Bloomington -- For more than two hours the women's basketball team fought tooth-and-nail with the Hoosiers of Indiana University as the two teams vied for the championship in the Indiana Classic at Assembly Hall.
In a double overtime classic that saw the lead in the game go switch more than ticker on Wall Street, the Cardinals (1-2) fell to the Hoosiers, 103-95.
The team quickly jumped out to a 16-3 lead behind the shooting of junior Jessica Reiter.
"From a defensive standpoint, we got hung up on some screens," IU head coach Kathy Bennett said. "But more than that, they took the shots they wanted and shot the ball extremely well."
It didn't take the Hoosiers (2-0) long to use the home court to their advantage as Jenny DeMuth and Lisa Eckart led the Hoosiers back to tie the game at 33
Trailing by three points with nine seconds left, junior Johna Goff hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with a hand in her face to send the game into overtime
Tragedy nearly struck the Cardinals as senior Tamara Bowie fouled out of the game only 1:51 into the overtime period. Nonetheless, head coach Tracy Roller wasted little time and got her team back on track.
"I really never doubted that we could pull the win off," Roller said. "We're not just the Tamara Bowie show. We have six or seven other great players who did great things."
The Cardinals and Hoosiers fought the referees as each team repeatedly found themselves headed to the free throw line. Each free throw was crucial as each team hit better than 75 percent collectively and a miss could cost the game.
"You can't let refs determine how you're going to play," Bowie said. "It was just something we had to fight through."
The second overtime belonged to the Hoosiers as they hit key 3-pointers and the tired and beleaguered Cardinals could do little but watch in vain as they watched their title hopes slip by.
"Neither team deserved to lose, it was that well fought," Bowie said. "We wanted it bad, we just came out on the short end."
Roller said she was proud of the way her team played and came through in such a tough situation.
"I told the team in the locker room," Roller said. "I could go down the line and name someone who did something big for us in overtime.
"When you're playing Indiana at Indiana, there is no lack of enthusiasm, you just play. We have to get deeper, in better shape and be able to play more minutes. That way if this situation happens again, we can be ready for it."
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