IUWBB Game Preview: Regular Season Wraps Up at Illinois with a 74-60 win (BTN)

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The regular season comes to a close for Indiana Women's Basketball on Saturday when it travels to Illinois. The afternoon contest gets underway at 1 p.m. ET at State Farm Center live on Big Ten Network.

Indiana (19-9, 9-6 B1G) at Illinois (8-20, 3-12 B1G)
Saturday, February 25, 2017 • 1 p.m. ET
State Farm Center (15,500) • Champaign, Ill.
TV Broadcast:BTN (Lisa Byington, Vera Jones)
Radio:IU Radio Network (Greg Murray)
Live Stats:Sidearm
Social Media:Facebook | Twitter

ABOUT THE COACHES
Indiana
Teri Moren
Career Record: 254-167 (14th Season)
Indiana Record: 55-37 (3rd Season)

Illinois
Matt Bollant
Career Record: 342-146 (15th Season)
Illinois Record: 60-92 (5th Season)

20 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Indiana can make program history on Saturday with a win. A win would mark the program's 20th victory of the season, making it back-to-back 20-win season for the first time in program history. The Hoosiers have already solidified an overall winning season, recording the first back-to-back winning campaigns for the program since 2007-08 and 2008-09.

DOUBLE OT
In one of the most thrilling games in recent memory, Indiana pulled off a 80-77 double overtime win over Iowa on Senior Day Wednesday. It marked the first double overtime game in nearly a decade - last going two extra periods in the 2007-08 campaign.

WINNING AT HOME
IU wrapped up play at home in the regular season on Wednesday with a win over Iowa. It pushed the Hoosiers' home court record to 12-2 this season, and secured 10 wins or more for the fourth-consecutive season. It also marks the fifth-consecutive season Indiana has posted a winning record at home including all three seasons under third year head coach Teri Moren .

500 OR MORE
Tyra Buss made another mark in the IU record books on Wednesday, becoming the third player in school history to reach 500 points in back-to-back seasons. Only Jori Davis (2009-10, 2010-11) and Denise Jackson (1981-82, 1982-83) have accomplished that feat for Indiana. In 2015-16, Buss took her scoring to new heights as she turned in the third-best single season performance with 620 points scored in 33 games played. Through 27 games, Buss is just two points away from her 500th point this season as she averages 18.4 points per contest.

CAHILL NAMED TO BIG TEN HONOR ROLL
For the second time this season, junior forward Amanda Cahill earned Big Ten Player of the Week Honor Roll accolades for her performances against Michigan and Nebraska. The Clyde, Ohio native posted back-to-back double-doubles as she averaged 14.5 points and 11.5 rebounds to go along with 3.0 assists per game. She scored 15 points and grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds in the win over No. 20 Michigan and added 14 points and a team-high 11 boards at Nebraska. She also dished out six assists against the Wolverines and her double-doubles are the ninth and 10th of the season. It also ties her for eighth in a single season in double-doubles.

SCORING AS A JUNIOR
Buss - who set the scoring record for most points as a freshman and sophomore - continues to climb the scoring chart for most points through a junior season:
1. Denise Jackson (1,505)
2. Tyra Buss (1,501)
3. Rachelle Bostic (1,389)
4. Jill Chapman (1,346)
5. Cindy Bumgarner (1,311)
6. Karna Abram (1,284)

DOUBLE DIGIT JENN
Senior center Jenn Anderson has made her senior season her best one yet. She's coming off another double figure performance on Wednesday night, where she scored 10 points in the win over Iowa. She has set a new career-high 12 double figure scoring games this season and is shooting a team-high 62.2 percent from the field.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
Cahill recorded her 10th double-double of the season with her 14 points and team-high 11 rebounds at Nebraska. She has recorded 10 of IU's 14 double-doubles of the season and now has a total of 27 in her career - which ranks sixth all-time in school history. She also ranks sixth all-time in double-doubles in Big Ten games as she's recorded 15 in her career.

