IUWBB GAME PREVIEW: Takes On SMU In WNIT Thursday Night: IU wins 64-44

[snowling]

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The postseason continues for Indiana Women's Basketball on Thursday night when it plays host to SMU in the WNIT Third Round. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall with the game also shown live on BTN Plus.

Indiana (22-10) vs. SMU (19-14)
Thursday, March 23, 2017 • 7 p.m. ET
Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) • Bloomington, Ind.
TV Broadcast:BTN Plus
Radio:WHCC 105.1 FM (Greg Murray)
Live Stats:Sidearm
Social Media:Facebook | Twitter
Tickets: $6 adults, $4 youth (18 and under) | IU students get in for free with student ID
Promotions: First 1,000 fans get a free t-shirt | youth ticket holders receive a free soft drink

ABOUT THE COACHES
Indiana
Teri Moren
Career Record: 257-168 (14th Season)
Indiana Record: 58-38 (3rd Season)

SMU
Travis Mays
Career Record: 19-14 (1st Season)
SMU Record: Same

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
SMU earned a trip to the WNIT Third Round with a 59-52 win over Abilene Christian on Monday night. Under first year head coach Travis Mays, the Mustangs finished sixth (7-9 overall) in the American Athletic Conference and fell to South Florida in the league tournament. They are also a combined 3-9 on the road this season. Junior forward Alicia Froling leads with 14.2 points and 10.0 rebounds per game while junior guard McKenzie Adams averages 12.4 points per ball game as SMU is averaging 59.2 points per game this season

SERIES HISTORY
Indiana leads the series, 1-0
Last Meeting: 11/24/94 - W, 69-63 (Lincoln, Neb.)

HOOSIERS IN THE POSTSEASON
Indiana returns to the postseason for the second-straight year and third time in four years as it makes an appearance in the WNIT third round. IU is 11-7 overall in the tournament, which is in its 19th year, and 7-1 overall when playing inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. It also marks the 14th overall postseason appearance for IU who also has five NCAA Tournament berths (1983, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2016) and one NWIT appearance (1991). Prior to the NCAA, IU made an AIAW Final Four appearance in 1973 and two AIAW Elite Eight appearances in 1972 and 1974.

ALL-TIME SENIOR CLASS
With Thursday's win, the four-year senior class of Jenn Anderson, Karlee McBride and Alexis Gassion earned its 78th victory - the most of any four-year class in program history. IU previously had two classes that reached 77 wins, from 1978-82 which featured no four-year seniors and again from 2005-09 with the class of Whitney Thomas, Kim Roberson and Amber Jackson.

ANOTHER EXCLUSIVE CLUB
Junior forward Amanda Cahill reached career milestone in the second round win over Saint Louis by scoring her 1,300th point and 800th rebound. She's the fifth ever player to reach those career numbers and the first since Jill Chapman did it in her career (1998-02).

MOST WINS
Indiana made history on Sunday, notching its 22nd win of the season which is a new program record for wins in a single season. IU records back-to-back 21 win seasons for the first time in program history and the seventh time its posted 21 wins or more. IU's double-digit wins in Big Ten play (10) are also the first back-to-back double figure victories for IU since 2007-08 and 2008-09. IU has also solidified an overall winning season, recording the first back-to-back winning campaigns for the program since 2007-08 and 2008-09.

WINNING AT HOME
IU's win over Ball State pushed its home court record to 14-2 this season, tying a program record for wins in a season at Simon Skjodt Assembly hall. It also marks the fourth time in school history Indiana has won 14 games at home (2015-16, 2013-14, 1997-98). IU also 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.

MOST POINTS
The Hoosiers have another chance at team history on Thursday night, needing just 66 points to tie the single season record for points scored, IU has scored 2,426 points - only second-most to the 2,492 points scored in 1980-81. Indiana's offense has ranked in the top 10 in program history in each year of third-year head coach Teri Moren's leadership:
• 2014-15: 2,229 points (71.9 ppg.) - 6th in a single season
• 2015-16: 2,361 points (71.5 ppg.) - 3rd in a single season
• 2016-17: 2,426 (75.8 ppg.) - 2nd in a single season

600 OR MORE
Tyra Buss closes in on her 600th point of the season heading into Thursday's game, which would notch her name another place in the IU record books. She would become the first player to ever record back-to-back 600 point seasons and just the fifth time its ever happened in program history. Buss is following up a 620-point performance in 2015-16 which ranks third on the single season scoring list. Karna Abram (642, 626) holds the top two spots on the list.

