Indiana University Athletics
INDIANA HOSTS OHIO STATE, TRAVELS TO MINNESOTA
1/12/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
INDIANA HOSTS OHIO STATE, TRAVELS TO MINNESOTA
THIS WEEK - Indiana, 12-7 overall, 1-4 in the Big Ten, hosts No. 17 Ohio State Friday, Jan. 15 at 8 p.m., in Assembly Hall before traveling to Minneapolis, Minn., Sunday, Jan. 17 for a 2 p.m., game vs. Minnesota.
HOOSIERS ON THE TUBE - Both of IU's games this weekend will be broadcast live on television. Friday's game versus Ohio State will be televised by WTIU-TV in Bloomington, while Sunday's game at Minnesota will be broadcast by Midwest Sports Channel in Minneapolis. The Ohio State game will be the first of four games broadcast by WTIU-TV here in Bloomington. Sean Bartel will call the action while Jennifer Forney will provide the color commentary.
INDIANA IN THE SPOTLIGHT - The Hoosiers have fared well in televised games this season, going 2-0. The Hoosiers defeated Vanderbilt 84-61 on ESPN2 Dec. 19, and Wisconsin 69-65 on Fox Sports Chicago Jan. 10. Five of the Hoosiers next six games will be broadcast either locally or regionally.
SWOOPS IN TOWN - WNBA player Sheryl Swoopes, of the championship Houston Comets, will give a free lecture to the public Friday evening from 6-7 p.m., in Assembly Hall. At 7 p.m., Swoopes will be available to the media in the Assembly Hall Press Room. Following the press conference, Swoops will toss up the ceremonial tip as the Hoosiers take on the Buckeyes at 8 p.m.
BIG TEN WIN - Indiana snapped its four-game losing streak Sunday afternoon by defeating Wisconsin 69-65 in Assembly Hall. Freshman Jill Chapman led IU with a career-high 23 points while Dani Thrush garnered a double-double with a season-high 17 points and 10 rebounds. Indiana's 0-4 beginning in Big Ten play was its worst league start since the 1995-96 season when IU dropped its first seven conference games.
LEADERBOARD - The Hoosiers are currently averaging 73.6 points and 38.4 rebounds per game while shooting 45 percent from the field. Individually, Cindy Kerns leads the Hoosiers' offense, averaging 14.5 points per game along with 7.5 rebounds. Freshman Jill Chapman and junior Kay Morgan follow with 13.1 and 12.2 scoring averages per game, respectively. Defensively, Indiana is holding its opponents to 66.8 points per game and 41 percent field goal shooting.
VS. NO. 17 OHIO STATE - Ohio State visits Assembly Hall with a perfect 4-0 Big Ten record and an 11-3 overall mark. The Buckeyes have defeated Penn State, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Illinois for there best conference start since the 1992-93 season when the team opened the league 5-0. Senior Larecha Jones leads the Buckeyes, averaging 14.4 points per game. Teammate Marrita Porter follows, averaging 13.0 points per game while shooting an impressive 62 percent from the field. As a team, OSU is averaging 69.3 points and 33.4 rebounds per game while holding its opponents to a league low 58.8 points per game. Ohio State is coached by Beth Burns who is in her second season with the program and holds a 26-15 school record. The Series: OSU leads the all-time series 30-13. Last season the two teams met only once with Ohio State defeating Indiana 79-73 in Columbus.
VS. MINNESOTA - Prior to Minnesota's Jan. 15 meeting with Northwestern, the Gophers are 6-9 overall and 1-4 in the Big Ten. The Gophers picked up their first conference victory last weekend with a 54-47 upset over Michigan in Ann Arbor. Senior Sonja Robinson leads her team, averaging 11.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. In league play, it has been freshman teammate Cassi VanderHeyden who has stepped up, averaging 13.2 points per game off the bench. Head Coach Cheryl Littlejohn is 10-32 in her second season at Minnesota. The Series: The Hoosiers hold a slight 18-17 advantage over the Gophers, including the last five-straight. Last season IU defeated Minnesota 75-42 in Bloomington.
