The road to an NCAA Tournament berth continues Saturday for IU women’s basketball.
Starting with the Northwestern Wildcats, the Hoosiers have two consecutive home games against teams with an RPI ranking higher than themselves. If they expect to be dancing come March, a pair of wins in the next week would help immensely.
IU will look to avenge its January loss against Northwestern on Saturday when the Wildcats come to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for a Big Ten conference matchup.
“All of our seniors — we don’t want it to end. We’re all of the last stretch of being able to put on an Indiana jersey,” IU senior center Jenn Anderson said. “We just want it to go for as long as we can.”
After travel issues and a slow start against Rutgers on Wednesday, IU pulled away in the second half for a win and put itself back in the win column. The Hoosiers sit at 6-5 in the Big Ten standings, which has them right in the thick of things in the middle. IU Coach Teri Moren has talked extensively about stealing games on the road. For the next week, however, they need to protect their home court.
Junior guard Tyra Buss got back on track Wednesday with a 17-point, nine-assist outing. Buss has had struggles lately, but her most recent performance is encouraging for Moren. After being picked to finish third in the Big Ten by coaches and media, the Hoosiers are currently in a tie for sixth in the league. Although they may not be where they want in the standings, there is a lot of season left, Moren said.
“We have to stay positive and keep our eyes looking forward. It’s not the end of our season,” Moren said after a loss to Maryland last week. “We still have a lot left. It’s our job as a staff to make sure our kids know there is a tremendous amount of confidence we have in them and they have to have that in each other.”
The last time these two sides met, the Wildcats played with a lot of emotion because it was the first game they had played since the death of sophomore guard Jordan Hankins. Northwestern won that contest, 80-67, after IU fell behind big early on and could never make up the difference.
Northwestern had five players score in double digits, and the Hoosiers had no real answer for the Wildcats’ paint presence. They outscored the Hoosiers in points in the paint, 44-28. Northwestern senior forward Nia Coffey dominated with 14 points and 14 rebounds.
If the Hoosiers are to have success against a Wildcat team that is 6-4 in the Big Ten, IU will need to control the paint. IU senior Jenn Anderson has asserted her dominance in the post as of late, posting double-digit points in six of her last eight games. In the last game against Northwestern, Anderson had a 17-point outing on eight-of-11 shooting.
“My teammates being able to get me the ball,” Anderson said about her improved play. “I’ve been more going to get offensive rebounds. I’ve been keeping that as a track and being able to get those second and third opportunities that we need.”
With just five regular season games remaining for IU, opportunities for big wins are quickly dwindling. ESPNW’s latest bracketology had IU placed in the “next four out” category, meaning they are one of the eight closest teams outside of the tournament field right now.
“The Michigan and Northwestern games — not that the Rutgers game isn’t important, it is important, they’re all important — but we have to come back and be in front of our fans against Northwestern and Michigan and perform much better,” Moren said.