KARLEE MCBUCKETS
Senior guard Karlee McBride continues to do what she does best - hit threes. She is moving her way up the all-time 3-point field goals made list with 171 made triples which ranks sixth all-time. Her 509 attempts are also the third most by a player in school history. She has hit 53 beyond the arc this season and 14 games with multiple makes.

BUSS CLIMBS THE BOOKS
Buss became just the second player to ever register in the top 10 of points, steals and assists at Indiana as she hit the top 10 in scoring in the regular season finale against Illinois. She has scored 1,572 career points (ninth all-time) and has recorded 393 assists (fourth) and 212 steals (fifth) in her career.

UP NEXT
The winner of Thursday's game will face either James Madison or Villanova in the WNIT Quarterfinals March 25-27.

Follow Indiana Women's Basketball on Facebook, Twitter

#GoIU

http://iuhoosiers.com/news/2017/3/2...n-smu-in-wnit-third-round-thursday-night.aspx

Go Hoosiers!

 

[snowling]

IU takes on SMU in WNIT Round of 16
by Jake Thomer

As IU enters its third game of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament, new contributors have emerged for the Hoosiers at what could be just the right time.

When IU welcomes SMU to Bloomington for a 7 p.m. tipoff Thursday night, it will be the 33rd game of the season for the Hoosiers. For a team that gets more than 75 percent of its scoring from starters, any bench player who can be productive becomes more important as the season wears on.

With four forwards that stand six-foot-two or taller, SMU’s height will likely require IU Coach Teri Moren to use a pair of reserve forwards, freshman Darby Foresman and sophomore Kym Royster, more than usual. Both have seen a fair amount of action in the past few games, and Royster in particular has taken advantage of her postseason playing time.

Through the first two games of the WNIT, which saw IU take down Ball State and Saint Louis, Royster has scored 10 points, gathered nine rebounds and committed just two fouls in 27 
minutes of play.

“It gives me a lot of confidence, especially coming out of a slump toward the end of the season,” Royster said. “Playing with the upperclassmen and people that have been around, that helps with my confidence.”

SMU brings a 19-14 record into the matchup with IU, which is 22-10. If SMU is to win Thursday’s game, it will likely do so by relying on its defense. The Mustangs score 16 points per game fewer than the Hoosiers, so IU’s season average of 75.8 points per game gives the Hoosiers an edge if the game turns into a shootout.

The Mustangs will seek to prevent the Hoosiers from getting anywhere near 75 points by using their elite rim protection. SMU has the 12th-most blocks among NCAA teams this season, with four different Mustangs averaging more than a block per game. SMU has 185 rejections so far this year, while IU has just 86 blocks and not a single player who averages one per game.

A battle of star junior forwards could decide Thursday’s game because IU’s Amanda Cahill and SMU’s Alicia Froling will face off in the paint. Cahill averages 15.1 points and nine rebounds per game, while Froling leads the Mustangs with 14.2 points and 10 rebounds per game. Moren said although it will be important for Cahill to defend Froling well, it will be far more important to keep Cahill out of foul trouble.

Defensively, Moren said she doesn’t plan to change anything despite the fact that SMU also has two centers that have several inches on IU’s senior center Jenn Anderson.

“We won’t adjust to them,” Moren said. “We’re going to stay with what we’ve been doing and how we’ve been playing. I feel, again, really comfortable about the scouting report or the prep that we’ve done.”

Though the Hoosiers aren’t in the NCAA Tournament like they were last season, Moren pointed out her team has still advanced further into the postseason this year than last, when it bowed out in the second round of last season’s NCAA Tournament.

Moren’s team has gotten where it is by staying true to itself, and she said the opponent will never change the styles of her team. With such a high-scoring bunch, it’s clear what that style will be for IU on Thursday night.

“Obviously we want to play fast, so we’re going to try to dictate that as much as we can as far as our tempo and our pace,” Moren said. “If it’s a slow pace, that doesn’t bode well for us.”

http://www.idsnews.com/article/2017/03/iu-takes-on-smu-in-wnit-round-of-16

Go Hoosiers!

 

[snowling]

Radio:
http://whcc105.com/

Live stats:
http://sidearmstats.com/indiana/wbball/

Go Hoosiers!

