The Hoosiers started off the Big Ten schedule with a victory to win their seventh straight game overall, thanks in part to its big three: senior Alexis Gassion and juniors Amanda Cahill and Tyra Buss.
Those three carried the load throughout the nonconference slate. In the Big Ten opener against the Penn State Nittany Lions, Cahill, Buss and Gassion were the only Hoosiers in double figures.
Behind co-game high of 26 points from Buss, IU (11-3, 1-0) dispatched Penn State (10-3, 0-1), 89-70, Wednesday at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pennsylvania.
Things got off to a bit of a slow start for IU. They trailed by two after the first quarter, but after that, they turned on the jets. The Hoosiers took a bit of time to get into the game, but once they did, there was no turning back.
In the second quarter, the Hoosiers outscored the Nittany Lions by 13 and held an 11-point lead heading into the half. After three quarters, the lead was up to 22 points.
Buss led IU in points. The other part of the big three in Gassion and Cahill also contributed to the effort. Cahill finished with 20 points and eight rebounds while Gassion had 14 points and eight boards.
Throughout the nonconference slate, the field goal percentage has been one stat that has stayed fairly consistent. Wednesday was more of the same. They shot 57 percent compared to Penn State’s 42 percent.
Penn State turned the ball over 19 times Wednesday. The Hoosiers turned those turnovers into 26 points, 14 more than Penn State did with IU’s 18 turnovers.
They now will return home and put their long home win streak on the line Saturday when a ranked Ohio State team comes to Assembly Hall.
