The IUS women’s basketball team defeated Midway College 61-43 on Jan. 18 in the Activities Building.
The Grenadiers forced 28 turnovers and held Midway to 26 percent field goal shooting to win.
“We couldn’t throw the ball into the ocean,” Midway head coach, Karley Mohler said.
This is the fifth straight win against Midway for IU Southeast. The last loss was in 2008 in double overtime, 82-72.
IUS head coach Robin Farris said he still wants to see improvements in the offense. He also said one of the reasons IU Southeast won was because of Midway’s inconsistency on offense.
Farris said he felt the Grenadiers’ defense was a key to the victory, as well.
IU Southeast had 17 steals, including six by Whitney Duncan, senior guard. Duncan added 10 points, which was tied for the team’s leading scorer, along with Megan Murphy, junior forward, and Brianne Miles, junior guard.
The Grenadiers were out-rebounded by the visiting Eagles 48-40. Murphy led the Grenadiers in rebounds with a total of seven.
Both teams struggled on offense as Midway only shot 26 percent from the field, and IU Southeast just shot 38 percent.
Every time it looked as though IU Southeast was going to seize a commanding lead, Midway fought back into it. The largest lead for the Grenadiers was with about four minutes left in the half at 25-15. Midway ended the half with the momentum as they closed the gap 29-23.
Midway came out in the second half and opened up an 8-2 run in the first four minutes, making the score 31-29. Midway quickly cooled down and lost their hot start, and IU Southeast started to control the game. The Eagles had a shot clock violation at 14:38, which swung the momentum back to the Grenadiers.
IU Southeast called a timeout with about 11 minutes remaining, and the score was 38-35. That was the closest the game would be when IUS came out of the timeout on a 6-0 run.
The Lady Grenadiers then began to wear down the visiting Eagles. The last nine minutes were all the Grenadiers as they outscored their opponent 23-8. Grenadiers’ last nine points were off free throws, as Midway fouled with around one minute remaining.
Ashmere Woods, sophomore guard, finished with nine points and six rebounds in her second game back from her ankle sprain. Woods said there were still improvements needed in the team’s defense and offense.
Farris also said the team needed to convert on turnovers but still has high expectations for his team if they can stay healthy.
By JOSHUA WILSON
Staff
wilsjosh@imail.iu.edu