Indiana University Athletics
#IUWBB Game 23 Preview: at Ohio State
2/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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GAME 23
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THE OPENING TIP
Indiana will hit the road to battle Ohio State inside Value City Arena on Sunday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. ET. The game begins a stretch where IU plays five of the final seven regular season games on the road. The game can be heard on IUHoosiers.com with Greg Murray on the call and can be watched online through BTN Plus.
DID YOU KNOW?
• 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 same can be said about nearly every other statistical category as Indiana freshmen and sophomores have accounted for all but 22 minutes played this year.
• Sophomore Larryn Brooks has scored 817 points so far in her young career. She is just the seventh player in program history to eclipse 800 career points in the first two years in an IU uniform and only the sixth to score 817 or more in that span. All six of the other IU players who scored 800 points or more in their first two seasons rank in the top seven all-time in scoring at Indiana.
• In 17 games this year, Indiana’s bench has outscored its opponent’s, including a 23-11 edge against the Northwestern last time out.
• Indiana has connected on 158 3-point field goals so far this season to crack the top 10 of most 3-pointers made in a single year in program history.
• With Indiana’s 72-55 win over Purdue on Feb. 2, it gave IU its first back-to-back Assembly Hall victories over the Boilermakers since doing so consecutive times in Bloomington in March of 1984 and January of 1985.
• IU’s 17-point margin of victory over Purdue was the program’s largest since March 1984.
• Since being inserted into the starting lineup over the last six games, Alexis Gassion has averaged 11.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.0 blocks per game during that span. Against Northwestern, Gassion scored in double figures for the fourth time in five games with 11 points to go along with six rebounds.
• Freshman Tyra Buss scored in double figures for the 16th time this year with a game-high 17 points vs. NU. Buss leads the Hoosiers in scoring (12.1 ppg) and steals as she has 51 thefts on the year, the most by an IU player since 2010-11.
• Karlee McBride scored 15 points against the Wildcats last time out for her ninth game scoring in double figures this year. She leads the IU bench in scoring with 8.4 points per game.
THE COACHES
Indiana
Teri Moren
Career Record: 212-139 (12th year)
Indiana record: 13-9 (1st year)
Ohio State
Kevin McGuff
Career Record: 287-125 (13th year)
Ohio State Record: 32-26 (2nd year)
OHIO STATE AT A GLANCE
Ohio State has won four of its last five games as the Buckeyes won four straight until falling on the road to Iowa, 73-65, last time out. Freshman Kelsey Mitchell continues her dominant scoring season as she is averaging 25.5 points per game while shooting 37.4 percent (85-of-227) from 3-point range. Her backcourt partner Ameryst Alston tallies 20.2 points per contest and adds 5.2 rebounds per game. As a team, OSU scores 80.3 points per game. The Buckeyes lead the Big Ten in blocks per game (6.5) and are second in 3-point field goals made per game (7.7) just ahead of IU’s 7.2 3-pointers per game. Freshman Alexa Hart leads OSU with 8.7 rebounds per game while scoring 10.6 points per contest.
BROOKS JOINS ELITE HOOSIER GROUP
Indiana sophomore Larryn Brooks has scored 817 career points to become just the seventh player in program history to ever eclipse the 800-point mark in first two seasons played at IU and only the sixth to score 817 or more in that career span.
For the year, Brooks has scored in double figures in 15 contests and second on the team with 12.0 points per game to go along with a team-best 4.0 assists per game (9th in B1G) with 1.4 steals per contest.
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).
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.
HIT THE GASSION PEDAL
Sophomore Alexis Gassion has started in each of the last seven games and has averaged 11.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.0 blocks per game during that span. Last time out vs. Northwestern, Gassion tallied 11 points with six rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal while shooting 4-of-6 from the field. During this seven-game stretch, she had back-to-back 18-point, nine-rebound performances at Penn State and against then-No. 7/6 Maryland. At PSU on Jan. 22, Gassion shot 16-of-18 from the free throw line and tied her season high of three steals. Against the Terrapins on Jan. 25, she shot 8-of-14 from the field with two steals and a season-high three blocks.
For the year, Gassion is averaging 8.1 points and 6.0 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).
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 158 3-point field goals this year to break into the top 10 of most 3-pointers made by an IU team in a single year in program history. The Hoosiers are connecting on 7.2 3-point field goals per game (3rd in B1G). In four games this year, IU has connected on 10 or more 3-pointers, including 10 at Penn State on Jan. 22.
ROAD TRIP HOOSIERS
The Hoosiers end the regular season playing eight of 13 contests away from Assembly Hall. That includes the next stretch in which Indiana will play five of its final seven regular season games on the road beginning at Ohio State on Sunday. After hosting Illinois on Feb. 11, the Hoosiers will battle Iowa (Feb. 15) and Michigan (Feb. 18) on the road before playing their home finale vs. Nebraska on Feb. 21. IU will conclude the regular season with games at Maryland on Feb. 26 and then at Rutgers on March 1.
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.
THE BUSS IS ROLLING
Freshman Tyra Buss has scored in double-figures in 16 games this season and currently leads the team in scoring (12.1 ppg) and steals (2.3 spg) while adding 3.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. She has scored in double figures in four of the last five contests, including a game-high 17 points vs. Northwestern last time out. She also added three assists, two rebounds, a block and a steal against the Wildcats.
Buss is third among freshmen nationally in steals. The Mt. Carmel, Ill., native has had three or more steals in nine games and has totaled 51 steals so far this year, which ties for the fifth most ever by an IU freshman. She is the first IU player with at least 51 steals in a season since 2010-11.
MICROWAVE MCBRIDE
Sophomore Karlee McBride has stepped up her game in 2014-15. Last time out, McBride led the IU bench with 15 points and added a steal against Northwestern. She has scored in double figures in two of the last three games, including a career-high 17 points at Michigan State on Jan. 28. In that game, McBride shot 7-of-12 from the floor with three assists, two steals and a block.
McBride leads the Indiana bench in scoring this season as she is averaging 8.4 points per game. The Erie, Pa., native has scored in double figures nine time this year and has hit multiple 3-point field goals in eight contests.
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 10.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game while shooting 49.7 percent from the field. Last time out vs. Northwestern, she grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Indiana and added seven points. Cahill has scored in double figures in 13 games this year and has collected 10 rebounds or more in nine contests to become the first player with nine games of 10+ rebounds in the same season since Thomas in 2008-09.
THE BENCH PRESS
In 17 games this year, the Indiana bench has outscored its opponent’s, including a 23-11 advantage vs. Northwestern last time out.. Hoosier reserves are averaging 23.4 points per game as Karlee McBride leads IU’s bench scoring with 8.4 points per game.
Media Contact: Ryan Sheets, rmsheets@indiana.edu
