#IUWBB Preview: Florida Sunshine Classic

THE OPENING TIP
Indiana will travel to Winter Park, Fla., just outside Orlando, to play in the 2015 Florida Sunshine Classic hosted by Rollins College. The Hoosiers will play two games in the showcase, beginning with No. 23/21 Miami (FL) on Sunday, Dec. 20 and then West Virginia on Monday, Dec. 21. Both games will tip at 7:15 p.m. ET. Both contests can be heard on WHCC 105.1 FM (2nd half only on Dec. 21) with Greg Murray on the call. Each contest can be watched via live video stream at RollinsSports.com.

Indiana vs. No. 23/21 Miami (FL)
Sunday, Dec. 20 • 7:15 p.m. ET

Indiana vs. West Virginia
Monday, Dec. 21 • 7:15 p.m. ET

Warden Arena • Winter Park, Fla.
Radio: WHCC 105.1 FM (Greg Murray)
Live Stats: Miami | West Virginia
Live Video: Miami | West Virginia

DID YOU KNOW?
• With playing Miami and West Virginia in Florida, the Hoosiers will have played seven postseason teams from a year ago during the non-conference slate, including five NCAA Tournament teams from last year.
• Indiana will be just one of 11 programs from the Power Five conferences that will have faced at least five NCAA Tourney teams from last year in non-conference play this season.
• The last time IU matched up against both Miami and West Virginia came in Dec. 2008 as Indiana won both of those contests.
• With battling a ranked Miami team, it will mark the first time since 2007 that Indiana has faced three ranked non-conference opponents in the same season.
• The Florida Sunshine Classic marks the third tournament/showcase the Hoosiers have played in this season as Indiana also participated in the Preseason WNIT and the Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament.
• IU has made more free throws (141) than its opponents have attempted (86) through nine games. The Hoosiers are outscoring foes 141-52 from the charity stripe.
• Amanda Cahill (19 points, 11 rebounds) and Alexis Gassion (13 points, 13 rebounds) both achieved double-doubles in Indiana's win over Samford on Dec. 11, marking the first time a pair of IU players had double-doubles in the same game since Feb. 2, 2014 at Illinois.
• Sophomore Tyra Buss has scored in double figures in every game this season and 13-consecutive games dating back to last year as Buss leads the team in scoring, assists and rebounds as she is averaging 19.0 points, 3.9 assists and 1.9 steals.
• Cahill is shooting 52.9 percent overall, 44.0 percent from 3-point range and 84.2 percent from the free throw line through nine games as the sophomore leads the team in rebounding (7.7 rpg) and is scoring 13.2 points per contest.

THE COACHES

Indiana
Teri Moren
Career Record: 221-148* (13th year)
Indiana Record: 22-18* (2nd year)

Miami
Katie Meier
Career Record: 269-179* (15th year)
Miami Record: 193-134* (11th year)

West Virginia
Mike Carey
Career Record: 592-265* (27th year)
West Virginia Record: 304-163* (15th year)
*in games played through Dec. 18

MIAMI AT A GLANCE
Miami enters the weekend with an unblemished record. The Hurricanes look to get after it defensively, averaging 11.2 steals per game, ranking in the top 20 nationally in steals. Six players have 11 or more steals individually on the year heading into the Florida Sunshine Classic. Miami also shares the ball well, ranking in the top 20 in the country in assists and No. 12 in assist-turnover ratio (1.35). Adriene Motley leads the offensive attack with 16.1 points per game while shooting 50.4 percent overall and 34.1 percent from 3-point range. Jessica Thomas paces the team in steals (2.1 spg) while scoring 10.9 points per contest.

WEST VIRGINIA AT A GLANCE
West Virginia comes into the weekend riding a five-game winning streak. WVU has limited opponents to shoot just 31.4 percent from the field so far this year to rank fifth in the country in field goal percentage defense. The Mountaineers also rank in the top 15 nationally in blocks (56) and in the top 20 in rebounds per game (45.4). WVU is also outscoring opponents by a margin of plus-21.1 points per game. Bria Holmes leads West Virginia in scoring with 18.1 points per game while shooting 57.5 percent from the field. Teana Muldrow adds 12.0 points per game and leads the team in steals (2.0 spg). The Mountaineers have already played four neutral site games heading into the weekend.

HOOSIERS ONE OF 11 PROGRAMS IN POWER 5 TO PLAY 5 OR MORE 2015 NCAA TOURNEY TEAMS
Indiana will match up with a pair teams who played in the postseason last year in this weekend's Florida Sunshine Classic in Winter Park, Fla. Miami is coming off an NCAA Tournament berth as West Virginia played in the Postseason WNIT in 2015.

Including Miami and WVU, Indiana will have played seven postseason teams from a year ago during the non-conference slate (11 games), including five teams that played in the NCAA Tournament last season (Tennessee State, Chattanooga, DePaul, Ohio, Miami). IU will be one of just 11 programs in the power five conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC) to have played five or more NCAA tournament teams from 2015 in non-conference play this season.

COMEBACK KIDS
Three times this season, Indiana has faced late second-half deficits before overcoming them to earn a victory.