KEY WIN
The Hoosiers picked up a big win on Feb. 16, when it defeated No. 20 Michigan 72-61. It marked the first win over a ranked opponent this season and first top 50 RPI win for IU. Junior guard Tyra Buss led with 21 points, seven assists and three steals and junior forward Amanda Cahill added a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

OVER RANKED FOES
Indiana beat its fifth ranked opponent under third-year head coach Teri Moren on Feb. 16 when it trumped No. 20 Michigan. In their first three seasons, only one other IU head coach has defeated more ranked foes (Kathi Bennett, 6).

DEFENSIVE EFFORT
Indiana's 66-38 rout of Northwestern on Feb. 11 had not only season implications but historic ones as well. It marked the fewest points allowed by an IU team to its opponent since it gave up 37 points to Wisconsin in 1986. It also marked the largest margin of win in a Big Ten game under third year head coach Teri Moren and the most since it beat Northwestern on Dec. 31, 2007 (+31).

SPREAD THE LOVE
The Hoosiers don't mind spreading the wealth as it passed out at least 18 assists for the 13th time on Wednesday in the win over Iowa. They have hit a season-high 22 assists on three different occasions and have 11 or more assists in every game this season. IU ranks fifth in assists in the Big Ten (16.8 per game) and 21st in the nation.

HOOSIERS IN THE RPI
Coming into Thursday's game, Indiana sits at No. 47 in the NCAA RPI while Illinois comes in at No. 203. Overall, the Big Ten features six teams in the top 50 of the latest RPI.

BUSS CLIMBS THE BOOKS
Buss has now made her way into the top 10 of both assists (4th, 379) and steals (6th, 204). She has scored 1,480 career points and has the potential to become just the second player ever to be on the IU top 10 list in points, steals and assists joining Jamie Braun (2007-10). She needs two points to reach Shirley Bryant's 1,503 career points to move into the top 10 of all-time scoring.

UP NEXT
With official seeding for the tournament determined after Sunday's games, the Hoosiers will compete in the Big Ten Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse March 1-5. Official tournament links can be found on IUHoosiers.com.

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Live stats:
iuhoosiers.com/news/2017/2/24/womens-basketball-iuwbb-game-preview-regular-season-wraps-up-at-illinois-on-saturday-on-big-ten-network.aspx

Go Hoosiers!

 

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IU set for final regular season game at Illinois
by Jake Thomer

After a double-overtime victory inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Senior Day, IU women’s basketball will hit the road and look to avoid a letdown in its final 
regular-season game.

When IU visits Illinois for a 1 p.m. tipoff Saturday, the Hoosiers hope to avoid the result they suffered in their last road game.

A loss to last-place Nebraska last Sunday temporarily put a damper on IU’s NCAA Tournament hopes, but the thrilling victory against Iowa on Wednesday has the Hoosiers at 9-6 in the Big Ten and fully confident in their abilities to finish the 
season strong.

“We know what we’re fighting for,” senior guard Karlee McBride said after Wednesday’s win. “It is 
mental, but then again we just have to go out there and do what we know, play how we play and play for each other.”

McBride has led an uptick in IU’s production from the 3-point line recently by making 11 of 25 from deep in her past four games. Against Iowa, IU made 11 shots from beyond the arc as a team. Illinois has just a 30.3 percent mark from 3 as a team, so winning the shooting battle could be key to IU winning the game.

IU forced 19 turnovers Wednesday. That effort was good enough to push the Hoosiers into first place in the Big Ten in turnover margin with an average of plus 3.8 turnovers per game. IU ran a mix of zone and man defense against Iowa, which was not a departure from Moren’s season-long trend of being willing to switch defensive looks within each game.

“I thought our zone tonight was good to us for a time,” Moren said after beating Iowa. “But then down the stretch we felt like we had to go back to man.”

Senior forward Jenn Anderson made a season-high 10 field goals Wednesday and raised her season scoring average to 9.3 points per game. Defensively, she will be tasked with Illinois sophomore forward and leading scorer Alex Witting, who does the bulk of her damage down low.

