Wisconsin Game Preview (1-20-03)

1/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

News Update

January 20, 2002

Hoosiers Look For 14th Straight vs. Badgers

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 Wisconsin Game Notes CLICK HERE!  Player Notes CLICK HERE!

Hoosiers Host Badgers
The Indiana women's basketball team (9-6 overall, 2-3 Big Ten) returns home to face Wisconsin at 7 p.m. on Friday.
The game can be heard live on the radio on 105.1 WHCC Radio in Bloomington, with Jeremy Gray calling all the action.
The broadcast can also be accessed live by visiting iuhoosiers.com, then going to the women's basketball schedule page. Once on the schedule page, click on the "listen live" icon for the Wisconsin game.

Bennett Issues $5,000 Challenge
Kathi Bennett wants to establish a new single-game attendance record at Indiana, and she is putting her money where her mouth is.
The Indiana women's basketball coach will pledge $5,000 of her own money to the Wabash Valley affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation if the Hoosiers break their existing attendance record of 5,503 when they host Wisconsin at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 24 at Assembly Hall.
High school and middle school girls' basketball programs throughout the state of Indiana have been invited to attend this game compliments of IU Athletics.

Hoosiers Look For 14th in a Row
Indiana has enjoyed a good deal of success against Wisconsin at Assembly Hall in recent years, putting together a 13-game winning streak against the Badgers in Bloomington, dating back to the 1987-88 season.
Making that figure even more impressive is the fact that Wisconsin has not been a bad team during that time, putting together nine winning seasons in that span.

More About The Streak
Year Result Score
2002 Indiana Win 70-63 (ot)
2001 Indiana Win 83-79
2000 -- DNP
1999 Indiana Win 69-65
1998 Indiana Win 56-55
1997 Indiana Win 74-72
1996 Indiana Win 82-68
1995 Indiana Win 63-61
1994 Indiana Win 66-64
1993 -- DNP
1992 Indiana Win 77-52
1991 Indiana Win 103-86
1990 Indiana Win 76-69
1989 Indiana Win 73-55
1988 Indiana Win 71-59

Last Year's Meeting
Indiana handed then-No. 8 Wisconsin a 70-63 defeat in overtime in last year's meeting at Assembly Hall.
The Badgers came into the game with a 16-2 overall record and a 7-1 mark in Big Ten play.
The Hoosiers rode a 30-point, 11-rebound performance from Jill Chapman in the contest and held the Badgers to .333 shooting from the field.
Among the players on this year's roster, Jenny DeMuth led the way with five points, five rebounds and three steals in the contest.

Valentin Has Made Last 22...And Counting
Freshman guard and Bloomington native Cyndi Valentin has drained her last 22 free throws over the last eight games.
Earlier in the season, Jenny DeMuth sunk 18 straight and Kali Kullberg drained 12 in a row. All three rank in the top six in school history.

Longest Free-Throw Streaks at Indiana
1) Kristi Green (1998) - 31 consecutive
2) Cyndi Valentin (2003) - 22 consecutive...streak still active
3) Jenny DeMuth (2002) - 18 consecutive
3) Lisa Furlin (1993) - 18 consecutive
5) Kristi Green (1996-97) - 14 consecutive
6) Kali Kullberg (2002) - 12 consecutive

Fans Starting To Notice
2,845 fans came through the gates of Assembly Hall to watch Indiana upset 23rd-ranked Ohio State in the Hoosiers' last home game. That figure is the sixth-highest single-game total ever at Indiana.

Top Ten Single-Game Attendance Records
5,503 vs. Purdue 1/29/1999
5,003 vs. Purdue 1/25/1998
3,414 vs. Purdue 1/7/2001
3,213 vs. Michigan 1/16/1998
3,004 vs. Ohio State 1/31/1997
2,845 vs. Ohio State 1/12/2003
2,728 vs. Purdue 3/6/1992
2,569 vs. Purdue 2/10/1995
2,268 vs. Ohio State 2/18/1996
2,190 vs. Iowa 2/7/1999

Attendance A Hot Topic Lately
With the good turnout for the Ohio State game and Kathi Bennett pledging $5,000 of her own money to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer if the Hoosiers break the all-time mark against the Badgers, here are some key attendance notes to look at regarding Indiana...

* The Hoosiers average 1,274 fans per home game. The Big Ten average is 3,764 and will only go up with the conference season beginning to hit its stride.

* Last year, Indiana averaged 1,178 fans at home. The Big Ten average was 4,347.

* Over the last 10 years, Indiana has averaged 1,055 fans at home. The Big Ten average over that same span is 3,737.

* Over the last four years, Indiana has averaged 1,088 fans per game. The Big Ten average over that same span is 4,313.

Attendance Around The big Ten
Indiana is looking to not only break its existing attendance record of 5,503, but to shatter it.
Large attendance figures for women's basketball is certainly a realizable goal when one takes a look at what has been done around the Big Ten in the last two years.

