The Big Ten women's basketball game between Indiana and Northwestern at 3 p.m. Saturday isn't just about a win or loss.
It's about moving on.
Northwestern sophomore guard Jordan Hankins died Monday of an apparent suicide in her dorm Monday, putting sports on the back burner while her Wildcat teammates and campus community morned. The Indianapolis native was 19.
Northwestern postponed its previously scheduled Wednesday game against Minnesota to allow time to grieve. After some debate, it was decided that Saturday's game against IU was the appropriate time to return to the floor.
“Jordan was a remarkably dynamic young woman,” Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown said in a release. “This is a devastating loss for our basketball family. She brought an unwavering intensity and commitment to everything in her life. We will miss her enormously.”
Both Indiana (12-5, 2-2) and Northwestern (13-4, 2-2) will wear jerseys sporting patches with "JH5" written on them in honor of Hankins, who wore No. 5 for the Wildcats.
A large crowd is expected to be on hand at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
"I think we're all highly sensitive of the situation at Northwestern right now," IU head coach Teri Moren said.d "Our thoughts and prayers have been with them throughout the week."
Hankins's death was a heartbreaking reminder that keeping tabs on mental health is important. Moren said that she and her assistant coaches discussed the importance of being in tune with signs of players acting differently to prevent any similar action in Bloomington.
"You make sure that your players understand that as competitive as we are, we want to win games, that it's more important to realize the bigger picture here that a life has been taken away from us," Moren said. "We have to stop in our tracks as coaches and teammates and wonder if there's something we missed, if there's something we could have done, if there was a sign."
While Hankins's memory will be at the forefront of attention as Northwestern tries to recover from such a devastating loss, there's still a game that needs to be played. And considering how tight the Big Ten standings are, Saturday's result could prove crucial down the road.
It was at the same venue on Jan. 24, 2015 that Indiana picked up a ranked win against Northwestern that Moren credits for sparking IU's NCAA Tournament run. It was the Hoosiers' first conference road win, at the time, in more than a year.
The Wildcats start a veteran lineup of sometimes five seniors on the floor at once.
They're led by senior forward Nia Coffey, who Moren called a Big Ten Player of the Year candidate. The 6-foot-1 mobile wing was an All-American a year ago and is averaging 20.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.1 steals per game.
But perhaps the most exciting match-up to watch will be at point guard between IU junior Tyra Buss and Northwestern senior Ashley Deary, the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
Deary is averaging 10.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 4.1 steals per game while orchestrating just about everything Northwestern does on the floor. Likewise, Buss stands at 19.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.5 steals per game to lead the Hoosiers.
"I think it's one of the best match-ups of the season," Moren said. "Tyra knows. I think Tyra gets up to play Deary and Deary gets excited to play Tyra because they're two fantastic point guards."
They will both likely have a say in the game's outcome. They have in the past.
And that's a welcome break.
Because the process of recovering, Northwestern will have a game to look forward to and a friend to remember. Both teams will play with Hankins's spirit not too far away.
"It's really about having our mindset in the right place and understanding that even through this tragedy that we're dealing with right now that we still have a job to do," Moren said.
