Indiana University Athletics
IU To Host Michigan (2-21-03)
2/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
February 21, 2003
Wolverines Visit The Hall
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• Michigan 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.
Hoosiers In Search Of Payback
The Indiana women's basketball team (11-12 overall, 4-9 Big Ten) hosts Michigan (11-13 overall; 2-11 Big Ten) at 2 p.m. on Sunday at Assembly Hall.
The two teams met at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor on January 19, with Michigan holding on to claim a 71-68 win.
Sunday's game can be heard live on WHCC Radio 105.1 in Bloomington with Jeremy Gray calling all the action.
The broadcast can be 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 Michigan game.
Series History
Indiana owns a 33-11 all-time series advantage over Michigan, but the Wolverines have gotten the better of the Hoosiers lately, winning five of the last seven meetings between the two teams.
Series at a Glance
Series Record Indiana leads, 33-11
In Bloomington Indiana leads, 16-4
In Ann Arbor Indiana leads, 14-7
Last Indiana Win 2/18/01 in Bloomington, 73-51
Last Michigan Win 1/19/03 in Ann Arbor, 71-68
Current Streak Michigan has won 5 of last 7
Hometown Heroes
Indiana will be recognizing its in-state players as "Hometown Heroes" in the final two home games of the season.
Displays will be set up in the Assembly Hall lobby showcasing sophomore Jenny DeMuth (Highland, Ind.) and freshmen Brigett Branson (Bloomingdale, Ind.) and Cyndi Valentin (Bloomington) for Sunday's game against Michigan.
In addition, fans from each of the players' respective hometowns have been encouraged to attend Sunday's matchup.
Injury Update
Freshman forward Brigett Branson sprained her right ankle against Wisconsin last Sunday and did not play against Northwestern on Thursday. Her status for Sunday's contest against Michigan will be a game-time decision.
Season Attendance Record Within Reach
The Hoosiers will set a new average attendance record this year. Indiana averages 2,144 fans per home game, far above the existing record of 1,449 fans per game set in 1997-98.
Indiana could establish a new single-season total attendance record in the final two home games of the regular season. 21,441 fans have seen the Hoosiers play at home this year (10 games). The existing record for most total fans at home came in 1997-98, when 23,184 fans came through the gates (16 games).
In order for the Hoosiers to establish the record, they would need to draw 1,743 fans over their next two games (vs. Michigan and vs. Illinois).
Top-10 Season Attendance Average (Total/Games)
Year Avg./Game Total Att./Games
1) 2002-03 2,144 21,441/ 10games
2) 1997-98 1,449 23,184/ 16 games
3) 1998-99 1,340 21,444/ 16 games
4) 2001-02 1,178 15,318 /13 games
5) 2000-01 1,115 15,606/ 14 games
6) 1994-95 1,080 16,204/ 15 games
7) 1996-97 1,076 15,060/ 15 games
8) 1993-94 952 13,328/ 14 games
9) 1995-96 874 13,105/ 15 games
10) 1992-93 770 10,774/ 14 games
Last Game
Indiana is coming off a tough 50-46 loss at Northwestern in Evanston on Thursday.
A late IU rally fell short, as the Hoosiers trailed by 10 points with under two minutes remaining, then cut the deficit to three points with 27 seconds left. However, Jill Hartman couldn't get a three-pointer to fall and IU was forced to foul, sealing its fate.
Wrapping Up The Northwestern Game
• Northwestern's 50 points scored was the lowest amount by a team that has defeated Indiana this year.
• The loss snapped a five-game winning streak by Indiana over Northwestern.
• Indiana's starting forward Brigett Branson missed the game with a sprained ankle sustained against Wisconsin the game prior.
• Guard April Williams returned to the lineup after missing nine games with an injury to her left knee.
• Lisa Eckart scored 19 points and sunk five three-pointers. Her five treys was the most for a Hoosier this year.
• Freshman guard Cyndi Valentin established new career-highs with eight rebounds and four assists.
Valentin Can Make Indiana History
Barring injury, freshman guard Cyndi Valentin will become the first freshman ever at Indiana to score 250 points, drain 25 three-pointers, record 30 steals and convert on 85 percent of her free-throws.
The Bloomington native currently has scored 248 points, made 24 three-pointers, has 31 steals and is shooting .870 from the free throw line.
Valentin A Name To Remember
Indiana freshman guard Cyndi Valentin has shined more than any freshman guard since Linda Cunningham in 1983.
Valentin averages 10.8 points per game, which is the second-highest mark ever for a freshman guard at Indiana behind Cunningham's 11.2 average in 1983.
Among the 17 members of Indiana's 1,000-point club, only seven averaged more than 10.8 points per game as a freshman.
Valentin's three 20+ scoring games are the most ever for a freshman guard at Indiana, and her 23-point showing against Wisconsin ties her with current teammate Jill Hartman for the school record for points by a freshman guard.
