Hey folks,
Well, IU got one back. The Hoosiers went up to West Lafayette and avenged their loss at home to Purdue in a big way tonight, beating the Boilermakers 66-54. IU had a one-point lead at halftime, and controlled play much of the second half in the win. Though sadly I could not make it up I-65 for tonight's game, your boy Brian Buckey did not have class and made the drive, so he'll have a solid wrap for you in tomorrow's paper. I did, however, make it to Yogi's to catch all the action on the Big Ten Network, and here are some thoughts:
-This goes without saying for anyone who looked at a stat sheet, but Whitney Thomas is an absolute force on the boards. She pulled down 18 rebounds --> that's seven more than any other player and right at half of Purdue's total as a team.
-Free-throw shooting was huge down the stretch. Not only did IU convert 16-of-20 from the line, but the Hoosiers made several clutch free throws in the last seven minutes or so that helped seal the game. Purdue started fouling to get the ball back early, and IU hit 11-of-12 inside the game's last two minutes.
-Though the game stayed low-scoring, the Hoosiers controlled the pace for much of the game, and never let Kiki Freeman or Danielle Campbell - The two players most instrumental in Purdue's six-point win 11 days ago - become major factors. Campbell was scoring down low, but the Hoosiers did a good job of answering her points quickly. The game in Bloomington was basically decided by two Purdue runs, 8-0 and 10-0 (both in the second half), and IU didn't let that happen. They kept their composure even when Purdue turned up the heat defensively at different points in the second half, and they certainly played like the better team overall.
One last thing: I found this just a bit surprising, and perhaps somewhat refreshing, but Purdue coach Sharon Versyp looked (from the angle the Big Ten Network gave me) like she told her players to stop fouling when they were down by 11 with about 35 seconds left. Now you might say her team was still in the game at that point, but the way IU was shooting from the free-throw line, it's highly improbable Purdue would have even sniffed a comeback. Tempers ran hot at points in the game - Campbell and Amber Jackson got into a shoving match that resulted in a technical foul against Jackson - and rather than have her players continue to foul and prolong the game, it appeared Versyp decided to accept the outcome. Although traditional basketball wisdom says there's always a chance for a comeback, I thought it was a classy thing for Versyp to do to let the game go and not drag the game out or risk an injury on either side.
That's about it, below are a couple of links for you, and be sure to check Buckey's story in tomorrow's IDS.
Links:
Box Score (That's the only link for now. Check back later, the good folks at iuhoosiers.com usually get postgame quotes on the site soon after the game.)
