The Women’s Basketball squad came out shooting on Sunday afternoon against #23 Penn State at Assembly Hall, but it wasn’t enough as they faltered in the last minute of the game, losing 80-77.
“I am very proud of these young ladies” said Coach Felisha Legette-Jack. “We played as a unit”
After starting out of the gate with consecutive 3-pointers from Aulani Sinclair, the Hoosiers continued to keep the pressure on Penn State. Senior Jori Davis scored a game high 27 points on 9 of 16 shooting from the field.
At one point early in the first half, Davis, an All Big Ten and All American candidate scored 13 straight points for the Hoosiers.
Seemingly everyone stepped up on Sunday for Indiana. Sinclair finished with 16 points while shooting 4 of 6 from 3-point territory. Whitney Lindsay had 15 and Andrew McGuirt finished with 9. Indiana shot 51 percent from the floor for the game.
Indiana led 43-32 at half, and extended that lead to a game high 13 to start the second half. But Penn State hung on, going on scoring bursts and keeping the game close.
Turnovers and missed shots in the last minute of the game allowed Penn State to take their first lead with 40 seconds remaining in the contest. A breakaway layup in the final seconds stretched Penn State’s lead to three, and finished off the Hoosiers (9-16, 3-9) for the game.
The Nittany Lions (21-6, 10-3) shot 54% from the floor in the game, and a remarkable 57% (11-19) from 3-point range. They had a balanced scoring attack, with 4 players scoring in double figures. Maggie Lucas shot 6-10 from 3-point range for the game, and Julia Trogele had 15 points and 11 assists.
For as balanced and explosive the Hoosiers were on Sunday, Penn State was just one step ahead of them. If there is a such thing as a moral victory for the Indiana squad, they achieved it on Sunday afternoon.
“We played with such energy, such desire to represent Indiana University” said Coach Jack.
The Women’s squad goes on the road to face Michigan (14-10, 7-5) next, on Wednesday night at 7pm. In their last contest, Michigan was defeated by #11 Michigan State 69-56.
