Indiana University Athletics
HOOSIERS HOST ILLINOIS
2/9/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
HOOSIERS HOST ILLINOIS HONOR SENIORS
THIS WEEK - Indiana will play its final home game of the season this weekend, hosting lllinois Sunday, Feb. 14, in Assembly Hall at 2 p.m.
SENIOR/PARENTS DAY - Sunday's game has been slated as Senior/Parents Day, honoring the Class of 1999. Indiana will recognize its six seniors: Kristi Green, Cindy Kerns, Summar Maines, LaKale Malone, Kristin Miller and Dani Thrush.
HOOSIERS ON THE TUBE - Today's game vs. Illinois will be broadcast live by WTIU-TV here in Bloomington. Sean Bartel will call the play-by-play while Jennifer Forney will provide the color commentary.
THE HOOSIER RECORD - With weekend losses to Michigan State (86-69) and Iowa (73-69), the Hoosiers' record dipped to 13-14 overall and 2-11 in league play for a share of last place with Minnesota in the Big Ten standings.
TALE OF TWO SEASONS - After cruising to an impressive 11-3 nonconference record with victories over Cincinnati, Southwest Missouri State, Western Kentucky and Vanderbilt, the Hoosiers have lost 11 of their last 13 games. Indiana is currently looking to snap a string of six-straight losses.
LEADERBOARD - The Hoosiers are currently paced by scoring leader Cindy Kerns who is averaging 14.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. However, in Big Ten play, it is freshman Jill Chapman who is leading the squad with a 14.6 scoring average and 8.2 rebounds per game. As a team, IU is averaging 71.5 points and 37.1 rebounds per game while shooting 44 percent from the field. Defensively, Indiana is holding its opponents to 71.6 points per game and 44 percent field goal shooting.
LAST TIME OUT - Indiana dropped an 86-69 decision to Michigan State and a 73-69 final to Iowa over the weekend. The Hoosiers were led in the two games by senior forward Cindy Kerns who collected her 10th double-double of the season against MSU with 19 points and 15 rebounds. Against the Hawkeyes, Kerns netted 22 points while grabbing five rebounds. Also having a solid offensive weekend was junior Kay Morgan who scored 16 points against the Spartans and 19 against Iowa. Against the Hawkeyes, senior Dani Thrush collected her fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
AGAINST ILLINOIS - Prior to the Fighting Illini's Friday night game at Michigan, Illinois was tied with Ohio State for third-place in the league standings with a 14-8 overall record and an 8-4 Big Ten mark. Five players are averaging double-digits for a team that averages 79.5 points and 42 rebounds per game. Junior transfer Susan Blauser leads the squad, averaging 17.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Last week, Blauser sprained her ankle in Friday night's loss to Northwestern, but played 17 minutes in Sunday's game against Ohio State. Blauser is followed in scoring by junior Tauja Catchings who averages 12.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Illinois is coached by Theresa Grentz who is in her fourth season with the program and carries a 71-41 school record. The Series: Indiana leads the all-time series 24-16. Last month, the Fighting Illini defeated the Hoosiers 96-65 in Champaign, Ill. Blauser led Illinois with 24 points in that game while Kay Morgan paced Indiana with 21 points off the bench.
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 990 career points while Thrush boasts 982. Green needs just 10 points while Thrush is 18 points shy of 1,000. Green and Thrush would become the 14th and 15th Hoosier players to reach the elite milestone.
MORGAN SHOOTS FOR RECORD - Junior Kay Morgan is just six 3-pointers shy of breaking the school mark for 3-point field goals made in a season. Currently the 5-6 guard leads the Big Ten with 64 treys. Former Hoosier great Kris McGrade holds the school record with 69 3-pointers made during the 1991-92 season.
CLIMBING THE CHART - Dani Thrush is also making her way up the school's career assists record chart. Currently, Thrush has 386 career assists to rank second all-time. Thrush would need 147 more assists to take over the top spot which is currently held by Tisha Hill (1989-92). The 5-9 senior is averaging 4.9 assists per game and has posted double-doubles for assists and points four times and for points and rebounds once. Only Penn State's Helen Darling has more double-doubles for assists and points in a game this season with seven.
FEW FROM THE STRIPE - Indiana's inability to make it to the free throw line was again evident in last week's losses to Michigan State and Iowa. Against the Spartans, IU was just 1-1 from the charity stripe, while against the Hawkeyes the Hoosiers toed the line six times, sinking three baskets. During IU's current six-game losing streak, the Hoosiers have been 31-53 from the free throw line while their opponents have made 83-114 attempts - which translates into 52 more points.
HOT AGAINST THE HOOSIERS - In five of Indiana's last six losses, its opponent has lit up the court with 50 percent or better field goal shooting, including an impressive 64 percent by No. 2 Purdue Jan. 29. In addition, the Hoosiers have been outscored 86.3-65.3 during that same time span.
BEHIND THE ARC - As a team, the Hoosiers lead the Big Ten in 3-point shooting with 165 baskets from behind the arc. The Hoosiers are averaging 6.1 treys per game while their opponents are averaging just 3.4 3-pointers per game. Against Purdue on Jan. 29, the Hoosiers tied the school record with 12 3-pointers. Earlier this season IU netted 12 treys against East Tennessee State.
TEAM ASSISTS - Indiana is fourth in the Big Ten in assists per game with a 16.37 average. Senior Dani Thrush leads the team in assists per game with a 4.9 average, while Kay Morgan is second with a 3.3 average.
BIG TEN FROSH PLAY - Indiana's 6-5 center Jill Chapman has definitely put herself in the running for "Big Ten Freshman of the Year" honors. Despite being a rookie in the rugged Big Ten, in league play, Chapman has led Indiana in scoring and rebounding six times and has scored in double-figures in all but three games. Against Ohio State Jan. 31, Chapman netted a career-high 24 points while equalling her career-best with 14 rebounds. In conference play, Chapman leads the squad, averaging 14.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game while shooting 52 percent from the field.
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT - With two weeks of regular season Big Ten
play remaining, the Hoosiers will have to wait until Sunday, Feb. 21 to
find out who they will meet in the fifth-annual Big Ten Women's Basketball
Tournament held Feb. 26 thru March 1, in the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.
Teams finishing the regular season 6-11 in the conference standings will
play Friday, Feb. 26, while the top five seeded teams will wait to begin
action until Saturday, Feb. 27. The tourney winner will earn the Big Ten's
automatic NCAA championship berth, however, the team with the Conference's
best regular season won-loss record will be crowned the Big Ten Champion.
