in the Big Ten standings.

The Hoosiers were one of four remaining undefeated teams in the nation before beginning to struggle during its last month of play.

Gerardot blamed the recent losses on mental mistakes piling up, but she is confident the Hoosiers can regain the winning form they once had.

“We went 14-0, we know what we are capable of,” Gerardot said. “The difficulty in the Big Ten is you have to have it every moment. You can’t just have it 80 percent of the game. You need to be at your A-game all the time. I think that some of those things are going to have to come together for us to win.”

Follow reporter Sam Beishuizen on Twitter @Sam_Beishuizen.