 

[snowling]

IU, 12-4 after 1 Qtr

IU, 27-17 at the half

IU, 43-27 after 3 Qtrs

Final: IU wins going away, 64-44


Go Hoosiers!

 

[snowling]

Hoosiers Advance To Quarterfinals Of WNIT With Win Over SMU

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – A solid defensive effort made way for the Indiana Women's Basketball on Thursday night, defeating SMU, 64-44, in the third round of the WNIT. The Hoosiers advance to the quarterfinals and will host Villanova on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Senior guard Karlee McBride lit up from three, hitting four triples on the night en route to leading Indiana with 17 points, five rebounds and two assists. Junior forward Amanda Cahill also chipped in 10 points and narrowly missed a double-double as she grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

Seven different players scored in the win, with eight points each from junior guard Tyra Buss, senior guard Alexis Gassion and senior center Jenn Anderson. Anderson also grabbed eight rebounds while Gassion distributed a game-high nine assists.

For the third straight game, Indiana held its opponent to under sixty points as the Mustangs shot just 28.3 percent. It also marked the fourth time this season the Hoosiers gave up less than 50 points.

IU (23-10) shot 44.4 percent from the floor and 42.1 percent from three-point range, knocking down eight on the night. It also held the advantage on the glass, 42-29, and dished out a combined 19 assists on 24 made field goals.

Both teams struggled offensively in the first quarter, as Buss' 3-pointer was the difference maker at the first media timeout with Indiana up 5-4. IU picked up the intensity to close the quarter on a 10-0 run and take a 12-4 lead after one quarter.

The Hoosiers would lead by as many as 17 in the opening half, after a feed from Gulley found Buss open on the three-point line. SMU (19-15) would counter with a run of its own, closing the second quarter on a 10-3 run as Indiana took a 27-17 advantage at the break.

SMU would cut it to under double figures with the first basket of the third quarter, before McBride and Cahill responded with back-to-back three pointers with 7:12 to play. Indiana would maintain at least a 12-point lead throughout the remainder of the third, taking a 43-27 lead. Indiana would score a game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter as it cruised easily to its 10th 20-point win of the season.

QUOTABLE
Head coach Teri Moren

"Just off the top of my head, I didn't think it was probably one our cleanest game offensively. Especially going to into halftime turning the ball over 11 times. That was obviously a point of discussion with the crew at halftime. Sometime, you have to win ugly and I thought that was the case tonight. It didn't seem like we had any kind of rhythm, especially in the first quarter. But, we had moments where we scored the ball when we needed to. We got the ball in the right people's hands and made things happen. What I was really happy with was defensively. I thought we guarded really well. Anytime we had an opportunity, whether it was a timeout, there was very little discussion on how we were play defensibly. I thought we were playing tremendous. We are always talking about offensive efficiency and ball security. Really happy that we continue to move on and advance. We're at home on Sunday. Another great crowd for us tonight that turned out in support of our players. That says something about how they feel about these players. We are very grateful and appreciate them. I'm sure a lot of them will continue to come out Sunday and I'd encourage them to bring people with them."

NOTABLE
With the win the Hoosiers advance to the quarterfinals of the WNIT, where they will take on Villanova on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Indiana improves to 23-10 on the season to extend their record of wins in a season with 23.
The Hoosiers are now 12-7 all-time in the WNIT, including a mark of 9-1 in home games.
Indiana won their 15th game at home to set a program record for home wins in a season. The Hoosiers are 15-2 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall this season.
The last time the Hoosiers reached the quarterfinals of the WNIT was their last appearance in the WNIT in the 2013-14 season.
The Hoosiers held an opponent under 50 points for the fourth time this season and under 60 point for the 11 time this season. This season the Hoosiers are 11-0 when they hold an opponent under 60 points.
Indiana outrebounded SMU 42-29. The Hoosiers are 18-4 this season when they outrebound their opponent.
The Hoosiers tallied 19 assists on 24 field goals. Indiana has recorded 18 or more assists in 14 games this season.
Indiana held SMU to 17-of-60 from the field (28.3 percent). For the WNIT (three games) the Hoosiers have not allowed an opponent to shoot over 40 percent.
Indiana held SMU to one 1-of-15 shooting from the field in the first quarter. The Hoosiers closed the first period on a 10-0 run to take a 12-4 lead after the first quarter.
The four points scored by SMU in the first period are the 15th time this season Indiana has held an opponent in single digits for points in a quarter.
From the 5:24 mark of the first quarter until the 7:07 mark of the second quarter (eight minutes and 17 seconds of game time) Indiana held SMU with any points.
The Hoosiers have now scored 2,490 points this season. They are three points from setting a new program record for team points in a season.
Indiana led 27-17 at halftime. For the third time this season the Hoosiers held an opponent under 20 points for a half.
Karlee McBride led the Hoosiers with a season-high 17 points and just one point shy of her career-high of 18. McBride connected on 4-of-9 from 3-point range. It was her ninth game this season hitting at least three 3-point field goals.
Alexis Gassion tied a career-high with nine assists. Gassion added eight points and seven rebounds.
Jenn Anderson and Tyra Buss scored eight points apiece for the Hoosiers.
Buss (598 points) is two points from becoming the first player in program history to record 600 points in back-to-back season. She scored 620 last season. Buss has 1,580 career points, which ranks ninth in school history for all-time scoring.
With her four assists in the game Buss moved into third on the Hoosiers all-time single season list and now has 155. She has 397 career assists which ranks third on the all-time list for career assists.

