The Hoosiers led for the majority of the game. With 2:52 to go, freshman Amanda Cahill hit a jump shot to put the Hoosiers up by five. Minnesota then went on an 11-2 run, taking its first lead with 1:18 to play, in the final minutes to avoid the upset.
The last two minutes included two big IU turnovers. One led to a 3-pointer to give Minnesota a one-point lead. Then, with 13 seconds left, still down one, IU had a chance to win the game but gave the ball away on an errant inbounds pass.
But on her radio show Monday night, Moren was more critical of how she and her coaching staff managed the final two minutes of the game than her players.
“There’s a lot of different things that we could’ve changed,” Moren said. “But I know this, going down the road with our young basketball team, I need to use more of my timeouts, just getting them on the sidelines and coaching them through critical possessions and helping them through those situations versus just relying on our freshmen and sophomores to make some of those critical decisions.”
It was only the second time all season the Hoosiers have been in a game decided by four points or less. The other was a 65-61 loss to Indiana State in overtime, IU’s only non-conference loss.
Prior to that game Nov. 30, IU was winning by an average margin of 39.6 points per game.
Since then, whether it’s a win or loss, they haven’t played a game decided by less than nine points, with an average win/loss margin of 24.5 points.
Sunday’s game presented a situation the Hoosiers weren’t familiar with — and they faced it against the No. 23 team in the country. Looking back at film, Moren said she learned a lot following the game about different ways to handle the situation in the future, especially with a young team.
“It’s just disappointing that for 38 minutes we’re in control,” Moren said. “You go up five with two minutes to go, you’re supposed to win those games. The next time that situation is in front of us, we need to go attack it, grasp it and win the darn thing.”
After each loss, Moren gives her players 24 hours to think before turning their attention to the upcoming opponent.
The Hoosiers will look to bounce back Thursday against Penn State, a team that has yet to win a conference game this season.
“(Penn State) is going to win a game,” Moren said. “It just won’t be against the Hoosiers.”
