Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Win Over Iowa (2-13-03)
2/13/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 13, 2003
Hoosiers Snap Losing Streak With 89-68 Win Over Iowa
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana women’s basketball team found its offensive firepower and snapped a seven-game losing streak, defeating Iowa, 89-68, Thursday night at Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers improved to 10-11 overall and 3-8 in Big Ten play while the Hawkeyes slipped to 12-11 and 4-7 in league action.
As was the case when the two teams met in Iowa City on Jan. 30, the Hoosiers got out to a good start, opening the game with a 12-3 run sparked by Kristen Bodine and Jenny DeMuth. The duo combined to score 12 of the Hoosiers’ first 14 points.
The difference between Thursday and the last meeting, however, was that this time, Indiana held on to the lead.
“It felt really good to get the win tonight," Indiana head coach Kathi Bennett said. "We got our transition game going and broke free. We did a really good job of that. Defensively, we played hard tonight. I thought Allison Skapin played great at the end and really gave us some good minutes tonight. I feel that this was our best game offensively. We’ve been really hard on the kids this week and they responded in a positive way. I’m really proud of Jenny and Kristen tonight. They’re key for us. We need leadership on both ends of the floor from them and tonight we got that.”
The Hoosiers went on to open up a 30-13 advantage after Cyndi Valentin drained a three-pointer from the wing. Valentin started the game by making five of her first six attempts from the field (two of which were three-pointers) and her first two free throws. She went into the half leading all scorers with 14 points.
Indiana scored a season-high 44 points, capped by a Kristen Bodine three-pointer with time expiring to go into the half with a 44-34 advantage. IU’s 44 first-half points marked its largest first-half outburst since December 16 of last year against Long Beach State.
The Hoosiers scored the first six points of the second half and went on to eventually open up a 20-point cushion at 69-49. Iowa would answer with a 17-2 run to cut the IU lead to 71-66.
It was then when Kristen Bodine drew a foul going to the rim and sunk both her free throws. The Hoosiers then got a defensive stand and Bodine came back down court to drill a three pointer to up the lead back to 10 at 76-66. Bodine established a new career-high by scoring 23 points in the game. She added four rebounds and four assists.
“We knew tonight was going to be physical," Bodine said. "We played aggressive tonight on both ends. We were never nervous when they got it down to five. We just needed to score and we did. We never felt uncomfortable. When we needed to score points, we scored. When we needed to make stops, we did. I thought we played really well tonight.”
Jenny DeMuth led the Hoosiers in the scoring department, finishing just one off his career-high with 25 points. De Muth also added five rebounds and four assists. Valentin tallied 16 points and Jill Hartman chipped in with 10 points.
“Coach got on Kristen and I this week and told us that we needed to step up and start scoring," DeMuth said. "This win is a huge turning point for us. We had great defense at the start and spread the offense well. Coach has been telling me that I need to drive to the basket a lot more and get the foul. I feel like I did that tonight.”
IU shot an impressive 51.6 percent from the field and a season-best 80 percent (20-of-25) from the free throw line. The Hoosiers’ 89 points represented the most by an IU team since Jan. 11, 2001, in a 92-64 win over Minnesota.
Indiana had lost 11 of the last 12 to the Hawkeyes going into last season’s Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers are now winners of two of the last three meetings.
Iowa was led by Jennie Lillis’ 22 points. Kristin Faulkner scored 15 points and Johanna Solverson finished with 11.
The Hoosiers return to action at 3 p.m. (EST) on Sunday, when they travel to Madison, Wis., to face Wisconsin at the Kohl Center. The game can be heard live on the internet on iuhoosiers.com and can be heard on a tape-delayed basis in Bloomington on WHCC Radio 105.1 with Jeremy Gray calling all the action.
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