Rutgers Slips Past Indiana
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana led by as many as seven in the third quarter, but Rutgers used 24 points from sophomore guard Tekia Mack to take home the win, 69-61, on Monday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in the annual Breast Cancer Awareness game.
KEY MOMENTS
- Indiana (17-10, 6-9 B1G) got its first six points from sophomore guard Jaelynn Penn, but Indiana would trail 16-12 at the end of the first.
- Four leads were exchanged in the second half, as a 7-0 run late in the frame gave the Hoosiers a chance to cut it to a one-point deficit at the half, 32-31.
- But the offense struggled on both sides in the third, as Indiana extended its run to a 15-0 advantage thanks to freebies at the line. Wise’s pair with 5:47 to play in the quarter made it 39-32.
- Neither team would connect from the field until Rutgers (18-7, 10-4) go back-to-back buckets with 2:43 left to come within three. Freshman forward Aleksa Gulbe connected with senior forward Kym Royster to counter but the Scarlet Knights closed out it out on a 6-0 run to come within one, 45-44.
- The Scarlet Knights would outscore IU in the fourth, 25-16. Yeaney kept things tied up at 47-all with just a little over two minutes into the quarter. Trailing by six with 1:44 to go, Indiana got a pair at the line off a Penn drive where she was fouled and Yeaney took it coast-to-coast with a minute to go and a 61-59 score.
- The Hoosiers would get good looks at the rim, but Rutgers would take advantage of the bonus connected on five free throws in the final 32 seconds.
NOTABLE
- Yeaney led the Hoosiers with 16 points and had a team-high four steals.
- Royster scored 14 points, including 12 points in the second half. She added nine rebounds.
- Redshirt junior forward Brenna Wise (12) and sophomore guard Jaelynn Penn (14) scored in double-figures for Indiana.
- The Hoosiers converted 19-of-23 from the free-throw line (82.6 percent) and held a +8 advantage in free-throws.
- They shot 42.2 percent on the night
- Rutgers led by as many as eight in the first half, but Indiana closed the final 1:29 of the second period on a 7-0 run to get within one at 32-31 at halftime. Brenna Wise scored five of the seven points in the run and drew a charge.
- Yeaney led the way with four steals as Indiana picked up 11 in the game, posting back-to-back games with double figure steals (12, at Michigan).
- Indiana opened the third quarter scoring the first eight points (all at the free-throw line) to extend the run to 15-0. The Hoosiers held Rutgers scoreless for a period of eight minutes and 26 seconds.
QUOTABLE
Indiana head coach Teri Moren
“It’s another tough night for the Hoosiers. We are disappointed. I know our fans are disappointed. We are still trying to find answers on the defensive end and why we are giving up too many things. Tonight, obviously we did not do a very good job of adjusting to Tekia Mack who had 24 points and only averages around three. Part of the scouting report was to have her be from just the outside just because she is not a kid who looks to take a lot of shots, and she got the hot hand. Like I said, we are disappointed and starving for a win here. We got a little bit of a lead there and then just made too many silly mistakes defensively. Whether we were fouling or just broke down defensively and let them back in it. We have to take responsibility as a staff and our players and their mistakes and just keep moving forward.”
UP NEXT
Indiana faces No. 10 Iowa on Thursday night. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET.
