Buss Leads IU Over Georgia Tech

Wednesday, December 2

Bloomington, Ind.

7 pm

Indiana University

5-2

GEORGIA TECH

5-3

Georgia Tech

Indiana

12/2/2015 8:58:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Tyra Buss picked a good time to heat up.

The sophomore guard scored 14 of Indiana's final 24 points between the last play of the third quarter and the final buzzer to lead IU (5-2) to a 69-60 win against Georgia Tech (5-3) Wednesday. It was the Hoosiers' fourth-consecutive win in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and their third consecutive home win to begin the season.

"It's a great win for our team," head coach Teri Moren said. "I like how we were just gutsy down the stretch. We willed our way to that victory."

Buss did most of the heavy lifting offensively, scoring 10 consecutive points for Indiana in the fourth quarter to help Indiana build a six-point lead with just over two minutes left in the game. Six of those points came on 3-point plays with Buss converting on a pair of and-1 layups as she willed her way into the paint when her team needed her scoring.

She ended up with 17 of her team-high 22 points in the second half.

"I thought Tyra Buss was fantastic," Moren said. "She went to a whole other level for us offensively."

Buss' scoring outburst was more than enough for the Hoosiers, who held the Yellow Jackets scoreless over the final 4:05 of the game to seal the win. Moren said IU "junked it up" defensively, mostly playing zone defense after assistant coach Todd Starkey suggested it two days before the game.

In the final two timeouts with momentum up for grabs, Moren emphasized the importance of locking down defensively and holding onto a win she's seen Indiana let slip away a few too many times in the past.

"That's how we were going to win the game," junior center Jenn Anderson said. "We needed to get stops."

Anderson, who started the game for the first time all season, was at the focal point of more than a few of those stops. The 6-foot-3 big played 31 minutes for Indiana with sophomore forward Amanda Cahill and freshman forward Kym Royster both in foul trouble for much of the game.

Anderson led IU with seven rebounds, but it was her defense that impressed Moren and her teammates.

With about 90 seconds left and Georgia Tech looking to close in on Indiana's lead, Anderson had a stretch where she blocked a shot, altered another and then grabbed a rebound on a Yellow Jackets' miss.

It was just the type of play Moren said the Hoosiers needed down the stretch.

"I've never seen Jenn move like that before," junior forward Alexis Gassion said. "I don't know where that came from. We're all very proud of her. She played very hard today."

Moren said she was happy with the way her team held its own defensively to fight for the victory. She didn't hide her disappointment after the Hoosiers fell to Ohio last week, but Wednesday's win showed the potential she sees in her team.

These are the types of "gutsy" wins Indiana needs, Moren said. She hopes her team can continue to build on it through an extended break before playing Indiana State on the road next Tuesday.

"This is a great win for our team," Moren said. "It's a great win for the Big Ten against a really, really, really good Georgia Tech team."