IU women’s basketball has been plagued with inconsistencies the past few weeks, and it has lost three road games already this season. Turnovers, defense and 3-point shooting have all been occasional points of weakness for the Hoosiers.
The one thing that has been consistent for IU is the play of junior guard Tyra Buss. Her season average of 21 points per game leads the team. However, in the last six games, she has taken her game to the next level by tallying about 24 points and three steals per contest.
Buss’ shooting splits have skyrocketed in recent games as well. In that same six-game span, she has made 17 of 36 3-pointers and 36 of 41 free throws, good for 47 percent from deep and 88 percent from the line. Buss said repeatedly during the preseason she put in extra work to improve her jump shot, and now she says the work is paying off.
“During the preseason I really got a lot of shots up, and during the summer I really got a lot of threes up, so it’s really just paid off throughout the season so far,” Buss said. “I struggled a little bit my freshman year and last year, but I’m just a lot more comfortable shooting the 3 now, and I’m a lot more confident with it.”
In the Hoosiers’ first home game since the day before Thanksgiving, IU welcomes Northern Kentucky to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for a 7 p.m. tipoff on Thursday, where Buss figures to be the catalyst like always. The Hoosiers haven’t lost in Assembly Hall this season, and have a 17-game win streak at home dating back to last season.
IU Coach Teri Moren emphasized the importance of Buss’s strong showings. She noted they have been the only thing keeping IU close in its losses. In a loss against NC State last week, Buss poured in 38 points.
With a road win at North Texas on Tuesday, IU moved to 5-3. Moren said Buss will need help in the scoring column if IU hopes to keep winning. A three-game home stand will hopefully help that, Moren said.
First up in the home stand is Northern Kentucky, which is just 2-5 on the season and doesn’t have a double-digit scorer. Four upperclassmen, led by junior forward Kasey Uetrecht, who averages 9.6 points per game, average more than 30 minutes per game. Senior forward Rebecca Lyttle is the team’s leading rebounder with 7.7 boards per game.
Northern Kentucky is led by first-year coach Camryn Whitaker, so Moren said the team’s struggles this season are understandable.
“The first year’s always difficult, and she’s trying to get them to play the way she wants them to play, so I think there’s been some peaks and valleys with that,” Moren said. “They’re not scoring a lot of points, but they have players with potential to get hot if you allow it.”
Moren said her team has been honing in on defense in practice. The Hoosiers allowed more than 80 points in two of their losses. Northern Kentucky averages fewer than 50 points per game and shoots about 33 percent from the field, so the matchup should present a good opportunity for the IU defense to capitalize.
“We’re just happy to be home, because it’s been a long couple weeks,” Moren said. “We had two very difficult defeats on the road against two great teams in Auburn and NC State. It’s always challenging on the road, but we’re super excited to be back.”
