No. 17 Rutgers Pulls Away Late As Hoosiers Fall On The Road

No. 17 Rutgers Pulls Away Late As Hoosiers Fall On The Road

PISCATAWAY, N.J.   – Indiana Women’s Basketball was hampered by turnovers in the second half as it fell to No. 17/19 Rutgers, 69-64, on the road on Thursday night.

KEY MOMENTS

• After a 6-0 run for the Hoosiers (16-6, 5-5 B1G) early in the ballgame would give themselves an 8-2 lead after Penn drove to the hoop.
• The game fell into a lull, not scoring for nearly four minutes out as sophomore guard Bendu Yeaney’s runner beat the buzzer to end the frame to give the Hoosiers at 19-14 lead.
• In the second quarter, Rutgers (17-4, 9-1 B1G) came within as few as five with 3:28 to go but Berger’s jumper and an offensive putback by Royster stretched the lead out to nine with just over a minute and a half to play before the break. They would keep that nine-point edge, leading 33-24 at the half behind nine points from redshirt junior forward Brenna Wise’s nine points.
• Penn would hit a 3-pointer to open up the scoring in the third quarter, opening IU’s lead up to as many as 14 in the early goings.

• Frustrated by the Scarlet Knight’s full-court press in the final four minutes of the quarter, Indiana was marred by turnovers in the final two minutes of the period. It helped Rutgers pull within one at the end of the third on a 7-0 run.
• Rutgers got its first lead at the 5:34 mark and pushed it to a four-point lead, 58-54, with just under three minutes left.
• Wise would get the Hoosiers back within one, 62-61, after she drew contact and went to the line. However, the Scarlet Knights would take advantage of the bonus to make it a two-possession game with 29 seconds. Penn would hit from the top of the key with but Rutgers would seal the deal at the line to close it out.

NOTABLE

• Redshirt junior forward Brenna Wise led the way with 15 points, one of four Hoosiers in double figures. She also went 8-for-8 from the free throw line.
• Sophomore guard Bendu Yeaney scored her 13^th game in double figures with 12 points, six rebounds and two steals. Sophomore guard Jaelynn Penn also added 12 points as she hit two 3-pointers.  Redshirt junior guard Ali Patberg rounded out the double figure scoring with 10 points to go along with three assists.
• The Hoosiers went 15-for-16 from the line on the night and shot 41.5 percent from the field.
• Indiana was narrowly outrebounded, 36-34. Senior forward Kym Royster led the way with eight boards.
• In the second half, IU committed 14 of its 21 turnovers in the game.
• Rutgers improves to 5-3 in the all-time series.

UP NEXT

The Hoosiers travel to Lincoln to take on Nebraska on Sunday afternoon. Tipoff in Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for 3 p.m. ET.