• Nov. 17 vs. then-No. 24 Chattanooga: IU trailed by four with 1:44 left in the third quarter and was behind heading into the fourth quarter. Indiana outscored the Mocs 19-6 in fourth quarter to take the win.
• Dec. 2 vs. Georgia Tech: Indiana trailed by five with 8:36 to play in the game. IU outscored GT 20-6 in the final 6:37 and held the Yellow Jackets scoreless for the final 4:05 of the game.
• Dec. 11 vs. Samford: The Hoosiers trailed by 11 with 4:00 left in the third quarter. IU went on a 17-2 run over a span of 3:56, scoring 13-straight during the stretch to take a four-point lead. In overtime, Indiana outscored Samford 13-4, thanks in part to an 8-0 run by Amanda Cahill by herself to start the OT period.

GETTING TO THE LINE
Indiana is taking advantage of getting to the free throw line as IU has made more free throws (141) than opponents have attempted (86). Indiana has outscored opponents from the free throw line so far this year 141-52.

In the win over Samford on Dec. 11, the Hoosiers hit 27-of-31 free throws to shoot 87.1 percent for the game. Indiana has had 30 or more attempts from the charity stripe in three games this season (IPFW, Georgia Tech, Samford) and has won each of those contests. Twice Indiana has made a season-high 27 free throws this year, the other coming at IPFW when IU attempted a season-best 38 free throws.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE VISION
In the win over Samford on Dec. 11, Amanda Cahill and Alexis Gassion both achieved double-doubles in the game. It marked the first time a pair of IU players had double-doubles in the same game since Feb. 2, 2014 at Illinois. Cahill finished with 19 points and 11 boards to go along with three steals, two assists and a block. Gassion finished with 13 points and season-high 13 rebounds with a pair of steals and two assists.

D-D-D DEFENSE
So far this year, Indiana has held six opponents to 60 points or less and has twice held opponents to shoot under 30 percent from the field. In every game but two, Indiana has held foes to shoot under 40 percent overall. Indiana has also held opponents to shoot just 29.0 percent from beyond the arc, including five times where opponents were held under 30 percent from 3-point range.

THE BUSS IS ROLLING
Sophomore Tyra Buss has scored in double figures in every game this season and dating back to last year, 13-consecutive games. She currently leads the team in scoring, assists and steals, averaging 19.0 points, 3.9 assists and 1.9 steals per game.

Last time out vs. Samford, Buss tallied 21 points with nine rebounds, five steals and three assists. She hit 15-of-17 free throws in the game, tying for the fourth-most free throws made in a single game in program history. In the win over Georgia Tech on Dec. 2, she was huge in crunch time scoring 17 of her 22 points in the second half, including a stretch where she scored 10-straight Hoosier points during the fourth quarter. That 10-point streak was a 10-4 overall run for IU and took the Hoosiers from a four-point deficit (56-52) to a two-point lead (62-60) and Indiana never trailed again

Buss has scored 20 or more points in five games, including a career-high 29 points in the win at IPFW on Nov. 24.

CLIMBING TO THE CA-HILL TOP
Amanda Cahill has been efficient for the Hoosiers so far this year, shooting 52.9 percent from the field, 44.0 percent from 3-point range and 84.2 percent from the free throw line. The sophomore is averaging 13.2 points and a team-leading 7.7 rebounds per game with 1.3 steals per contest. Cahill has had five games this year where she has shot 66.7 percent or better and three contests where she hit 71.4 percent or better from the field.

Her double-double performance against Samford on Dec. 11 was clutch as she scored 19 points, 17 of those coming in the second half, with 11 rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block. It was Cahill's seventh double-double of her career. She scored Indiana's first eight points of overtime to seal the victory.

Cahill has scored in double figures in seven games this year and has had seven or more rebounds in every game but one. She was one of six players named to the All-Preseason WNIT Team at the conclusion of the tournament on Nov. 22. Cahill scored in double figures in all three games for the Hoosiers in the tournament and led IU in rebounding in every contest.

HIT THE GASSION PEDAL
Alexis Gassion was vital in Indiana's win over Samford last time out as she achieved her fourth career double-double with 13 points and a season-high 13 rebounds. The junior is averaging 11.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game as she has scored in double figures in six games and has had six or more rebounds in six contests.

She scored a season-high 20 points in the win at IPFW on Nov. 24, going 7-of-11 from the field with eight rebounds and a block. She has scored in double figures in five games this year and 28 times in her career.

CLOSING THE DOOR
The Hoosiers have had a trend of closing the door when needed in a number of wins this year. Indiana defeated Samford in overtime on Dec. 11 using a 17-2 run (including 13-straight points) late in the second half and then outscored the Bulldogs 13-4 in OT.

IU downed Georgia Tech on Dec. 2 to give Indiana its fourth-straight win in Big Ten/ACC Challenge games. The Hoosiers closed the game with a 12-2 run over the final 4:20 of the contest, holding Georgia Tech scoreless for the final 4:05 of the game. Indiana outscored Georgia Tech 20-6 over the final 6:37 of the game. Indiana trailed by as many as five points in the fourth quarter.

Indiana also had strong finishes in wins over then-No. 24 Chattanooga on Nov. 17 and vs. Austin Peay on Nov. 28. Against UTC, IU trailed heading into the fourth quarter, but finished the game strong, using a 12-0 run to help outscore the Mocs 19-6 in the final period to earn the win. In the Austin Peay game, the Hoosiers led by only five at the half, but came out scorching in the third quarter, shooting 70.4 percent for the half and outscored the Governors in the third period alone, 34-11, to put the game out of reach.

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Players Mentioned

Tyra Buss

Amanda Cahill

Alexis Gassion