Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Stun No. 23 Buckeyes (1-12-03)
1/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
January 12, 2003
Indiana Shocks No. 23 Ohio State, 54-50
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Bloomington, Ind. - Sunday’s Big Ten matchup between No. 23 Ohio State and Indiana at Assembly Hall was one in which something had to give. Entering the game, the Buckeyes ranked second in the conference with a .521 shooting percentage from the field as a team, while the Hoosiers led the Big Ten by limiting their opponents to a .337 shooting percentage from the field.
Indiana was able to dictate the tempo and play the game on its terms, taking Ohio State out of its high-percentage shooting and coming away with the upset, 54-50. The Buckeyes were only able to shoot .378 from the field. This is the first time that IU has beaten a ranked opponent since March 4, 2002 when the Hoosiers defeated Penn State, 75-72. and this is their fourth win in their last six games against ranked teams.
Today’s win marks the fourth win in Indiana’s last six games against ranked opponents. It also marks a career 5-0 record against Ohio State for head coach Kathi Bennett in her three years at IU.
“We’re very blessed to win this game today,” head coach Kathi Bennett said. “Our staff prepared really well for this game. Everyone did great today with their defensive assignments. Cyndi (Valentin) is playing a lot of minutes and really taking control when she’s out there. She is shooting the ball really well.”
A crowd of 2,845 turned out, marking the largest crowd to see the Hoosiers play at Assembly Hall since 1998. Sunday’s attendance figure was the fourth-highest total in school history.
Neither the Hoosiers nor the Buckeyes were particularly impressive in the early going, with Indiana only able to convert on three of its first 13 shots from the field and Ohio State going 3-for-14 to open the contest.
The Hoosiers held the high-scoring Buckeyes to 6-of-25 shooting in the first half (.240 pct), and went into halftime with a 23-18 lead.
Ohio State would rally, however, going on a 23-8 run to open the second half.
Turnovers were a problem for Indiana, as the Hoosiers finished the game with 17, but the Hoosiers’ defense kept them in it up until just over nine minutes remained in the game and a missed layup by Jenny DeMuth resulted in a three-pointer by OSU’s Ashley Allen that gave the Buckeyes a 41-31 cushion.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Lisa Eckart and a layup by DeMuth brought Indiana back to within two at 41-39 with just under six minutes remaining.
The teams traded baskets until Lisa Eckart drained a three to give IU a 46-45 lead with under two minutes left. The Hoosiers got a defensive stand when Jenny DeMuth cleared a rebound of a D’wan Shackleford miss with 1:30 left, but DeMuth turned the ball right back over.
DeMuth came back to steal the ball, then converted a three-point play with 37.2 seconds left to give IU a 49-45 advantage.
Ohio State answered with a three-point play of its own, as Kim Wilburn got to the rim, and was fouled by Cyndi Valentin. After converting the free throw, the score stood at 49-48 with 28.3 seconds remaining.
Kristen Bodine then was fouled in the backcourt and went on to sink a pair of free throws. It was then time for teammate DeMuth to go to the line after pulling down a defensive rebound and getting fouled underneath the Buckeyes basket. DeMuth went on the sink one of two from the line, giving IU a 52-48 advantage with just eight seconds left on the clock.
Eckart capped off the scoring for Indiana with two made free throws, 54-48, but Buckeye guard Caity Matter snuck in her 11th point of the contest at the buzzer, making the final score 54-50.
Jenny DeMuth led the way for Indiana, scoring 21 points and grabbing seven rebounds.
Cyndi Valentin added 12 points and six rebounds as Eckart chipped in 12 points and six rebounds.
“We beat a ranked opponent, which does nothing but build our confidence,” DeMuth said. “We knew we could beat them. This is our gym and no one should think they can walk in here and beat us. We played awfully tough today and we’re really happy with the win.”
Play was extremely sloppy in the first half, with both teams shooting their share of airballs, making bad passes and committing traveling violations.
Indiana is now 6-0 at home this year and has won eight straight at home, dating back to last year.
Indiana returns to action at 7 p.m. on Thursday when it travels to East Lansing to do battle with Michigan State at the Breslin Center. The game can be heard live in Bloomington on WHCC Radio 105.1, with Jeremy Gray calling all the action. Fans outside of Bloomington can access the game live on the internet by visiting iuhoosiers.com. From there, go to the women’s basketball home page and then on to the women’s basketball schedule/results page. Once there, simply click on the “Listen Live” icon for the Michigan State game.
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