Big Ten Attendance Highs Since 2001-02
1/20/02 Minnesota at Wisconsin - 17,142
1/19/03 Purdue at Minnesota - 13,117
2/3/02 Wisconsin at Purdue - 13,009
2/24/02 Michigan State at Minnesota - 12,142
12/3/02 Kent State at Michigan State - 12,058
1/27/02 Indiana at Minnesota - 11,389
1/12/03 Michigan at Purdue - 11,387
2/10/02 Iowa at Penn State - 10,854
2/10/02 Indiana at Purdue - 10,373
1/27/02 Iowa at Purdue - 10,341
1/19/03 Michigan State at Penn State - 10,032

Recruiting Class Ranked
Indiana's incoming crop of freshmen has been tabbed as a top-25 recruiting class by All-Star Girls Report recruiting service.
The Hoosier crop was ranked 23rd nationally and is headlined by Indianapolis native Carrie Smith (Brebeuf Jesuit) and by 6'7 Canadian Sarah McKay.
Monroeville native Leah Enterline (Heritage HS) also joins the class, along with Lincoln, Neb., product Jamey Chapman and Minneapolis' Annika Boyd.
"Indiana definitely shored up its frontcourt with Sarah McKay, Jamey Chapman and Carrie Smith, who will do your dirty work for you underneath. They helped their low-post game. Leah Enterline and Annika Boyd are also two quality guards," wrote All-Star Girls Report of the IU class.

This Year's Freshmen Shining As Well
Indiana head coach Kathi Bennett has started a true freshman in every game this year, and the freshman class has been one of the Hoosiers' most productive units.

Scoring By Class
Class (# of Players) PPG RPG APG
Seniors (5) 25.1 12.3 6.8
Juniors (1) 1.5 3.0 0.3
Sophomores (2) 14.4 6.1 2.5
Freshmen (5) 22.7 16.1 2.4

Injury Update
Freshman forward April Williams is out three-to-four weeks with a partial tear of the MCL in her knee. Williams sustained the injury in practice on January 14.

Bitten By The Injury Bug
Starting guard Kali Kullberg went down in practice on December 17 with a torn ACL and is out for the season. She underwent surgery on December 30, and will not be able to take a medical redshirt, as she played in too many games to qualify.
With Kullberg now out of the lineup, head coach Kathi Bennett is faced with the daunting task of coaching with only one point guard on her roster (Kristen Bodine, who tore her ACL last year and is still not quite at 100 percent herself).
Earlier in the season, junior LeeAnn Stephenson also suffered a torn ACL in practice. The quickest player on the Indiana roster, Stephenson underwent surgery and is redshirting the season.

Amazing But True
With the ACL injuries to both Kullberg and Stephenson, Indiana has seen three point guards go down with torn ACLs in a span of just over 12 months.
Kathi Bennett, whose playing career ended with a knee injury of her own, has seen injuries become a recurring theme during her time at Indiana.

Player Year Injury Result
Kali Kullberg 2002 Torn ACL Surgery
LeeAnn Stephenson 2002 Torn ACL Surgery
Lisa Eckart 2002 Ruptured Disk in Back Surgery
Kristen Bodine 2001 Torn ACL Surgery
Jamie Gathing 2000-02 Various Knee Injuries Surgery
April Williams 2003 Torn MCL Out

Bennett A Giant Killer
Indiana defeated No. 23 Ohio State, 54-50 at Assembly Hall on Jan. 12.
Kathi Bennett has made a habit of beating ranked teams during her time at Indiana, claiming two wins over top-10 teams, three wins over top-15 teams and six wins over top-25 teams.
IU is 4-1 in its last five games against ranked Big Ten teams.

Don't Count Them Out
Indiana has erased large second-half deficits recently, coming back from 10 points down with 9:05 remaining to upset No. 23 Ohio State. In the Hoosiers' game against Northwestern three days earlier, they erased a seven-point halftime deficit to win, 62-52.
The Hoosiers have trailed in the second half in five of their nine wins this year.

More About Indiana's Comebacks
Ball State-67, Indiana-62 with 4:03 remaining W, 103-95 (2 OT)
Northwestern-31, Indiana-23 with 19:28 remaining W, 62-52
Ohio State-41, Indiana-31 with 9:05 remaining W, 54-50
Michigan-45, Indiana-29 with 16:50 remaining L, 71-68

Defense Tops Big Ten
Kathi Bennett is a coach that stresses defense, and her Hoosiers have responded. Indiana leads the Big Ten in both field goal percentage defense and three-point field goal defense, limiting the opposition to .359 shooting from the field and .275 shooting from beyond the arc.
In addition, the Hoosiers rank second in the conference behind only Ohio State in scoring defense, limiting the opposition to only 59.7 points per game.

Kullberg Named Athlete Of The Year
Freshman point guard Kali Kullberg was named as the Orono Sun-Sailor's Athlete of the Year for 2002.
The Orono, Minnesota, native finished her career at Orono High School as the all-time leading scorer in school history (either boys or girls), despite playing with two broken wrists during her junior season.
Kullberg is out for the year after tearing her ACL in practice on December 17.

