Indiana Overwhelms Northwestern, 66-38, on Pink Day

Saturday, February 11

Bloomington, Ind.

12 PM

Indiana University

17-8, 7-5B1G

Northwestern

17-7, 6-5B1G

Northwestern

Indiana

Indiana Overwhelms Northwestern, 66-38, on Pink Day

2/11/2017 2:54:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Junior guard Tyra Buss led all scorers with 19 points as Indiana Women's Basketball got the best of Northwestern, 66-38, on Saturday afternoon for Pink Day at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Buss was one of three players to score in double figures as also contributed three assists and a steal. Senior guard Alexis Gassion added 14 points and grabbed six boards while junior forward Amanda Cahill stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, eight rebounds, a game-high six assist, two blocks and a steal.

Indiana's defense held Northwestern to under 40 points in the win, the first time against a Big Ten opponent since a 57-39 win over Wisconsin.

Senior center Jenn Anderson led on the boards as she grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. It was part of a winning effort on the glass as IU outrebounded Northwestern, 44-32, including an 18-9 advantage on the offensive board.

The Hoosiers (17-8, 7-5 B1G) shot just 38.5 percent on the day but added a 76.9 percent clip from the free throw line, going 10-for-13. Defensively, Indiana was able to hold the Wildcats to just 33.3 percent from the floor on the day including a 1-for-11 effort from 3-point range.

IU opened up the game with two straight buckets before a pair at the line by Buss made it a six-point advantage, 8-2, with 5:24 to play. More buckets by Buss including a 3-pointer that followed were part of a 7-0 run that helped IU go up as many as nine in the opening period.

Northwestern (17-7 6-5 B1G) would crawl back and cut the lead down to four but a Gulley triple from the baseline corner and a reverse layup as time expired helped Indiana go up 16-6 after the first quarter. The Wildcats would cut it under double figures to open the second quarter, but a feed from Cahill to senior guard Tyshee Towner and a bucket from senior center Jenn Anderson pushed the lead back to 12 with 7:17 remaining.

Taking a 26-17 lead at the break, Indiana came out of the half on fuel from Cahill who hit her first two shots of the day just two minutes into the third quarter. It would prove to be the biggest quarter for the Hoosiers, who outscored the Wildcats, 24-11. IU would go on to take a 50-28 lead through the third quarter as it was more of the same in the fourth as it held on for the 28-point victory.

QUOTABLE
Head coach Teri Moren

"Really happy for our group today, I thought defensively we came out really understanding what we were trying to take away from Northwestern. Anytime you put a scouting report together you always hope that your team can follow through with that game plan and a lot of it had to do with keeping Coffey quiet, although she got into foul trouble. It seemed like a lot of what we were trying to do with her was not easy, whether we tried to double down or just dig down to keep her of balance. I want to give our kids credit because they deserve that but we continue to struggle from the outside, and today we struggled from the inside. We missed 10 layups that we should have made in the first half. Anytime that happens we have to rely on our defense. and today I thought we did that."

NOTABLE

With the 66-38 win Indiana improves to 39-36 in the all-time series against Northwestern and 23-12 in Bloomington.
The 38 points in the lowest for Northwestern in the all-time series against Indiana.
Northwestern came into the game averaging 70.9 points per game and Indiana held them to 38 points. The last time Indiana and Northwestern played the Wildcats scored 80 points.
The last time Indiana held a Big Ten opponent under 40 points was March 4, 2004 in a 57-39 win over Wisconsin. This is the fewest points Indiana has held a Big Ten opponent to this season.
The Hoosiers opened the game on an 11-2 run and held Northwestern to one field goal over the first 5:34 of the opening quarter. Indiana held Northwestern to 3-of-13 from the field in the first quarter and led 16-6 after the first period.
After shooting 9-of-30 from the field in the first half the Hoosiers hit seven of their first nine shots to open the second half. Indiana went on a 15-4 run to open the second half.
The Hoosiers outscored the Wildcats, 24-11, in the third quarter and outscored Northwestern 40-21 in the second half.
For the 11^th game this season the Hoosiers recorded at least 18 assists.
Indiana outrebounded Northwestern 44-32, including 18 offensive rebounds. The Hoosiers used those 18 offensive rebounds to finish with a 19-6 advantage in second chance points.
Tyra Buss scored 19 point and has scored in double figures in 50 of her last 51 games. Buss moved into 12^th on the Hoosiers all-time scoring list and now has 1,443 points.
Alexis Gassion scored 14 points and added six rebounds and two assists.
After scoring no points in the first half, Amanda Cahill finished the game with 11 points. Cahill tied her career-high with six assists and added eight rebounds.
The eight rebounds moved Cahill into ninth on the Hoosiers all-time list for career rebounds. She now has 740 career rebounds.

UP NEXT
IU next hits the floor at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Thursday when it faces Michigan. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. ET live on the Big Ten Network.

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