Senior forward Kym Royster got deep post position just 24 seconds into IU’s 75-68 win against Wisconsin on Sunday. She was fed the ball, made a move and scored.
Twenty-nine seconds later, junior forward Brenna Wise drilled a 3-pointer and 32 seconds after that sophomore guard Jaelynn Penn nailed a three.
Just like that the Hoosiers were out to an 8-2 lead on 3-3 shooting. It looked as if it was going to be one of those quarters — one where every shot seems to fall.
A few minutes later Wisconsin knotted the score at 13 — perhaps it wasn’t going to be one of those quarters.
IU was fresh off a game in which it was out hustled and outperformed by an inferior Ohio State team, posting its lowest point total on the year with just 50 points.
The Hoosiers had been in this position before, though. After losing by three to a one-win Grambling State University team on Dec. 20, IU bounced back the next day and defeated a one-loss University of South Dakota team by eight points.
In the game against South Dakota, IU was outscored in the first quarter 22-13. On Sunday, tied with Wisconsin at 13, IU made sure that didn’t happen again.
With a barrage of 3-pointers and a fast-paced offense, the Hoosiers went on a 24-1 run to end the quarter to take a 37-14 lead.
The 37 points were the highest scoring output by the Hoosiers in any quarter this season. It was also more points than IU scored in the first three quarters combined in the loss to Ohio State.
“I thought we were rolling,” assistant coach Janese Constantine said in an interview with IU Athletics after the game. “It was just nice to see us get off to a great start, especially coming off a loss you always want to see how your team is going to respond and I thought our team did a great job.”
In those first 10 minutes, IU hit 14 of 17 shots, went 6-of-7 from behind the 3-point line and knocked down 3-3 free throws. IU committed just one turnover in the quarter.
The Hoosiers’ performance in the next three quarters was subpar, but the cushion that first quarter built was enough to give IU its 15th win of the season and fourth in Big Ten.
“That first quarter was really good for us,” Moren said in an interview with IU Athletics after the game. “To come out and hit shots the way we did was really important to gaining that lead and hanging on to it.”
It was definitely one of those quarters.
