If the Gophers women’s basketball team has proven one thing this season, it is that the squad is capable of losing games in a variety of different fashions.
Indiana became the latest team to notch a ‘W’ in the win column beside the Gophers’ name with a 75-42 trouncing of Minnesota on Sunday afternoon at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.
Minnesota’s 13th loss in its last 14 games came on the heels of the team’s improvement in two eight-point losses to Michigan State and No. 12 Illinois last weekend. Minnesota played better a week ago than it had in its previous six games and appeared to be turning its season around.
Despite only receiving a combined 16 points from star players Quacy Barnes and Kristi Green, the Hoosiers (18-10 overall, 9-6 Big Ten) dominated the Gophers, who extended their season-long losing streak to eight games with the loss.
“It’s the same old thing,” junior guard Mindy Hansen said. “We just have to execute our game plan.”
Minnesota (4-20, 1-13) has gone 2-49 in its last 51 Big Ten games.
Sunday’s loss was especially disheartening for the Gophers, who had a season-low for points and shooting percentage.
“We thought that we had improved,” junior forward Sonja Robinson said. “It seems like we just took two steps back for every step forward that we took.”
The Gophers’ starters were outscored 47-18 by Indiana and five Hoosiers players reached double-digits in points. Robinson (3-of-9 from the field) and Hansen (3-of-12 from the field) led Minnesota in scoring with eight points apiece.
Senior center Angie Iverson, who went scoreless in 14 minutes and sophomore guard Kiauna Burns, who scored only five points and committed five turnovers in 31 minutes, continued their disappearing acts.
“It was just like normal,” Robinson said. “Only a few people came to play.”
Minnesota shot only 25 percent in the second half and finished the game shooting a season-low 29 percent compared to the Hoosiers’ 47 percent shooting percentage for the game.
Not counting Erin Olson, Sarah Klun and Sarah Schieber, who combined to go 6-of-10 from the field on Sunday, the rest of the team went a combined 10-of-44 (22 percent).
“It wasn’t that all our shots were bricks or off the mark,” Hansen said. “A lot of them went in and out. We had a lot of good looks.”
“It was like there was a lid on the basket,” Robinson added.
The Gophers also committed 25 turnovers and had only eight assists.
Just about the only good news for the Gophers over the weekend was that they only played one game.

SUNDAY’S SUMMARY
INDIANA 30 45 — 75
GOPHERS 22 20 — 42

INDIANA (18-9)
Honegger 3-7 2-2 10, Kerns 6-8 0-1 12, Barnes 2-5 6-12 10, Thrush 3-7 2-2 6, Green 2-8 1-2 6, Maines 4-6 6-8 14, Morgan 3-7 2-2 10, Wube 1-1 0-0 2, Yuska 0-1 2-4 2, Mueller 0-0 0-1 0, Reynolds 0-1 0-0 0, Warner 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Malone 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 24-51 21-34 75.

GOPHERS (4-20)
Robinson 3-9 2-3 8, LeCuyer 2-7 1-2 5, Burns 2-7 1-3 5, Iverson 0-2 0-0 0, Young 0-1 0-0 0, Hansen 3-12 2-3 8, Olson 3-5 1-1 7, Klun 2-3 0-0 4, Schieber 1-2 0-0 3, Seago 0-0 2-2 2, Whitfield 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor 0-2 0-0 0, Pickens 0-0 0-0 0, Hass 0-3, 0-0 0. 16-54 9-14 42.

Halftime — Indiana 30, Minnesota 22. 3-Point goals — Indiana 6-19 (Honegger 2-4, Morgan 2-5, Thrush 1-3, Green 1-7), Minnesota 1-7 (Schieber 1-2, Burns 0-1, Young 0-1, Hass 0-3). Fouled out — none. Rebounds — Indiana 39 (Maines 10), Minnesota 37 (Hansen, LeCuyer 6). Assists — Indiana 15 (Green 5), Minnesota 8 (Burns 4). Total fouls — Indiana 15, Minnesota 24. A — 1,893.