Witting averages 14.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, but her 6-foot-1 frame could provide the 6-foot-3 Anderson with an advantageous matchup when IU has the ball. Illinois has no one listed taller than 6-foot-2 on its roster, so expect Moren to emphasize feeding the ball to the post.

Purdue and Michigan State, along with IU, have six Big Ten losses and are battling for the coveted fourth spot in the conference standings that would ensure a double bye through the first two rounds of next week’s Big Ten Tournament that will be played in Indianapolis.

A win for IU against Illinois would guarantee at least a fifth-place finish in the conference, and Moren isn’t worried about needing other teams to lose.

Moren said her squad’s resilience, both throughout the season and in the marathon victory over Iowa, shows what the Hoosiers are capable of.

“Although we’ve had some peaks and valleys, we’re one win away from having a 20-win season,” Moren said. “I don’t know that there are many coaches out there that would not want to have that.”

http://www.idsnews.com/article/2017/02/iu-set-for-final-regular-season-game-at-illinois

Go Hoosiers!

 

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Hoosiers recover slow start and pull away to win. 74-60

Indiana struggled early out and Illinois lead 19-11 after one. The Hoosiers/Illini contest was a bit of back and forth runs in the second Qtr. IU's shooting and the defense solidified throughout the half. The halftime score was 35-33, Hoosiers.
The Hoosiers started strong after the halftime, and extended the score to 51-41 after 3 quarters. IU showed some good passing and ball movement after the ugly start; showed a much more determined focus. Indiana continued to play well and prevailed in a 74-60 win. This win gave IU a chance to have the 4th place spot in the B10 depending on tomorrow's outcomes in the conference.
CTM used her bench early as 11 players saw game time (7 scored) and 6 saw double digit minutes. Royster played 15 minutes off the bench and made a contribution, while scoring 6 points and other boxscore moments. Wickware had 4 boards in 5 minutes of play. Buss and Cahill collected double-doubles.
IU shot just over 41.7% while UI shot 33.3%; IU had advantages in rebounds 46/28, assists 17/8; UI had advantages in TOs 13/14 and fouls 16/20.

Points: Buss-21, McBride-15, Cahill-13, and Anderson-1
Rebounds: Cahill-15, Buss-11, Gassion-5 and Wickware-4
Assists: Gassion-5 Buss & Cahill-4 and McBride-3

Boxscore:
http://iuhoosiers.com/boxscore.aspx?path=wbball&id=11951

Go Hoosiers!

 

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Second Half Pushes Indiana Past Illinois, 74-60; Secures Back-to-Back 20-Win Seasons

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Juniors Amanda Cahill and Tyra Buss both turned in double-doubles as Indiana used a strong second half to push past Illinois, 74-60, on Saturday afternoon inside State Farm Center.

The win gives the Hoosiers a 20-9 overall record (10-6 B1G) to end the regular season, marking the first back-to-back 20 win seasons in program history.

Buss led IU with 21 points and grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds to go along with four assists while Cahill grabbed a season-high 15 board and contributed 13 points. Senior guard Karlee McBride also hit a career-high five 3-pointers for 15 points in the win while senior center Jenn Anderson reached double figures as well with 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting.

Indiana shot 44.4 percent on the afternoon and also winning on the glass, 48-26. They were also fueled by nine 3-pointers and an 88.2 percent (15-for-17) clip from the free throw line.

It was a tale of two quarters in the first half for Indiana, who were outscored by the Illini (8-21, 3-13 B1G) 19-11 in the opening period. The opening frame included a scoreless streak for over three minutes and without a field goal for over four as IU shot just 22.2 percent to open the game. Indiana finally found its rhythm on the offensive end in the second quarter as back-to-back three pointers from McBride helped cut the deficit down to six with 6:30 to play.

Before it was all said and done, IU would use a 24-8 run to take its first lead of the game with just 22 ticks left in the quarter senior guard Amber Deane hit a pair at the line. It was part of a six-straight at the charity stripe, to go up 35-33 at halftime.

