Hoosiers Earn Eighth-Straight Big Ten Win With 82-70 Victory At Minnesota

Tuesday, February 20

Minneapolis, MN

8 p.m. ET

Indiana University

16-12, 9-6Big T

Minnesota

21-7, 10-5Big T

Indiana

Minnesota

Hoosiers Earn Eighth-Straight Big Ten Win With 82-70 Victory At Minnesota

2/20/2018 10:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

MINNEAPOLIS – Senior guard Tyra Buss posted back-to-back 30-plus point scoring game as she led four Hoosiers in double figures to a win over Minnesota, 82-70, on Tuesday night inside Williams Arena. It moved Indiana's win streak to eight, tying a program record for consecutive Big Ten wins that was set in 1982-83.

Buss dropped 36 points, including a 7-for-14 mark from the 3-point line, and added seven assists as she finished tied for the lead for all-time career assists to go along with five rebounds. Freshman guard Bendu Yeaney posted her second career double-double with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with two assists, a block and a steal. Indiana (16-12, 9-6 B1G) shot 50.9 percent from the floor and 52.2 percent from 3-point range (12-for-23).

Senior forward Amanda Cahill and junior forward Kym Royster each added 10 points each. Cahill also grabbed seven rebounds, four assists and two steals while Royster picked up nine boards and two blocks. Indiana would also win the battle on the boards, 42-39, while combining for 15 assists and went 84.2 percent from the free throw line (16-for-19).

Senior guard Carlie Wagner put up 34 points on her senior night as the Gophers shot just 35.1 percent in the game. It marked just the second home loss for the Gophers this season, as they also converted just two 3-pointers on the night to go 9.1 percent from beyond the arc.

Off to a hot start, Minnesota (21-7, 10-5 B1G) would take a 7-0 lead a minute and a half into the contest. After a timeout, Indiana would respond by going a run of its own, a 6-0 advantage all on behalf of Royster to pull within one. The game would be tied up six different times in the first 10 minutes of play, as IU wouldn't take its first lead of the night after Cahill cleaned up the offensive board with just under a minute to play. However, Minnesota would respond to two IU leads with under a minute to play including the final bucket of the half to tie it at 19-19.

The Gophers would push its lead up to four a minute into the second quarter before Cahill would knock down one of her two 3-pointers in the first half. Buss went back-to-back from beyond the arc to tie it up at 25-all. IU would pull ahead by three on a 3-pointer from freshman guard Jaelynn Penn and one at the line from Buss. The Gophers would use a 9-2 run with 3:33 to play in the first half to go back up by four as Indiana would turn the tides on back-to-back threes from Buss and Yeaney to regain the lead, 42-38. Minnesota would get the final bucket of the half as IU took the 42-40 advantage into the break.

The game would go back-and-forth in the third, with neither team leading by more than three in the quarter. A 3-point field goal by freshman guard Keyanna Warthen with 1:15 remaining put her team up 54-52 but a five-points from the Gophers closed out the third as they led 56-54.

It would be a big fourth quarter by Indiana, who benefited on 17 of Buss's 36 points in the quarter, helped seal the win by outscoring Minnesota, 28-14. Penn and Buss would combine for the first five points of the quarter, going up 59-56. After the Gophers would come back with 5:55 remaining to take a one-point lead, 61-60, Cahill connected while Buss hit from long range to put their team back up four. Wagner would answer for Minnesota, but Buss retaliated with another 3-pointer. Destiny Pitt's conventional 3-point play put the Gophers back within two but Yeaney responded with her own and-1 opportunity followed up by another timely 3-pointer from Buss to go up 74-66. In the bonus, Buss, Yeaney and Penn went 6-for-8 down the stretch to close out the game.

QUOTABLE
Head coach Teri Moren
"It's a great road win for our group. I'm really proud. It was obviously another grudge match and went back and forth. Tyra came up big in the fourth. I thought her threes were timely. Our defense got better in the second half. In the first half, we didn't do as well as we needed. We outrebounded them, which was huge."

NOTABLE

The win for the Hoosiers is their eighth straight Big Ten win. That ties a program record for consecutive Big Ten wins (1982-83 season).
The win also marked the second win over a top 50 RPI team for Indiana, with Minnesota coming in at No. 34. It as has also picked up a win over Rutgers (25) and are playing the nation's 13^th toughest schedule.
The win is the Hoosiers first on the road at Minnesota since 2011.
They also improved to 12-0 this season when leading at the half. Indiana led 42-40 at the break.
Senior guard Tyra Buss reached 30 points for the second straight game with 36 points (37 vs. Nebraska). It is her fifth career game scoring at least 30 points. Buss now has 2,192 points, which is the IU women's basketball career scoring record and ranks in a tie for third with men's and women's basketball combined career scoring. The only two with more career points are Calbert Cheaney and Steve Alford.
Buss added seven assists and has now tied the Indiana program record for career assists with 533.
Buss connected on 7-of-14 from 3-point range. The seven threes moved Buss into a tie for second on the Hoosiers career 3-pointers made list with 190.
Freshman Bendu Yeaney recorded her second career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Amanda Cahill and Kym Royster scored 10 points apiece for the Hoosiers. Royster added nine rebounds and Cahill added seven rebounds.
Indiana shot 27-of-53 (50.9 percent) from the field and connected on 16-of-19 (84.2 percent) from the free-throw line. Indiana shot 12-of-23 (52.2 percent) from 3-point range.
The 12 3-point field goals are tied for the most for the Hoosiers this season (12 at Maryland).
The game had 15 ties and 13 lead changes.

UP NEXT
Indiana closes out the regular season at Iowa on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.

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