IU Rallies Late To Defeat Illinois

Wednesday, January 20

Bloomington, Ind.

7 pm

Indiana University

11-8, 3-4

ILLINOIS

8-10, 1-6

Illinois

Indiana

1/20/2016 9:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Sam Beishuizen, IUHoosiers.com | Twitter

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana's unblemished record at Assembly Hall remained intact Wednesday, but not without late dramatics in a 68-66 victory over Illinois.

Junior guard Karlee McBride hit a 3-pointer with 1:16 remaining to give the Hoosiers their first second-half lead over the Illini, 67-66. Following a defensive stop, sophomore guard Tyra Buss connected on one of two free throws to double IU's lead with the result still hanging in the balance.

After a missed layup by junior forward Amanda Cahill that could have iced the win, Illinois' Alex Wittinger collected the rebound and started a fast break with less than eight seconds remaining in a two-point game. Brooke Kissinger couldn't convert a hurried layup as time expired, assuring the Hoosiers' their eighth win in as many tries at Assembly Hall.

"It's the Big Ten," a noticeably relieved head coach Teri Moren said. "You can expect the unexpected in this league. You really can."

The right plays came at the right time for the Hoosiers, who trailed the Illini by 11 points with a little more than seven minutes left in the fourth quarter before pulling off their fifth second-half comeback win of the season.

The Illini (8-10, 1-6) appeared to have opened the game up and taken control in the opening minutes of the final quarter before Indiana (11-8, 3-4) began pressing defensively and getting to the free-throw line on the other end of the floor.

The combination proved critical for the Hoosiers, who rushed Illinois' offense on one end and repeatedly stopped the clock and scored from the charity stripe on the other. After taking just seven free throws between the first three quarters combined, IU took 14 foul shots in the final 10 minutes after getting into the bonus just four minutes into fourth quarter.

"Every timeout, we just kept telling our kids to keep attacking," Moren said. "'We've got to stop the clock, we've got to get to the free-throw line."

Buss accounted for the majority of the free throws, getting to the line eight times in the fourth quarter in an otherwise quiet outing for the defending Big Ten Player of the Week. It was the late surge IU's offense needed to create scoring opportunities after Buss was contained throughout the majority of the first three quarters, struggling to operate against Illinois' height in the post.

Meanwhile, Indiana's constant defensive pressure threw Illinois' own offense just enough in the closing minutes to allow the Hoosiers to close the gap.

"We were just trying to speed them up," sophomore guard Jess Walter said. "Everyone was all bought into that."

Then when the Hoosiers most needed a score, McBride was there to provide it.

She snapped out of a short dry spell from beyond the arc where her previous two tries clanked off the front of the rim. On her final try, McBride had just the right touch to register her final three points of a 16-point performance.

"My teammates and coaches always tell me, 'Keep shooting,'" McBride said. "My teammates definitely got me the shot."

Now creeping in on the halfway point of the Big Ten season, Wednesday's win helped Indiana maintain its footing in the conference standings. Moren has regularly brought up the parity in the league already this season, which adds uncertainty to nearly every matchup.

And although the majority of the season is left to be played, the Hoosiers couldn't help but take a second to recognize the importance of distancing themselves from the Illini.

Because come March, each win may prove vital, no matter how Indiana gets it.

"Every game is huge for us, especially these ones where we're playing teams that are either below us or equal to us in the Big Ten standings," Cahill said. "Those are the games we really need to win and then pull of some upsets of the other teams. That's what's going to keep us going and get us a good seed for the (conference) tournament and hopefully make the NCAA Tournament.

"These are the types of games that are really clutch for us to win."