The Indiana University women’s basketball team proved the Indianapolis Colts aren’t the only team who can win at the RCA Dome, defeating the Boston University women’s basketball team Saturday, 62-54.
The Hoosiers snapped the Terriers’ five-game winning streak, as they helped Indiana sweep the doubleheader at the Dome. (The Hoosier men conquered the University of Kentucky earlier in the day, 79-53.)
The Terriers jumped out to a 14-6 lead (their largest of the game), thanks to four 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the contest. BU shot 7-of-15 from beyond the arc in the first half, but went cold after the break, missing all nine shots from downtown. Those nine misses contributed to BU’s lowest shooting percentage in a game this year, at 30.6. The Terriers also shot a mediocre 69.2 percent from the foul line.
“I thought we came out very strong,” said BU coach Kelly Greenberg. “We expected zone from IU and we hit some early 3s. Then we just had some scoring droughts and I told the team every game we play that will happen. We played hard, we played together, we just could have played a little smarter.”
The game came almost a year after the teams faced off Dec. 12, 2004, when Indiana squeaked out of The Roof with a 62-60 win as the then-junior Cyndi Valentin hit two free-throws with 2.5 seconds remaining to preserve the Hoosier victory.
Valentin must have remembered that game pretty well, as she went 11-for-11 on free throws in Saturday’s game, contributing to her game-high 24 points. Valentin also contributed four rebounds and three assists to the winning effort.
“Early on, our defense gave her a couple wide-open layups,” Greenberg said. “We had a couple mental breakdowns and when we fouled, she was the one going to the line. She was very good and we knew that going in.”
For BU, senior Rachael Vanderwal had an off night, scoring only two points (1-of-4) and pulling down two boards. Sophomore Cheri Raffo had the best game of all the Terriers, as she led the team in scoring (20 points, 4-of-8 on 3-pointers) for the second straight game.
“She’s playing great,” Greenberg said. “She’s coming out right from the tip off playing with confidence. She’s so aggressive – she can make things happen off the dribble and she can shoot the 3, so hopefully she can keep on doing what’s she’s been doing.”
At the end of a very competitive first half, Erica Kovach (3 points, 5 rebounds) connected on a 3-pointer to trim the Terriers’ halftime deficit to 29-27. When the teams came back out of the locker room, however, it seemed like a whole new game as the Hoosiers scored the first six points and took their largest lead of the contest at 43-34 with 13:27 left.
“Indiana made some adjustments,” Greenberg said. “They were playing more physical and went man-to-man and we didn’t respond too great to that. When they went to man-to-man and took their ‘D’ to another level, they made everything we do so much tougher for us.”
And it showed, as the Terriers only shot 9-for-40 in the second half. Despite the poor shooting, BU managed to cut the Hoosier lead to four with less than seven minutes left to play, but the Terriers still couldn’t get their shots to fall and IU’s nearly perfect foul shooting sealed the deal.
As Greenberg has been preaching all year, rebounding was the key to the game. BU was out-rebounded for only the second time all season. The only other time the Terriers lost the battle of the boards was in their season-opening loss to St. John’s University. Senior Angela Hawkins, at 6-foot, 3-inches, led the Hoosiers in rebounding, grabbing 16 of their 48 boards before fouling out with 3:03 left.
“Rebounding means so much,” Greenberg said. “We only had six offensive boards, which means we didn’t get too many looks at second shot opportunities. They were big and strong, and we just have to make sure we prepare better next time, because we’re going to face teams like that again.”
Despite the loss, the trip to Indiana was certainly a great experience for the team.
“We got to watch the first game,” Greenberg said. “The sea of red verses the sea of blue, and it was great for our players to be part of such a great tradition. I’m also a big Peyton Manning fan, so it was nice to play in his place, too.”