Indiana University Athletics
#IUWBB Game 19 Preview: No. 7/6 Maryland
1/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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GAME 19
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THE OPENING TIP
Indiana will host No. 7/6 Maryland live on the Big Ten Network inside of Assembly Hall on Sunday, Jan. 25 at 3 p.m. ET. Lisa Byington and Stephanie White will be on the call for BTN. The game can also be heard on the radio with Greg Murray behind the mic on IUHoosiers.com.
DID YOU KNOW?
• Indiana and Maryland are meeting for the first time ever in women’s basketball. The Terrapins are in their first season as part of the Big Ten Conference.
• So far in 2014-15, all but two points of IU’s point production have come from either freshmen or sophomores, accounting for 99.9 percent of Indiana’s total points this year.
• The Hoosiers have hit 138 3-point field goals through 18 games this year, just ahead of last year’s record-setting pace when Indiana hit a program record 259 3-point field goals (2nd best total in Big Ten history). Last year through 18 games, IU hit 132 3-pointers.
• Indiana had 20 assists at Minnesota on Jan. 18, marking the seventh time this season that IU has had 20 or more assists in a game. The last time an IU team had 20 or more assists that many times in a season was in 2005-06.
• With 11 steals as a team at Minnesota, it marked the eighth time this year Indiana had 10 or more steals in a game. A program first since 2010-11.
• In 14 contests this year, the Hoosier bench has outscored its opponent’s, including an 27-26 edge in the Penn State game.
• Freshman Amanda Cahill has five double-doubles on the year, the most for an Indiana player since 2008-09 (Whitney Thomas, 10). She has scored in double figures 13 times this season and has had 10 or more boards in eight contests. For the year she is averaging 11.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
• Sophomore Alexis Gassion has started in each of the last three games and at Penn State led Indiana with 18 points and nine rebounds. She has led the team in rebounds in each of those starts and has averaged 11.3 ppg during that stretch.
• Sophomore Karlee McBride tallied 13 points off the bench at PSU last time out and has scored in double figures in two of the last three games. She is IU’s leading scorer off the bench this year (7.7 ppg).
• Freshman Jess Walter scored 14 points at Penn State and has scored in double figures in four of the last five games. She averaged 10.4 ppg and shot 46.4 percent from 3-point range in those five games.
THE COACHES
Indiana
Teri Moren
Career Record: 211-136 (12th year)
Indiana record: 12-6 (1st year)
Maryland
Brenda Frese
Career Record: 379-133 (16th year)
Maryland Record: 322-103 (13th year)
MARYLAND AT A GLANCE
Maryland arrives in Bloomington with an unblemished 7-0 record in Big Ten play and winners of 10 games in a row. The Terrapins pace the Big Ten in scoring (82.7 ppg), scoring margin (+24.2), free throw percentage (.759), field goal percentage (.483), rebounding defense (31.9), rebounding margin (+11.8) and offensive rebounds (16.4). Four Terrapin players score in double figures led by Laurin Mincy’s 13.9 ppg. She also paces the team in assists. S. Walker-Kimbrough is tallying 13.7 ppg on the year, but has tallied 16.0 ppg in Big Ten play. Brionna Jones is averaging a double-double in conference play with 14.9 ppg and 10.4 rpg while shooting 58.4 percent from the field.
YOUNG GUNS GETTING IT DONE
So far in 2014-15, all but two points of Indiana’s point production have come from either freshmen or sophomores. The first and second-year players have accounted for 99.9 percent of IU’s point production this season. The same can be said about nearly every statistical category as Hoosier freshmen and sophomores have accounted for all but 22 total minutes played this season. IU has had four freshmen, six sophomores and one walk-on senior see playing time this year. Due to injuries, no juniors have played yet this season for Indiana.
ROAD TRIP HOOSIERS
Indiana is in the midst of a stretch where it plays three out of four contests on the road. The stretch began at Minnesota on Jan. 18 before Thursday’s game at Penn State. IU will host Maryland on Jan. 25 before heading to East Lansing to take on Michigan State on Jan. 28.
This week began a stretch where the Hoosiers end the regular season playing eight of 13 contests away from Assembly Hall. That includes the final stretch of games where IU plays four out of five contests on the road to end the regular season schedule. Indiana is one of four Big Ten schools that have a five-game span with four on the road along with Illinois, Iowa and Purdue.
WALTER IS GOING ON
Freshman Jess Walter continues to improve as her rookie year progresses. She has scored in double figures in four of the last five games to average 10.4 points per game during that span while shooting 46.4 percent (13-of-28) from beyond the arc. Last time out at Penn State, Walter nailed 4-of-7 3-point field goals and finished with 14 points and four assists.
For the year, Walter is averaging 7.6 points per game off the bench (one start) for the Hoosiers. She has scored in double figures in seven games this season and is shooting 41.7 percent from 3-point range and 85 percent from the free throw line.
HIT THE GASSION PEDAL
Sophomore Alexis Gassion has started in each of the last three games and has averaged 11.3 points and 11.0 rebounds during that span, including an 18-point, nine-rebound performance at Penn State last time out. She also skied for a career-high 16 rebounds in the win over Wisconsin on Jan. 11. Gassion has led the Hoosiers in rebounds in each of the last three contests, grabbing eight or more in each game.
