Hoosiers Defeat Northwestern In Overtime, 78-73

Sunday, February 4

Bloomington, IN

12 p.m.

Indiana University

12-12,5-6B1G

Northwestern

9-15, 2-8B1G

OT 1

Northwestern

Indiana

Hoosiers Defeat Northwestern In Overtime, 78-73

2/4/2018 3:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Senior guard Tyra Buss scored a season-high 31 points as Indiana knocked off Northwestern, 78-73, in overtime on Sunday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Buss went 8-for-8 from the free throw line and added four assists as she got help from 17-point performance from senior forward Amanda Cahill and junior forward Kym Royster. Cahill, who also had four assists and two steals, and freshman guard Jaelynn Penn added a team-high six rebounds as Penn also chipped in eight points to go along with four assists.

Indiana (12-12, 5-6 B1G) shot 42.9 percent in the win, overcoming Northwestern's 52.9 percent clip from the floor where they also went 59.1 percent from the floor in the second half. The Hoosiers limited their turnovers in the game, a tying a season-low 10 in the win while dishing out 16 assists on 27 made field goals. NU would win the margin on the glass, 34-29.

Indiana built a lead early with the help of an 11-0 run midway through the first quarter to take a 20-8 advantage after the first 10 minutes. The Hoosiers would push ahead by as many as 14 in the first half, as the Wildcats (9-15, 2-8 B1G) turned it on in the second quarter where they shot 90 percent from the field. After the lead came down to four, 25-21, Indiana rallied on a bucket from freshman guard Bendu Yeaney and a pick and transition layup for Buss with 4:31 remaining. They would hold on to a six-point lead, 35-29, at the half behind 16 of Buss's 31 points.

In the third quarter, Northwestern came within four as it scored the first bucket of the second half. Cahill and Royster combined for back-to-back buckets inside the paint with 8:36 left on the clock. A 3-pointer by Buss and 1-of-2 at the line for Penn made it a double-digit lead, 44-34, with 5:53 remaining. The Wildcats continued to claw at the Hoosier lead, dwindling it down to as few as six before Indiana could make a run late in the quarter and extend its advantage to as many as 12. Taking a 16-point lead with 7:05 remaining in regulation, IU would hit just one field goal in the final 5:29 of regulation and be outscored 23-13 in the final period.

Buss would score four of Indiana's nine points in the five-minute overtime period. She got things started at the line with a pair, making it two of seven-points IU would score at the charity stripe in overtime. Northwestern's Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah had the answer with 4:04 remaining before Royster drew contact and hit two at the line. NU would come within one after Lindsey Pulliam, who scored a game-high 33 points, as she drove from the top of the key down the left side to make it 74-73. Back on offense, Royster would clean up the blocked shot and stick it back in which would prove to be the difference as Buss sealed it with two at the line with four seconds remaining.

QUOTABLE
Head coach Teri Moren
"It was a fantastic game. I give Northwestern a lot of credit just how they got back and especially in the fourth quarter. I'm really proud of the way our kids handled themselves in overtime. We came up with some big stops when we had too. Overall just happy that we escaped with a win. Like I said, I'm disappointed that we did get the lead and we relinquished it, we gave it up. But I thought it was good for our kids to have to battle back the way they did. Hopefully we have learned some good lessons here this afternoon about how to hang onto a lead. We got to be much better as we continue to play in the Big Ten."

NOTABLE

With the win Indiana improves to 40-36 in the all-time series against Northwestern.
The Hoosiers have won four straight games, their longest streak of the season.
Tyra Buss led the Hoosiers with a season-high 31 points, her 44^th career game scoring 20 or more points. Buss now has 2,090 points, the IU women's basketball career scoring record and ranks fifth on the Indiana all-time scoring list with men's and women's basketball combined.
The 31-point effort for Buss is her third career scoring game with 30 or more points and her third most points in a game for the Hoosiers. Buss is averaging 24.5 points per game over the Hoosiers last four games.
Amanda Cahill and Kym Royster scored 17 points apiece for the Hoosiers. Cahill added six rebounds and four assists.
Buss, Cahill and Royster combined for 65 of the Hoosiers 78 points and shot a combined 23-of-46 (50 percent) from the field.
The Hoosiers tied a season-low with 10 turnovers.
Indiana forced 19 Northwestern turnovers and held a 24-13 advantage in points off turnovers.
Indiana shot 19-of-24 (79.2 percent) from the free-throw line.

UP NEXT
Indiana wraps up a four-game homestand on Thursday night when it hosts Illinois. Tipoff for LGBQT+ and Breast Cancer Awareness Night is set for 7 p.m. ET on BTN Plus. Fans will receive $2 admission for wearing pink in honor of breast cancer awareness.

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