Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Down Wisconsin (2-16-03)
2/16/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 16, 2003
Hoosiers Down Badgers; Valentin Hits Career-High 23 Points
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Madison, Wis. - Whether the IU women’s basketball team sought to avenge its loss in front of a record home crowd to the Badgers on Jan. 24 in Bloomington’s Assembly Hall or whether the team was determined to continue its winning ways, coming off an 89-68 win over Iowa on Thursday, Indiana defeated Wisconsin 49-48 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisc., Sunday afternoon.
“I’m really proud of this team,” said head coach Kathi Bennett. “We overcame their size and we kept battling. We made some huge shots down the stretch and this is a great win for us.”
Indiana improves to 11-11, 4-8 in Big Ten play, with its first Big Ten road win of the season. Wisconsin falls to 7-17, 5-8 in conference action.
The victory marks Bennett’s first win in Wisconsin’s Kohl Center and snaps an IU four-game losing streak in the building. Bennett’s father, Dick, is a former Badger head coach and her sister, Tony, is currently an assistant with the Badger team.
“It’s nice to win here because there are a lot of friends and former players that were here,” said Bennett. “I’m happy that the win came with this team, because they are really starting to come together.”
After getting off to a 9-11 start, the Hoosiers have won the last two-straight to get to 11-11. Last year’s Big Ten Championship team also started 9-11 before getting things rolling as the season wound to its close.
After a 17-point, first half performance by freshman Cyndi Valentin and a 26-21 halftime lead, the Badgers snagged their first lead of the contest six and a half minutes into the second half. Valentin ended the day with a career-high 23 points and has scored 15 points or more in three-straight contests.
“Cyndi has to be a scorer for us, and lately her shot selection has been a lot better,” said Bennett. “She’s taking good shots and she is playing a lot better.”
Despite jumping out to a 15-1 lead in the first half, scoring the first 13 points of the contest, the second half ended in a nail-biter. The game came down to the wire as senior Kristen Bodine put the Hoosiers ahead by one with a basket from beyond the arc with one minute remaining en route to scoring seven points in the game.
“It was a play that was called from the bench and it was set up for that,” said Bodine. “I wanted to get the shot off and I got a good look at it.”
Jenny DeMuth, Lisa Eckart and Jill Hartman each added five points in the effort.
Freshman forward Brigett Branson left the game midway through the first half with a sprained ankle and did not return.
The Hoosiers continue their road swing as they travel to Evanston, Ill., for a Feb. 20, 7 p.m. contest with the Northwestern Wildcats.
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