As sophomore guard Jaelynn Penn rose up for a three-pointer with 1:10 left in the game, it felt automatic.
When the shot swished through the hoop — her sixth three-pointer made on the night— it was the dagger that capped off a 70-60 win for IU at home Thursday night against Michigan.
Penn lead the way for her team most of the night, scoring a career high 28 points on 9-17 shooting. Whether it was from the wings or from the corners, Michigan had no answers for Penn’s shooting behind the arc, where she went 6-7.
“I’ve got to credit my teammates for giving me good chances and executing the plays right,” Penn said. “Always having confidence in yourself, and it helps because my coaches and my teammates have confidence in me too.”
The night started with junior forward Brenna Wise getting herself and the team out to a hot start. Wise scored 11 in the opening frame, but foul trouble began to limit her minutes the remainder of the game.
That’s when Penn stepped up. Thirteen of Penn’s 28 points and three of her shots from deep came in the second quarter to secure a 39-36 lead going into halftime.
“When she takes her time, she’s been more accurate versus rushing her outside shot,” IU Coach Teri Moren said. “What was great was in the timeout, I think everybody sensed it and felt it.”
Penn has been dealing with an ankle injury that made it tougher for her to produce on offense consistently at the start of the season. Moren said the ankle is still bothering Penn, but that has not stopped her from scoring double figures in eight straight games.
And junior point guard Ali Patberg continued to look for the hot hand to help herself collect 11 assists.
“AP just looking at Jaelynn, saying ‘You’re hot,’” Moren said. “Jaelynn’s playing through pain right now. She stepped up in a big way.”
The night for Penn came after she was unable to convert on two late chances in Sunday’s 56-53 loss at Purdue.
But the loss only made Penn and her teammates more excited to bounce back and pick up a home win.
“We were all anxious to get out here and get this ‘W,’” Penn said.
Penn and her teammates will look to turn a two-game losing streak into a two-game winning streak at noon Sunday, but it will not be easy.
The team’s next game is Sunday at 12 p.m. against No. 11 Maryland in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