UP NEXT
Indiana will host Villanova in the WNIT quarterfinals on Sunday at 2 p.m. inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Follow Indiana Women's Basketball on Facebook, Twitter

#GoIU

Boxscore within:
http://iuhoosiers.com/news/2017/3/2...erfinals-of-wnit-with-win-over-smu-64-44.aspx

Go Hoosiers!

 

[snowling]

Defense carries IU to WNIT round of 16 win
by Jake Thomer

IU women's basketball continued rolling through the Women's National Invitation Tournament on Thursday night by relying on defense for the third game in a row.

The Hoosiers haven't allowed more than 58 points in a game on their run to the quarterfinals of the 64-team WNIT, but Thursday's game in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall featured a lockdown performance that has rarely been seen from IU's defense this season.

Playing SMU, the Hoosiers were willing to let the Mustangs shoot themselves out of the game, and IU coasted to a 64-44 win while holding its opponent to just 28.3-percent shooting.

SMU is a notoriously low-scoring and slow-paced squad and entered the game averaging fewer than 60 points per game, which caused IU to come out of the gates sluggish as well.

IU Coach Teri Moren said despite the fact her team played down to the level of the Mustangs in the early going, the Hoosiers' defense was consistently sharp.

"What I was really, really happy with, though, was defensively," Moren said. "I thought we guarded really well. I thought we were playing tremendous."

Moren said the discussions during timeouts barely mentioned the defensive side of the ball. Her team knew exactly what to do and when to do it, she said. In the first half in particular, it showed.

SMU came out of the gates with a dismal 1-15 shooting performance in the first quarter and scored just four points in the opening frame. The Mustangs didn't make a 3-pointer until the final frame, when they unleashed a barrage of four consecutive 3s that made the game interesting, but only slightly.

IU never led by fewer than double digits in the second half and continued to pressure SMU both in and out of the paint. Four Mustangs are listed at six-foot-two or taller, and junior forward and leading scorer Alicia Froling is one of them, so the Hoosiers relied on a trio of forwards to stop the SMU post players.

Senior Jenn Anderson, sophomore Kym Royster and freshman Darby Foresman each played at least 16 minutes in the victory and held SMU's three tallest players to just 20 points combined. Moren said she was impressed with the way her team played in the low block.

"Those are some big kids, so you were going to give up some points, but I thought for the most part, we kept Froling pretty well in check throughout the night," Moren said.

The 44 points allowed were the third-fewest in any game this season for IU, which gave up just 37 in a win against Presbyterian in November and 38 in a February victory against Northwestern.

Even with SMU's four made 3-pointers that sparked a 17-point fourth quarter, IU was able to keep its opponents at bay by matching the tempo in a fast-paced final period. Both teams produced their highest scoring totals in the fourth. The Hoosiers put up 21 points to put the game away for good.

Senior guard Alexis Gassion said IU followed the gameplan well against SMU and came into the game knowing the Mustangs would likely do most of their damage down low.

When the Villanova Wildcats visit the Hoosiers at 2 p.m. Sunday for a quarterfinal matchup, expect IU to continue to rely on its defense.

"That really boosts our self-esteem," Gassion said. "Defense leads to offense, so once we play that great defense that leads into our transition."

http://www.idsnews.com/article/2017/03/defense-carries-iu-to-wnit-round-of-16-win

Go Hoosiers!