Don’t look now, but the IU Indy women have won 4 of their last 6 after starting 1-11

The 75-63 final margin against Wright State was closer than the actual game

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Photo courtesy of IU Indianapolis Athletics.

From about midway through the first quarter, it never seemed like the IU Indianapolis women (5-13) were very threatened by Wright State (4-15). The final margin was 12 (75-63), but it very easily could have been more than 20, had it not been for a futile late run by the visiting Raiders.

It wasn’t all aesthetically pleasing, as even the winners turned the ball over 22 times (still one less than Wright State), but the Jaguars used team defense to limit Wright State to just 2 3-pointers, both late in the game and 1 on their final possession.

“We knew this team likes to shoot threes,” IU Indy head coach Kate Bruce said after the game. “They’re going to drive it in there and then kick it out, and I thought our players, for the most part until the end there, did a great job of getting down in a stance and not getting beat the first time so we didn’t have to rotate and do all the extra stuff.”

After starting their season off with a win against Evansville, IU Indy had lost 11 straight, but after the win on Wednesday night, they’ve now won 4 of their last 6 and are a win against 3rd-place Cleveland State at home this weekend away from being .500 in the Horizon League, with plenty of season left to continue righting the ship.

The Jags are clearly a different team, and 1 that becomes a lot less pleasant for conference foes to play, when Katie Davidson is on the floor. This was her 4th straight game in the starting lineup after getting injured in the game at Ball State back in early November.

The Lawrence North product who played her first first two collegiate seasons at Miami of Ohio before earning 2nd-team all-conference honors as a junior transfer wore a brace on her wrist against Wright State. It is unclear as to how much longer she’ll need it: she shot 8-for-12 in the game and 1-2 from 3 for 17 total points. Even more impressive, her team was +20 during the 27 minutes and change that she was out there.

“Today it felt like there was a little lull,” Bruce said, “and then out (Davidson) comes and goes coast to coast and gets us a bucket, and that’s what we were missing from her, her senior leadership. When we need to score when another team’s on a run, we know that we can go to her.”

Davidson got plenty of help, including a bench that outscored Wright State 35-14. Sophomore guard Shania Nichols-Vannett was especially notable. After not starting the game, she would also go on to score 17 on 6-for-7 shooting and 3-for-3 from 3 in just 19 minutes of action before coming off late with blood on her face after taking a foot to the face while trying to beat the press.

The result of the play was an intentional foul assessed to Wright State starting guard Macie Taylor.

IU Indy sophomore guard Nevaeh Foster rounded out the balanced Jaguars’ scoring attack with 14, most of which were in the 1st half when she made her first 3 3-pointers. As a team, the Jags made 8 of their 17 3-point attempts in the game.

“We’re continuing to build our confidence game by game,” Bruce said. “Our team is getting some chemistry now that we’ve gotten some players back from some injuries and getting a chance to play together more and understanding each other’s strengths and weaknesses. We’re excited.”

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