HEAD COACH JIM IZARD - Head Coach Jim Izard is in his 11th season at the helm of the Indiana program where he owns a 177-130 (.579) overall record and a 78-102 (.445) mark in the Big Ten Conference. As Indiana's all-time winningest coach, Izard has guided his teams to nine winning seasons, two NCAA post-season tournament appearances, a runner-up finish in the NWIT post-season tournament and most recently, a trip to the Final Four of the WNIT last season. His 17-year career record stands at 339-179 (.657).
RADMANOVICH LEAVES SQUAD - Freshman forward Yasmina (Yasi) Radmanovich announced to the team Jan. 4, that she no longer wishes to play basketball and is leaving the team. The 6-2 Vacaville, Calif., native saw action in 17 games and was averaging 3.3 points and 1.0 rebounds per game. With the departure of Radmanovich, the Hoosiers are down to 10 active players on the roster.
DANI'S DOUBLES - Thanks to some impressive passing in recent weeks by Dani Thrush the senior has found herself quickly climbing the career assists record chart. Currently, Thrush has 360 career assists to rank fourth all-time and is just six shy of passing Emma Urzua (1993-95) to take over third place. Over the weekend, Thrush turned in back-to-back double-doubles for points and assists, tallying 28 points and 22 assists.
BIG TEN FROSH PLAY - Freshman Jill Chapman appears to be adjusting to the rugged life of Big Ten play in just her first season. Through the first five league games, the 6-5 center has led Indiana in scoring and rebounding twice and has scored in double-figures in all but one game. In addition, Chapman netted a career-high 23 points to help lead IU to their first league victory last Sunday over Wisconsin. In Conference play, Chapman leads the squad, averaging 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while shooting 59 percent from the field.
DOUBLE-TROUBLE - Seniors Cindy Kerns and Dani Thrush along with freshman Jill Chapman have combined for 15 double-doubles this season. Kerns has double-dipped seven times, while Chapman and Thrush have each doubled-up in four games.
OVER AND UNDER - When the Hoosiers score more than 70 points they are 9-1. When the Hoosiers score less than 70 they are 3-6.
LONG DISTANCE THREAT - As Indiana's explosive 3-point shooter, Kay Morgan leads the Big Ten with 45 3-pointers this season. Currently, the junior is averaging 2.4 per game.
BEHIND THE ARC - As a team, the Hoosiers lead the Big Ten in 3-point baskets and rank third in 3-point field goal percentage. IU has netted 114 treys while shooting 32 percent from behind the arc.
CLOSING IN ON 1,000 - Seniors Kristi Green and Dani Thrush are quickly closing in on the 1,000 point career milestone. Currently, Green has 925 career points while Thrush boasts 905. Green needs just 76 points while Thrush is 95 points shy of 1,000.
ASSIST ANGELS - Indiana is averaging 16.9 assists per game compared to its opponents 13.6. Individually, Dani Thrush leads the squad, averaging 5.6 assists per game while Kay Morgan averages 3.5 per game. In addition, Morgan boasts a 2:1 assist/turnover ratio.
FREE THROW WOES - Traditionally an excellent free throw shooting team, the Hoosiers have struggled this season, connecting on just 66 percent of their shots from the charity stripe. Last season IU started off slow also, shooting just 63 percent from the free throw line before rebounding with a school record 75 percent season average.
AROUND THE BIG TEN - The Hoosiers currently rank second in the Big Ten in 3-point shooting, averaging 6.0 treys per game. Individually, Jill Chapman and Cindy Kerns ranks second and fifth, respectively, in field goal percentage. Chapman also ranks sixth in blocked shots with 1.2 per game while Kerns ranks eighth in rebounding with 7.5 per game. Dani Thrush ranks third in the league with 5.6 assists per game and is sixth in steals with 2.2 per game while Kay Morgan ranks fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (.381).
