For two consecutive road wins the IU women’s basketball team has used a second-half surge to pick up much-needed victories.
At Wisconsin last Sunday, IU needed a 21-3 fourth quarter run to pull away and secure the victory. When Rutgers had an early lead against IU on Wednesday, it became apparent the Hoosiers would need a performance similar to the one they delivered last week if they hoped to get above .500 in conference play.
IU made its run a bit earlier Wednesday by using a 19-10 third quarter advantage to get out in front of Rutgers and pull away to finish with a 63-52 win at the Rutgers Athletic Center to move to 6-5 in the Big Ten.
Assistant coach Janese Banks said Rutgers presented matchup challenges across the board for IU with strong and fast players at nearly every position.
She blamed the poor start on the Hoosiers being thrown out of rhythm early.
“They are so athletic,” Banks said on the postgame radio show on WHCC 105.1 FM. “I mean, this is the most athletic team from player personnel that we’ve played all season. I mean they can run, jump and fly around.”
Rutgers entered the game with the Big Ten’s lowest-scoring offense at just 52 points per game. They equaled that total against IU and shot 43.3 percent from the floor.
Banks said the coaching staff was disappointed with IU’s defensive performance against Maryland on Sunday, when the Hoosiers allowed 92 points.
The 52 points allowed to Rutgers on Wednesday were the fewest points IU has allowed in a Big Ten game this season.
“We were very disappointed in our defensive effort after that Maryland game, and we kind of called them out about it,” Banks said. “But I thought our girls, for the most part, followed the game plan very well here.”
The Hoosiers shot less than 40 percent from the floor in the first half and were just three of nine from 3-point range.
The 36 points IU scored in the second half, however, raised its field goal percentage to 43.4 percent for the game. The Hoosiers had their biggest advantage against the Scarlet Knights at the free throw line. IU made 13 free throws to Rutgers’ three.
Junior forward Amanda Cahill was IU’s leading scorer for the third game in a row. She had 20 points to go along with seven rebounds in 39 minutes of play.
Junior guard Tyra Buss added 17 points after seeing her 59-game streak of scoring in double digits end on Sunday in a loss to Maryland.
Buss made her living at the charity stripe, going nine of 11 from the line.
IU has just five Big Ten games left in the season and is one of five teams in the conference with six league wins. Banks said Wednesday’s game was important, and each game will only pick up more importance as the regular season winds down.
“It’s going to be about what teams want it, what teams grind it out,” Banks said. “Because everybody knows everybody, everybody’s done their scouting report.”