Single-Game Freshman Scoring records
1) 32 Denise Jackson vs. Michigan State 2/13/81
2) 31 Jill Chapman vs. Michigan State 2/26/99
3) 28 Shirley Bryant vs. Brigham Young 12/30/91
4) 27 Shirley Bryant vs. Marquette 12/19/91
4) 27 Denise Jackson vs. Dayton 11/29/80
6) 24 Jill Chapman vs. Ohio State 1/31/99
6) 24 Shirley Bryant vs. Creighton 12/2/91
6) 24 Rachelle Bostic vs. Purdue 2/3/81
9) 23 Cyndi Valentin vs. Wisconsin 2/16/03
9) 23 Jill Hartman vs. East Carolina 11/27/99
9) 23 Jill Chapman vs. Wisconsin 1/10/99
9) 23 Denise Jackson vs. Northwestern 2/6/81
13) 22 Cyndi Valentin vs. Illinois State 12/30/02
13) 22 Bridget Porter vs. Purdue 2/4/94
15) 21 Cyndi Valentin vs. Michigan 1/19/03
15) 21 Jill Chapman vs. Florida 11/20/98
15) 21 Jill Chapman vs. Tennessee Tech 12/20/98
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 three-point field goal defense, limiting the opposition to .386 shooting from the field and .281 shooting from beyond the arc.
The Hoosiers rank second in the conference in scoring defense, limiting the opposition to only 60.9 points per game.
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.
Mathematically, poor free throw shooting has cost the Hoosiers five games this year
Date Indiana FT Outcome, Score
2/20 vs. Northwestern 10-for-17 L, 50-46
2/9 vs. No. 15/16 Minnesota 10-for-19 L, 59-56
1/24 vs. Wisconsin 11-for-25 L, 69-58
1/2 vs. Illinois 5-for-13 L, 63-58
12/14 vs. No. 6/6Purdue 10-for-23 L, 53-51
Don't Look Now, But...
At this same point last year, the Hoosiers had an identical 11-12 record. Indiana lost its next game before going on a six-game winning streak that included three wins over ranked opponents and a Big Ten Tournament championship.
Bloomington is Watching
Indiana has always been at or near the bottom of the Big Ten in home attendance, but the Hoosiers are starting to get hometown support that they have not gotten in the past.
The Hoosiers have seen 21,441 fans come through the gates of Assembly Hall this year in their 10 home games (2,144 average).
Indiana's current attendance figure is a significant improvement over the entire history of the program, as the Hoosiers have only broken the 20,000 fan plateau for a season twice.
Indiana has never averaged more than 2,000 fans per game during a season.
The Hoosiers have established three of the top eight single-game attendance marks in school history this year, setting a school record on January 24 when 7,986 fans saw the Hoosiers host Wisconsin.
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) 3,867 vs. Minnesota 2/9/03
5) 3,414 vs. Purdue 1/7/2001
6) 3,213 vs. Michigan 1/16/1998
7) 3,004 vs. Ohio State 1/31/1997
8) 2,845 vs. Ohio State 1/12/2003
9) 2,728 vs. Purdue 3/6/1992
10) 2,569 vs. Purdue 2/10/1995
DeMuth Hits Wall
Sophomore guard Jenny DeMuth has seen her production sink dramatically in recent weeks.
The Highland, Ind., product is Indiana's leading scorer, but has also been its most inconsistent when it has counted the most.
Jenny DeMuth - Last 7 Games
Opponent FG-A 3FG-A FT-A Pts. Reb.
2/20 at Northwestern 1-9 0-2 3-6 5 6
2/16 at Wisconsin 2-12 0-3 1-1 5 0
2/13 vs. Iowa 7-11 0-1 11-15 25 5
2/9 vs. Minnesota 2-10 0-0 2-2 6 2
2/2 at Penn State 4-9 1-3 2-2 11 3
1/30 at Iowa 1-7 0-1 2-2 4 3
1/26 vs. Michigan State 2-10 1-4 0-0 5 0
Total 19-68 (.279) 2-14 (.143) 21-28 (.750) 8.7 2.7
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.
All Good Things Must End
Cyndi Valentin's streak of 25 consecutive made free throws came to an end in State College when she missed the second of her two free throws in the second half of Indiana's loss to Penn State. Valentin's streak stands as an Indiana freshman record and is the second-best mark for any player ever at IU.
Longest Free-Throw Streaks at Indiana
1) Kristi Green (1998) - 31 consecutive
2) Cyndi Valentin (2003) - 25 consecutive
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
Indiana's Comebacks
The Hoosiers have trailed in the second half in six of their 11 wins this year. Here is a look at IU's largest comebacks this season.
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
Northwestern-49, Indiana-39 with 1:51 remaining L, 54-50
Michigan-45, Indiana-29 with 16:50 remaining L, 71-68
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 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.
Who's It Going To Come From?
Scoring punch has come from several different sources this year.
Against Iowa, Kristen Bodine became the fourth different Hoosier this year to score more than 20 points in a game, joining Jenny DeMuth, Lisa Eckart and Cyndi Valentin.
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.
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.
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 this year's roster, is 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.
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/ Women's BasketballThursday, August 13
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