Who's It Going To Come From?
One of the best things that Kathi Bennett has had to work with this year is the fact that scoring punch has come from several different sources this year.
Against Illinois State, Cyndi Valentin became the third different Hoosier this year to score more than 20 points in a game, joining Jenny DeMuth and Lisa Eckart.
Five different Hoosiers have scored 17 or more points in a game this year, with eight players reaching double figures.
On top of that, four different Hoosiers have posted double-doubles this year and eight different Hoosiers have led the team in scoring in a game this year.

Bennett Coaches 400th
When the Hoosiers faced Illinois on January 2, it marked the 400th game of Kathi Bennett's career as a head coach.
In her 15 years as a head coach, she has won a Division III National Championship, a Big Ten Tournament Title, seven conference championships, made eight NCAA Tournament appearances and has five 20-win seasons to her credit.

Bennett Second-Fastest to 40
Indiana head coach Kathi Bennett picked up her 40th win at the helm of the Hoosier program when Indiana handed Eastern Kentucky a 61-49 defeat on November 25.
Having reached the 40-win mark in her 65th game as the head coach of the Hoosiers, she became the second-fastest to 40 wins in Indiana history.

Fastest to 40 wins at Indiana
1) Bea Gorton (1971-76) 46 games
2) Kathi Bennett (2000-present) 65 games
3) Jim Izard (1988-2000) 71 games
4) Maryalyce Jeremiah (1980-85) 73 games
5) Joy Malcholdi (1976-80) 82 games

Road Weary
The Hoosiers logged some serious miles during the nonconference portion of the schedule. After opening the season at home, Indiana traveled to Anchorage, Alaska for the Great Alaska Shootout. The Hoosiers then visited Tallahassee, Fla., to battle Florida State before returning home to host Georgetown. The Hoosiers concluded their odyssey by traveling to Denton, Texas to do battle with North Texas.
The Hoosiers traveled 5,662 miles to and from Anchorage, then 1,596 miles to and from Tallahassee, only to travel an additional 1,788 miles to and from Denton. All tolled, Indiana covered 9,046 miles over a span of 18 days.

Capitalizing From The Line
The Hoosiers attempted a season-high 40 free-throws against Georgetown, draining 30.
The 40 free-throw attempts marked the second-highest single-game total in school history.

DeMuth Sets School Record
Sophomore guard Jenny DeMuth set a new school record in the Hoosiers' 103-95 win over Ball State by draining all 14 of her free-throw attempts in the contest.
The prior record was held by Lisa Furlin, who went 12-for-12 in a game against Wisconsin in 1993.
Denise Jackson holds the school record for total free throws made in a game with 15.

All-Tournament
Both Jenny DeMuth and Kristen Bodine earned All-Tournament team honors at the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout.
DeMuth averaged 20.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in the two games in Anchorage, including a 26-point, seven-rebound performance in the championship game.
Bodine averaged 10.5 points and 4.5 assists in the two games, including a 17-point showing against Eastern Kentucky.

Making Their Mark
This year's Hoosiers have already marked up the record books.
In IU's 103-95 win over Ball State on November 23, the Hoosiers tied the single-game team record for assists with 29, led by Kristen Bodine. Bodine had 12 assists in the contest, a mark that tied her for third place on the school's single-game chart for an individual.
Indiana's 103 points in that contest tied for the second-highest single-game outburst, behind the 110 points the Hoosiers put on the board against Alabama-Birmingham in 1991.

World Traveler
Indiana's travel situation in the early part of the season may seem a bit much, but it is nothing new to senior forward Jill Hartman. Hartman toured Europe this past summer as a member of the Big Ten All-Star team that compiled a perfect 5-0 record.

Home Grown Hoosiers
Since taking over at the helm of the Indiana program prior to the 2000-01 season, Kathi Bennett has made a point of bringing in some of the top talent from the state of Indiana. On the current roster, Bennett has brought in the runner-up for the state's 2001 Miss Basketball award (Jenny DeMuth) and four Indiana All-Stars (DeMuth, Kristen Bodine, Brigett Branson and Cyndi Valentin.)

Valentin's Day
Freshman Cyndi Valentin made quite an impression in her first go-around in front of the Indiana faithful. The local product from Bloomington South High School won the three-point shooting contest at Midnight Madness in front of over 12,000 fans at Assembly Hall.
Valentin emerged from the women's half of the bracket by edging Kristen Bodine, then defeated men's champion Ryan Tapak in the event final.

What's Next
Indiana hosts Michigan State at 2 p.m. on Sunday at Assembly Hall.
The game can be heard live in Bloomington on 105.1 WHCC Radio with Jeremy Gray calling all the action.
Fans outside of Bloomington can listen to the game by logging on to iuhoosiers.com, then going to the women's basketball homepage and clicking on "Listen Live" on the women's basketball schedule page.