IU snaps 22-game Big Ten road losing streak

The streak is over.

IU defeated Illinois 77-58 in Champaign, Ill., on Sunday. The win snaps a streak of 22 consecutive Big Ten losses on the road — a string of defeats that extended back to Feb. 10, 2011.

It’s the first time that a Hoosier team led by IU Coach Curt Miller has won a Big Ten game away from Assembly Hall. 

“It’s one of the monkeys we wanted to get off our backs as a program as I’ve taken over,” he said. “We’re proud to finally stop talking about no road wins for a long time for this program in our building stage.”

Two days after a six-point loss against Northwestern caused Miller to question his team’s confidence, IU opened with one of their best offensive halves of the season.

IU (16-6, 3-6) shot 15-of-29, 51.7 percent, from the field and hit six 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes of play.

A layup from senior forward Simone Deloach, followed by a 3-pointer from freshman guard Taylor Agler, sparked a 17-1 run between the 14:45-10:54 marks in the first half.
 
The 16-point swing gave the Hoosiers a commanding 34-15 lead and, more importantly, confidence.

“Tonight’s key was our start,” Miller said. “We made shots early after the shooting performance that we had in our last game. For us to start that way in the first five or six minutes really gave us more confidence that we could play with this team.”

Both offenses went cold in the closing minutes of the opening half.

The Hoosiers and Illini combined to go nearly four minutes without registering a single point in the closing stretch of the first half, but as the second half got underway, the Hoosier offense heated up once again.

IU went on a 16-5 run to extend its lead to 59-36 with 12 minutes 13 seconds remaining in the game. Their lead would get as high as 26 points after a 3-pointer from Taylor Agler with just under five minutes remaining.

Freshman guard Alexis Gassion shot 8-of-10 from the field — including 4-of-5 from behind the 3-point line — to register a career-high 22 points to lead IU’s offense.

Four Hoosiers scored in double-digits against the Illini (9-13, 2-7). Freshman Larryn Brooks had her second career double-double 16 points and 10 assists. Freshman forward Lyndsay Leikem added 10 points and 10 rebounds to record her first career double-double.

Illinois’ mixture of man-to-man and “Buzz” defenses led to IU turning the ball over 21 times. Miller said IU struggled at times with holding onto the ball, but said the game was an improvement when compared to the 25 turnovers IU had against Illinois last season.

“We weren’t perfect tonight against the ‘Buzz’ defense and their zone,” Miller said. “But we were much better than we were last year.”

IU made up for its inability to hold onto the ball on the glass, out-rebounding Illinois 45-26. Ten of IU’s’ 45 rebounds came on the offensive end, leading to a number of second-chance scoring opportunities to make up for the turnovers.

IU’s win snaps a three-game losing streak during which the team was beaten by an average of 9.3 points per game. IU will return home to Assembly Hall for four of its next five games.

With the Big Ten season far from over, Miller said the win against the Illini gave the Hoosiers a boost of confidence heading down the final stretch of the season. 

“Tonight, against a team that we view ourselves a lot alike — rebuilding — a team in the rebuilding stage, that’s a big win for us,” Miller said.

Follow reporter Sam Beishuizen on Twitter @Sam_Beishuizen.