Buss would score on the Hoosiers' opening possession of the third quarter, as they would combine to go 48.1 percent in the second half. IU used a 16-8 advantage in the third quarter, going 56.5 percent from the floor to take a 51-41 lead into the fourth. A second-chance opportunity for Cahill gave Indiana its largest lead of the day, 59-43, with less than three minutes off the clock in the final frame, as IU cruised to its sixth-straight win over the Illini.

NOTABLE
Indiana closes the regular season with a 20-9 overall record, marking the first back-to-back 20-win seasons in school history. Indiana went 21-12 in 2015-16.
Junior guard Tyra Buss made history yet again as she became the second player all-time to register in the top 10 of career points, assists and steals. She has now scored 1,522 career points, which ranks 10th all-time in school history.
Buss also posted her second double-double of the season and sixth of her career.
Junior forward Amanda Cahill recorded her 11th double-double of the season, with a 13 point and season-high 15 rebound performance. It also marked the 28th career double-double for the Clyde, Ohio native.
Senior guard Karlee McBride hit five 3-pointers in the win, setting a new career-high.
Indiana dished out 17 assists on 25 made shots, including a game-high five for senior guard Alexis Gassion
The win is the sixth-straight in the series with the Fighting Illini, dating back to the 2013-14 season.
UP NEXT
Indiana will have to wait on tomorrow's league results to see whether it will be a will be the No. 4 seed or No. 5 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament March 1-5 in Indianapolis.

Follow #IUWBB
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Boxscore within:
http://iuhoosiers.com/news/2017/2/2...4-60-secures-back-to-back-20-win-seasons.aspx

Go Hoosiers!

 

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IU keeps pushing for NCAA Tournament bid in win
by Josh Eastern

IU Coach Teri Moren said coming into Saturday's road contest against the Illinois Fighting Illini that it was a must win game.

IU followed a big win over Michigan last week with a loss to last-place Nebraska. After beating Iowa on Wednesday, IU was in a familiar place with a game against lowly Illinois on Saturday to end the regular season. Moren said if her team hadn’t learned their lesson after Nebraska, she didn’t know when they would.

Despite not gaining full control of the game until the second half, IU was able to avoid another poor loss and knocked off Illinois 74-60 at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois.

“We learned a lot from our loss at Nebraska,” IU junior guard Tyra Buss said on Big Ten Network’s broadcast after the game. “Whenever you play on the road, Big Ten especially, you have to come with that energy and that toughness.”

The Hoosiers were slow out of the gate and trailed after the first quarter, similarly to last weekend. IU ultimately fought back and had a slim lead at half. In the third quarter, IU extended its lead out to 11, its highest of the game at that point. From there they coasted.

The Hoosiers have struggled shooting on the road for much of the season. Early on Saturday, that trend continued. IU shot just 22 percent in the first quarter and were zero-for-seven from behind the arc. The struggles felt similar to the ones experienced against Nebraska - the shot selection wasn’t that bad for the Hoosiers, but the shots weren’t falling.

Once the second quarter started, IU senior Karlee McBride displayed her signature ability to get hot from deep in a flash.

In the midst of a 15-2 run, McBride knocked down two second quarter shots from behind the arc to get the Hoosiers back in the game. The senior finished with 15 points and made five 3-pointers while only attempting one shot from inside the arc.

IU ended the day shooting 42 percent on 25-of-60 shooting. From behind the arc, the Hoosiers weren’t afraid to let it fly. They were 9-of-24 good for 38 percent.

“I thought once again, Karlee showed a tremendous amount of leadership in the huddle and then she came down and in transition and hit a big 3,” Moren told reporters after the game.

Moren has been trying to preach a winning mentality for much of the season. The expectations were there early in the season, and IU will likely end up as the five seed in the Big Ten Tournament

The team will need to continue to play the type of winning basketball they have in the last two games in order to solidify a spot in the NCAA Tournament field of 64.

“We felt like our shots were going to end up falling for us,” Moren said on BTN after the game. “Give our kids credit, they figured it out. It was a slow start early, but we just started to get it done defensively.”

http://www.idsnews.com/article/2017/02/iu-keeps-pushing-for-ncaa-tournament-bid-in-win

Go Hoosiers!