Indiana University Athletics
November 18, 1997 Press Release
11/18/1997 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
November 18, 1997 Press Release
Hoosiers Host Kentucky -- Final Score: 84-71 (click on score to view game stats).
INDIANA THIS WEEK-- Indiana will get little rest as the team returns to the hardcourt Tuesday, Nov. 18, for a 7:30 p.m., tipoff against the Kentucky Wildcats in Assembly Hall. The game will be the last for the Hoosiers before they leave for the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Basketball Classic in Honolulu, Nov. 28-30.
BIG FOUR CLASSIC -- The Hoosiers opened the 1997-98 season with a victory Nov. 16, defeating Ball State 79-64 in the Big Four Classic held in West Lafayette. IU started fast, jumping out to a 48-16 first half lead while shooting 53 percent from the field. Indiana finished the game with four players scoring in double figures. Senior Quacy Barnes netted 20 points to lead all scorers and was followed by Staci Mueller with 14, Summar Maines with 11 and Dani Thrush with 10. Thrush also led the Hoosiers on the glass with 10 rebounds. Defensively, IU tallied a Big Four Classic record 20 steals.
ON KENTUCKY -- Tuesday's game marks the season opener for the Wildcats. In exhibition play, Kentucky defeated Kosarlabda Sport Club 100-57 Nov. 15. Kentucky returns seven letterwinners and all five starters off of last year's squad which posted an 8-19 overall record and a 2-11 mark in the Southeastern Conference. Junior guard Tiffany Wait is the Wildcats top returning scorer after averaging 12.4 points per game last season. UK is guided by third-year coach Bernadette Mattox.
SERIES HISTORY -- A win for Indiana Tuesday night would give the Hoosiers a chance to even up the all-time series. Currently, Kentucky holds a slight 12-11 advantage however, IU has won the last four straight games. Last season, IU defeated Kentucky 74-62 in Lexington.
PROBABLE STARTERS --
POSSIBLE STARTERS: Indiana University | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Yr. |
| F | 4 | Dani Thrush | 5-9 | Jr. |
| F | 51 | Summar Maines | 6-0 | Jr. |
| C | 42 | Quacy Barnes | 6-5 | Sr. |
| G | 5 | Staci Mueller | 5-10 | Fr. |
| G | 21 | Kristi Green | 5-2 | Jr. |
POSSIBLE STARTERS: Kentucky | ||||
| Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Yr. |
| F | 30 | Jaye Barnes | 6-0 | Jr. |
| F | 52 | Kim Denkins | 6-3 | Sr. |
| C | 35 | Patrice Boyd | 5-11 | So. |
| G | 4 | Natalie Martinez | 5-6 | So. |
| G | 11 | Tiffany Wait | 5-10 | Jr. |
HEAD COACH JIM IZARD -- Head Coach Jim Izard begins his 10th season at the helm of the Indiana program where he owns a 145-111 (.563) overall school record and a 67-90 (.427) mark in the Big Ten Conference. As Indiana's all-time winningest coach, Izard has guided his teams to eight winning seasons and two NCAA post-season tournament appearances. His 16-year career record stands at 308-160 (.657).
QUICK RECOVERY-- After undergoing surgery to correct a tachacardia problem (rapid beating heart) Thursday, Nov. 13, sophomore Rachael Honegger returned to the court just three days later to play 13 minutes in IU's win over Ball State. Coming off the bench, Honegger scored two points, blocked two shots and recorded two steals.
INJURY REPORT -- Freshman Melissa Yuska has been diagnosed with a herniated disc and will be out of action indefinitely.
YOU BETTER PROTECT THE BALL -- Opponents had better take caution when playing the Hoosiers or they just might lose the ball. Against Ball State last Sunday, Indiana swiped the Cardinals an incredible 20 times. What was even more impressive was that it wasn't just one or two players. Nine different Hoosiers got in on the action with at least one steal apiece while five players had three thefts.
FRESHMAN DEBUT -- Staci Mueller's first collegiate game turned out to be a successful one for the 5-10 newcomer. Making her first career start, the she played 30 minutes, scored 14 points and grabbed two rebounds.
ALMOST TRIPLE -- Junior Dani Thrush put on an impressive first game performance against Ball State, almost posting a triple-double. The 5-9 junior netted 10 points, pulled down 10 boards and dished out a game-high nine assists, just missing the coveted triple by one assist.
HOOSIERS INK CLASS OF 2002 -- The Hoosiers have announced the signing of Jill Chapman, Heather Cassady and Yasmina (Yasi) Radmanovich to national letters of intent to play basketball for Indiana next season. Chapman, a 6-5 center out of Blackford High School in Monpelier, Ind., is a three-time all-conference and all-sectional honoree. As a junior, she averaged 19.5 points, 15 rebounds and six blocked shots per game. Cassady, a 5-7 point guard from Peoria, Ill., led Dunlap high school to the elite eight in the Illinois state tournament as a junior while averaging 16 points and eight assists per game. A NIKE All-American, she boasts 1,315 career points and 646 career assists heading into her final season. Radmanovich is a 6-2 forward out of Vacaville, Calif., who plays at Will C. Wood High School. Last season, she averaged 16 points and 15 rebounds per game. A two-time team MVP, she was named all-league as a junior while guiding her team to a 24-6 record.
BIG TEN PREDICTIONS-- After being picked to finish ninth in the 1997-98 preseason Big Ten coaches poll, the Hoosiers have set their sights on proving their critics wrong. Illinois was tabbed first, followed by Iowa. Senior Quacy Barnes was selected to the coaches preseason All-Big Ten team, along with Ashley Berggren (Illinois), Angela Hamblin (Iowa), Stephanie White (Purdue), Pollyanna Johns (Michigan) and Tangela Smith (Iowa).
THE TALL AND SHORT OF IT -- Indiana's point/post punch duo of junior Kristi Green and Quacy Barnes hold the distinction of being the shortest and tallest players in the Big Ten Conference. Point guard Green stands 5-2, while post player Barnes measures in at 6-5.
CAPTAINS NAMED-- Indiana captains for the 1997-98 season will be senior Quacy Barnes and junior Kristi Green.
HOOSIERS IN THE POLLS-- Indiana received four votes in the Associated Press' Preseason Women's Basketball Poll.
EXHIBITION PLAY -- Indiana closed out the exhibition portion of its schedule last Saturday with a 92-83 victory over the Brisbane Blazers of Australia. Junior Summar Maines led all players with 27 points and 15 rebounds. Quacy Barnes scored 18 points and hauled in eight boards while Staci Mueller netted 17 points and Kristi Green added 14. As a team, the Hoosiers were quite impressive on the boards, outrebounding the Blazers 57-40. In the Hoosiers first exhibition game of the season, IU defeated the Hoosier All-Stars 93-69. Five players turned in double-digit scoring performances, led by Maines who collected 20 points, including 12-12 shooting from the free throw line.
