Women’s Basketball Wins First Big Ten Game on Senior Night
By: Mitchell Paul
To put it lightly, this season has been a struggle for the IU Women’s Basketball team.
They struggled in non-conference action and have struggled a lot more in conference play. Heading into Thursday night’s battle with Wisconsin, the Lady Hoosiers were 5-22 overall, 0-14 in the Big 10 Conference.
But Indiana didn’t let its past tussles affect its play on Thursday night at Assembly Hall.
It was Senior Night. A chance for two players, Danilsa Andujar and Alisha Godwin, to finish off what have been careers full of diversity and pain, but ones that have nonetheless been fulfilling.
Indiana jumped out to a substantial lead early in the game and held it through most of the first half. But the Badgers made a run late in the half to cut the lead to just four heading into halftime, 33-29.
The second half contained multiple mini-runs from both teams. And with the game knotted at 60 apiece and 3.2 seconds to play, senior Danilsa Andujar hit two clutch free throws to seal IU’s first win in the Big 10 this year.
As the final buzzer sounded with the Hoosiers up by two, a mob of rejoicing Hoosiers ensued at half court.
The win had to have meant a heck of a lot.
It was a tightly contested game with multiple lead changes. The Hoosiers hadn’t defeated a Big 10 foe all year.
Then, with the game on the line, Andujar—the senior—iced the game with two free throws with less than four seconds to play. For a team to have struggled so much during the season and finally see all their hard work come to fruition for forty minutes must have been an incredible feeling.
After the squads exchanged handshakes, Indiana huddled for one final time this season on Branch McCracken Court with jubilance and high spirits. Sure, it was just one win, just one game. But it was evident that this game meant much more than that.
Head Coach Felisha Legette-Jack may have put it best when she spoke to the crowd at the end of the game.
“We’re going to keep fighting. We’re going to keep fighting,” she said to the crowd with passion in her voice. Then once more, raising her voice with every word, “We’re going to keep fighting. We’re going to keep fighting!”
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