Indiana University Athletics
IU Drops Big Ten Opener (12-30-04)
12/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The loss drops IU to 7-4, while Iowa improved to 12-0 on the season.
"This is our Big Ten opener and I am really happy and encouraged by the way we played tonight," said head coach Kathi Bennett. "We held a good basketball team to just 62 points, and we kept fighting right to the end."
Indiana came out shooting as the Hoosiers hit three of their first six shots to take an early 7-2 lead with 16:43 left in the first half. Iowa would answer that with an 8-0 run to take a 10-7 advantage.
Iowa would extend its lead to five, 14-9, at the 12:10 mark, but the Hoosiers would rally to reclaim the lead, outscoring the Hawkeyes 10-4 over the next five and a half minutes of play to take a brief 19-18 advantage with 6:43 left in the half.
The Hawkeyes would then end the half on an 18-4 spurt to take a 35-23 lead into the half.
Iowa would continue its run scoring the first six points of the second half to extend its advantage to 18, 41-23, with 18:02 left in the game.
Sophomore guard Leah Enterline ended the run briefly with a three to cut the deficit to 15, 41-26, but once again Iowa would come right back scoring eight of the next 10 points to open its largest lead of the contest 21, 49-28, with 16:23 left in the game.
The Hoosiers would show no quit though going on a 7-0 spurt, to cut the lead to 14, 49-35. After an Iowa lay up, Indiana went back on the offensive as Enterline's three-pointer, sophomore's Annika Boyd two free throws and junior Cyndi Valentin's jumper game IU seven quick points and brought Indiana within eight, 51-43, with 10:30 left.
"It took us awhile to get going," said Bennett. "We really needed better intensity to start the game."
The eight-point deficit would be as far as the Hoosiers would get as Iowa answered with six points to put its lead back up to double-digits, 57-43 with 8:21 remaining in the game. The Cream and Crimson would get back within nine, 58-49, with 5:19 left, but the Hoosiers would score just two more points the rest of the way.
IU was paced by Valentin's 15 points, while Enterline ended the night with a season-high 14 points, including a career-high four three-pointers. Sophomore center Sarah McKay also had a good night finishing with eight points, eight rebounds and four blocks. The Hawkeyes were lead by Crystal Smith who tallied a game-high 24 points.
Indiana returns to the court on Sunday, Jan. 2, as the Hoosiers visit #12 Minnesota. Game time is set for 3 p.m.
