MORAGA, Calif. – Senior guard Tyra Buss paced Indiana for the fifth-straight game as she tied a game-high 22 points and double-doubles from senior guard Amanda Cahill and junior forward Kym Royster to win 71-63 over UAB at the Hilton Concord Classic on Friday afternoon.
Buss added a team-high three assists and four rebounds as she shot 50 percent from the floor on the afternoon. She was joined in double figures by Cahill who notched her fifth-straight double-double which marks the best stretch of her career. The Clyde, Ohio native chipped in 14 points, added 12 rebounds, four blocks and two assists in the win. Royster turned in her third career double-double and second of the season with a 12 point, 13 rebound effort.
As a team, Indiana (4-1) shot 41.3 percent in the victory and earned the victory on the boards, 46-34, including a 16-10 advantage on the offensive glass that resulted in 16 second-chance points. But the Hoosiers struggled again from the free throw line, shooting just 52.2 percent and just 35 percent from 3-point range (7-for-20).
Freshman guard Jaelynn Penn added eight points and five rebounds while freshman guard Keyanna Warthen had seven points and three boards.
Indiana fell behind in the early portion of the first quarter before Buss used the glass in transition to cut the lead down to one with 3:48 left. Eventually tying it up at 16-all, a 3-pointer by Warthen made it a 19-16 advantage before the Blazers tied things up 19-19 to end the quarter.
UAB (3-1) stormed out in the second to take its largest lead of the game before six-straight points from the Hoosiers including a Buss bucket inside cut the margin down to one with 6:46 left in the period. Warthen was there for the cleanup to give IU a 30-29 lead but UAB countered with a 3-pointer to regain its lead.
But Indiana would hold the Blazers scoreless for the remaining 3:32 of the second quarter, as Cahill got off the last second three-point attempt that resulted in a foul. Sinking all three at the line, it would help put Indiana up 37-32 at the break.
Coming out in the third, Royster would score back-to-back buckets as IU increased its lead to 10 less than two minutes in as Penn added a triple from the left baseline. Leading by as many as 11 in the third, Indiana would go up 53-44 heading into the final quarter. Upping its lead to as many as 15 with 6:18 remaining, the Blazers would make a comeback effort in the final three minutes of play. They would cut it to six, 67-61, with 1:45 remaining but Cahill's extra effort on a missed 3-point attempt by Warthen gave IU the ball back and a new 30-second shot clock with 1:09 remaining.
One in the bonus by Buss followed by both from Warthen helped IU extend its lead back up to nine with 37 seconds remaining. Warthen came up with an offensive board with 17 seconds remaining, helping secure the win.
QUOTABLE
Indiana head coach Teri Moren
"At times, I thought we did some good things and at times we left points out there. We were miserable from the free throw line and that's something we are going to have to focus on and get better at. I thought Tyra (Buss), (Amanda) Cahill, and (Kym) Royster did some really good things today. Some of the things that Amanda does don't show up on the stat sheet as far as her hustle. I thought Tyra made plays when we needed to make plays and Kym was our anchor on the low block. Overall, it was great we could bounce back after a night like we had on Monday and we have to get ready for a good Saint Mary's team tomorrow."
NOTABLE
- Senior guard Tyra Buss became the seventh player in school history to record 1,700 career points with her 22-point performance. She now holds 1,713 points which ranks seventh all-time
- Junior forward Kym Royster secured her third career double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. It marks the second double-double for her this season.
- Senior forward Amanda Cahill recorded her fifth-consecutive double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, which marks the most consecutive double-doubles in her career.
- Indiana improves to 3-0 in the all-time series with the Blazers, adding a win to the previous series history which featured wins in the 1990s.
UP NEXT
IU meets host Saint Mary's in the final game of the Hilton Concord Classic tomorrow. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. ET in McKeon Pavilion.
Story & Photo Courtesy of IU Athletics.