Indiana Heads to Iowa (1-28-03)

1/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

News Update

January 28, 2002

Hoosiers Head To Iowa

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 Iowa Game Notes CLICK HERE!  Player Notes CLICK HERE!

Bennett's Pocketbook Takes A Hit
Indiana head coach Kathi Bennett made a pledge to donate $5,000 of her own money to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation if the Hoosiers set a new single-game attendance record when they hosted Wisconsin on January 24.
The existing record of 5,503 fans was shattered in the contest, as 7,986 people came through the gates for the game.

What's On Tap
The Indiana women's basketball team (9-8 overall, 2-5 Big Ten) is on the road for four of its next six games, traveling to Iowa City to face Iowa (10-7 overall; 2-4 Big Ten)
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 Iowa game.

Tough Place To Play
Iowa enters Thursday's game with a perfect 8-0 record at Carver-Hawkeye Arena this year.
The Hoosiers have lost six straight games in Iowa City, with their last win coming on February 20, 1994.
Indiana is 4-16 all-time against the Hawkeyes in Iowa City.

Series History
Iowa owns a 30-11 all-time advantage in the series, with the two teams splitting a pair of games last year.
The Hawkeyes picked up a 73-65 win at Assembly Hall, and IU returned the favor by eliminating the Hawkeyes in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament with a 78-76 overtime win at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Iowa has won 11 of the last 13 meetings between the two teams.

Bennett, Bluder Familiar Foes
Indiana head coach Kathi Bennett is familiar with Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder from their battles in the Missouri Valley Conference. Bennett and Bluder's history extends back to the 1996-97 season, when Bennett led Evansville and Bluder led Drake.
Bluder has won 10 of the 12 meetings all-time between the two. Both coaches came to the Big Ten in 2000 and are in their third season at their respective schools.
Since arriving in the Big Ten, Bluder's Hawkeyes have won three games to Bennett's one.

When We Last Met
The last meeting between Indiana and Iowa came in the first round of the 2002 Big Ten Tournament, where Indiana picked up a 78-76 overtime victory.
Hoosier center Jill Chapman drained two free throws with the score tied and three seconds remaining in overtime to seal the win.

Valentin Has Made Last 24...And Counting
Freshman guard and Bloomington native Cyndi Valentin has drained her last 24 free throws over the last 10 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) - 24 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

Skid Row
The Hoosiers have not been able to put it together lately, dropping four straight games for only the second time in the Kathi Bennett era.

Slow Starts Are Costly
Part of Indiana's recent problems stem from the fact that the Hoosiers are getting behind early in games. In the last four games, opponents have outscored Indiana, 134-95 in the first half.
Adding to that is the fact that the Hoosiers are 1-7 when trailing at the half this year, including an 0-4 mark in Big Ten play when trailing at the half.
The Hoosiers have trailed at the half of each of their last four games, and are averaging 23.8 points in the first half of their last four games.

Adventures In Free-Throw Shooting
Free-throw shooting has been a very real problem for the Hoosiers all year, as they rank 11th in the Big Ten with a .670 team percentage.
Indiana was 11-for-25 against Wisconsin from the line, including a 7-for-20 showing in the second half.
Earlier in the year, IU had a 10-for-23 showing against Purdue and a 5-for-13 effort against Illinois. Both of those games were decided by five points or less.

Streaks Snapped
Indiana's perfect 6-0 record at home this year and its eight-game home winning streak that dated back to last year was snapped by the Badgers last Friday, as was IU's streak of 13 consecutive wins over Wisconsin at Assembly Hall.

Not Feelin' It
A defensive-minded team, Indiana is not a team that will shoot at a high percentage with consistency. The Hoosiers shoot the ball at a .376 clip, ranking 11th in the Big Ten. Even when Indiana was winning games, it didn't shoot well.
In recent games though, the shooting has become dreadful.
The Hoosiers are shooting .329 from the field as a team over the last four contests.

Field Goal Percentages - Last Four Games
Cyndi Valentin .333
Lisa Eckart .340
Jenny DeMuth .304
Angela Hawkins .381
Kristen Bodine .231

Attendance is Up
A school-record 7,986 fans came through the gates of Assembly Hall to watch Friday's contest. The Hoosiers have already set two of the school's top seven single-game home attendance marks this year.

Top Ten Single-Game Attendance Records
1) 7,986 vs. Wisconsin 1/24/03
2) 5,503 vs. Purdue 1/29/1999
3) 5,003 vs. Purdue 1/25/1998
4) 3,414 vs. Purdue 1/7/2001
5) 3,213 vs. Michigan 1/16/1998
6) 3,004 vs. Ohio State 1/31/1997
7) 2,845 vs. Ohio State 1/12/2003
8) 2,728 vs. Purdue 3/6/1992
9) 2,569 vs. Purdue 2/10/1995
10) 2,268 vs. Ohio State 2/18/1996

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.

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.

Injury Update
Freshman forward April Williams remains on the sidelines with a partial tear of the MCL in her knee. Williams sustained the injury in practice on January 14. She should return in early to mid February.

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.

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 field goal percentage defense and is second in three-point field goal defense, limiting the opposition to .374 shooting from the field and .295 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 60.5 points per game.

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.

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.

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 heads to State College to battle Penn State at 1 p.m. (EST) on Sunday.
A rematch of the 2002 Big Ten Tournament Championship game, the contest will be televised live by Fox Sports Chicago, with Dave Eanet and Toni Roesch calling the action.
As is the case with all Indiana games, it can also 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.