For the year, Gassion is averaging 7.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. In 2013-14, Gassion started in 32 contests and was IU’s second leading scorer (8.8 ppg) and rebounder (5.5 rpg).
CLIMBING TO THE CA-HILL TOP
Freshman Amanda Cahill has recorded five double-doubles this year, the most by an Indiana player in a single year since 2008-09 (Whitney Thomas, 10). For the year, Cahill is averaging 11.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while shooting 49.7 percent from the field. Cahill has scored in double figures in 13 games this year and has collected 10 rebounds or more in eight contests to become the first player with eight games of 10+ rebounds in the same season since Thomas in 2008-09.
DIALING LONG DISTANCE
Land phone lines are thing of the past, but the Hoosiers are still dialing long distance in 2014-15. IU has hit 138 3-point field goals through 18 games this year, just ahead of last year’s record-setting pace when Indiana hit a program record 259 3-point field goals (2nd best total in Big Ten history). Last year through 18 games, IU hit 132 3-pointers. The Hoosiers are connecting on 7.7 3-point field goals per game (2nd in B1G). In four games this year, IU has connected on 10 or more 3-pointers, including 10 at Penn State last time out.
BEWARE OF STEALERS
IU has had 10 or more steals in eight games this season, including 11 steals at Minnesota on Jan. 18. Indiana tallied 18 steals in each of the first two games of the year, marking the first time in program history an IU team had 18 or more steals in back-to-back games. The 18 steals tied for the fourth-most steals in a single game in program history. Prior to this season, the last time an Indiana team had 18 steals in a game was Dec. 5, 2007 vs. Dayton (18). The last time an IU team had eight games of 10 or more steals in the same year came during the 2010-11 season (16 games).
THE BUSS IS ROLLING
Freshman Tyra Buss has scored in double-figures in 13 games this season and currently leads the team in steals (2.6 spg) and is tied for the team lead in scoring (12.1 ppg) while adding 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Buss is tied for second among freshmen nationally in steals. The Mt. Carmel, Ill., native has had three or more steals in eight games and has totaled 46 steals so far this year. Her 46 thefts are the most by an Indiana player since 2010-11 (Jori Davis, 52).
Twice this year, Buss has earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors (Nov. 17, Nov. 24). She became the first IU player to ever receive Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors on consecutive occasions and the second Hoosier to earn the award twice in the same season (Larryn Brooks, 2013-14). Buss became the first Indiana player to earn conference weekly laurels in back-to-back weeks since Cyndi Valentin was named Big Ten Player of the Week two straight times in 2005-06.
LARRYN LIGHTING IT UP
Indiana sophomore Larryn Brooks continues to be a leader for the Hoosiers. For the year, Brooks has scored in double figures in 13 contests and is averaging 12.1 points, 4.1 assists (10th in B1G), 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. Brooks, along with Cahill, led Indiana with 12 points at Minnesota on Jan. 18 and added four assists and tied her season high with three steals.
Brooks had one of the most productive seasons by any freshman in the history of the program last year. She broke the IU freshman scoring record, tallying 554 points (7th on school single season list), breaking a 34-year-old freshman record held by Dorothy Reffel who scored 454 points in 1979-80. She was the first freshman in program history to ever eclipse 500 points in a season. Brooks also set freshman marks for 3-pointers made with 67 (T-4th), assists with 154 (3rd) and free throws made with 129. Brooks led the Hoosiers in scoring (16.3 ppg), field goals made (179), 3-point field goals made, 3-point field goal percentage (.379), free throws made, free throw percentage (.832) and assists.
Brooks earned Second Team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors last season. She was the first Hoosier to earn second team all-conference honors since 2011 (Jori Davis) and just the fifth freshman ever at IU to be named to the conference’s all-freshman squad and the first since 2006 (Whitney Thomas).
JENN BECOMING A GEM
After averaging just 6.5 minutes per game in 16 appearances a year ago, sophomore Jenn Anderson has started in each game this year and has made her presence known so far in 2014-15. Against then-No. 23 Minnesota on Jan. 18, Anderson finished with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting and took three charges in the game.
Anderson is fifth in the Big Ten in field goal percentage as she is shooting 58.3 percent while averaging 9.9 points per game. She has scored in double-figures in nine games this year. In Big Ten play, Anderson is connecting on 88.0 percent of her free throw attempts.
MICROWAVE MCBRIDE
Sophomore Karlee McBride has stepped up her game in 2014-15 as she leads Indiana’s bench in scoring with 7.4 points per game. She has scored in double figures in two of the last three games, including 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting at Penn State last time out. McBride has scored in double figures seven times this season. She has tallied a career-high 15 points twice this year and has hit multiple 3-point field goals in six contests.
PASSING THE PUMPKIN
Against then-No. 23 Minnesota on Jan. 18, the Hoosiers dished for 20 assists in the game. It marked the seventh game this year in which IU has had 20 or more assists, including a pair of games with a season-high 25 assists. The last time an IU team had 20 or more assists that many times in a season was in 2005-06 when Indiana dished for 20+ dimes seven times that year.
Media Contact: Ryan Sheets, rmsheets@indiana.edu
