Indiana University Athletics
Anything possible for surging IU Women’s Basketball team
2/23/2018 4:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON,, Ind. -- Jaelynn Penn wasn't about to let the pass slip through. A layup wasn't happening.
Indiana's freshman guard, a key piece to the Cream 'n Crimson basketball puzzle that has seen the team morph from struggler to contender -- yes, contender -- was dialed in defensively as a coach hopes a player is in the closing minutes of a practice and the final days of a regular season.
So when her man cut to the basket and a bounce pass was launched rich in offensive possibilities, Penn stole away the opportunity.
Defense rules, you see.
Welcome to a Thursday Cream 'n Crimson practice at Cook Hall full of defensive drills, attack-the-basket sessions, shooting opportunities and feed-the-post work. It showcased all that is right with the Hoosiers these days, and there's plenty right when you're on a school-record-tying eight-Big Ten game winning streak to go from conference fodder to force.
It starts, coach Teri Moren says, with character.
"Our players have tremendous attitudes," she says. "They're fighters. They're extremely competitive.
"To be where we're at as far as how we're playing, it's gratifying. It's all about work here. It's about our plan and progress and success. We're responsible for that."
Responsibility breeds intensity, and it thrived in this setting.
Coaches and managers used padded gloves to thud inside players going for baskets, and in case anyone missed the message, "Finish" was the rallying cry.
You'd better believe the Hoosiers rallied, on this day, and for a month's worth of days before.
And if record-setting senior guard Tyra Buss is right, the best is coming.
"Whatever we can control, we'll control," she says. "We believe we can stick with anyone.
"We don't care what the outsiders think. We don't care if no one thinks we can do this. As long as we believe so, and the people around us believe so, we can do anything. That's been our mindset."
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Indiana has found itself.
You know that, right.
Youth, inexperience and an unforgiving opening Big Ten schedule delivered body blows that threatened to wreck the season.
It did not, of course.
Somewhere along the way, the Hoosiers (16-12 overall, 9-6 in the Big Ten) grew up. They found toughness, resiliency and a knack for winning close games. They played for each other instead of themselves.
And the wins started coming -- in record-tying fashion.
Come Saturday at Iowa, the tie could give way to total ownership. No Hoosier team has ever won nine straight conference games.
Yes, IU has a senior superstar in Buss, and a senior difference-maker in Amanda Cahill, but two players can only do so much in a team game.
The Hoosiers needed more, and you'd better believe they found it.
Freshmen guards Bendu Yeaney and Penn have come through their Big Ten baptism of fire steeled and inspired and eyeing a bright future. Yeaney had a double-double in a weekend win at Minnesota. Penn had 21 points against Nebraska. Sophomore forward Kym Roster looms as a potential double-double successor to Cahill. She's scored in double figures in four of the last six games.
But make no mistake -- Buss sets the tone, and it goes way beyond the court.
"I don't want my legacy to be about what I did here at IU, but instead what I have inspired others to do," she said as part of a Senior Day message that resonates as a three-point basket never will.
"(Being inspirational) has always been my thing," she says. "I came here to impact this program and help build it to what it deserves to be.
"I'm not very big, so for younger players who aren't that tall or fast, I can be a role model for them. That as long as you work hard and dream big, anything can happen. That's been my mindset ever since I was a little girl."
Buss has been ridiculously good down the stretch. In her last two games, she's scored 36 and 37 points. She's the best scorer in women's school history (2,192 points and counting), is a three-point shooting force of nature (her 190 three-point baskets are tied for second with Nikki Smith in school history; Kris McGrade leads with 206) who will hold the career assist record by herself with her next one (she's tied with Tisha Hill at 533).
In short, she's playing the way an All-America senior should.
In case you're wondering, only two Hoosiers have scored more than Buss, both men. Calbert Cheaney has a Big Ten record with 2,613 points. Steve Alford ended with 2,438 points.
Buss is a big reason, but not the only one, why the Hoosiers have become ridiculously good. They have won eight straight Big Ten games, which has only been done once before in school history, and that was during the 1982-83 season.
IU's streak includes two wins over teams with top-50 RPI -- No 25 Rutgers and No. 34 Minnesota. Until Tuesday, the Hoosiers hadn't won at Minnesota since 2011.
Indiana also swept Purdue for the first time since 1985, and won at Mackey Arena for the first time since 2008.
The Hoosiers aren't feasting on patsies. Their schedule rates No. 13 nationally.
And yet …
On Jan. 16, Indiana was 8-12 and going nowhere.
Check that. They were going down with a 1-6 Big Ten record.
Then came a cliffhanger win at Michigan State, and something clicked. Victories over Wisconsin, Rutgers, Northwestern, Illinois, Purdue, Nebraska and Minnesota followed.
"We had some team meetings," Buss says, "but it all started in the locker room, not necessarily with the coaches, but with the players being together.
"We had a talk and said, 'We're sticking together. Yeah, we had a 1-6 start, but we still have a chance to turn this around and make a run,' and we definitely did so."
Or, as Moren puts it, "We kept it in perspective. We played all those top-tier teams right at the start. We played Ohio State twice. We played at Maryland, at Michigan.
"We knew we were close. We were in all those games. We knew the improvements would come, especially with the young kids.
This group stayed very eager and together. Winning is contagious. Losing can be contagious and we never fell into that trap of accepting that falling short was what this group would be about."
Success didn't come easily. Five of the eight straight wins have come by eight or fewer points, with one (Northwestern) coming in overtime.
"We've had some close games, and pulled away in the fourth quarter," Buss says. "We've gotten that experience and know what it takes to push past that stuff. As long as we stick together, we can beat anybody."
IU won't beat you with depth. Five players basically average 30 minutes a game, with Buss leading the nation with her 39.6-minute-a-game average. Two others come in at 11 minutes, give or take.
"We knew our depth would be something we had to be careful of," Moren says. "We make sure we are recovered and are doing the right things to take care of our bodies."
The Hoosiers don't turn basketball into art. Not when they've racked up 444 turnovers, 15.9 a game.
But during their winning streak, they are scoring two points more than they did before while giving up five points less. And they've cut down the turnovers.
"There is no limit with this group," Moren says. "We'll continue to get better, and hopefully stay confident and see where we can go.
"This has been one of the most enjoyable groups we've had. This has been a really neat journey."
It's not over. Saturday's trip to Iowa (22-6, 10-5) ends the regular season. Then comes next week's Big Ten tourney in Indianapolis, and then a possible postseason to remember.
IU is, after all, inching its way toward NCAA tourney at-large status, and perhaps beyond.
"This has been a lot of fun," Buss says. "Winning is obviously a lot of fun, but just the growth we've made. That's something really special.
"It's fun to play with one another and see our progression. We're rolling now. We believe we can stay with anybody."
