Indiana University Athletics
Minnesota Edges Indiana (2-9-03)
2/9/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 9, 2003
Hoosiers Edged By No. 15 Minnesota, 59-56
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Box Score
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. --When the Indiana women’s basketball team hosted No. 15/16 Minnesota on Sunday at Assembly Hall, it matched a stingy Hoosier defense against a high-powered Gopher offense.
The Hoosiers entered the game leading the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense, while Minnesota’s .525 field goal percentage not only led the Big Ten, but also the nation.
Indiana (9-11 overall, 2-8 Big Ten) was able to dictate the game’s overall tempo and draw the Gophers (17-4 overall, 6-4 Big Ten) into a physical low-scoring game, however, Minnesota escaped with a 59-56 victory.
"I am certainly disappointed in the loss bcause I thought we played well enough to win," Hoosier head coach Kathi Bennett said. "Those are the ones that hurt the most. Our defense was outstanding. They are the number one scoring offense in the country. We held them under 60 points and their field goal percentage under 40 percent.
The Gophers held true to form early on, opening the game on an 11-2 run, prompting Kathi Bennett to call a timeout and get her team together. From the point of the timeout, the Hoosiers rattled off a 25-16 run to go into halftime with a 27-25 lead after Cyndi Valentin went the length of the court to sink a layup as time expired.
Valentin led the Hoosiers with eight first half points, with Jenny DeMuth adding six of her own in the first half.
One of the factors in that run was Indiana’s ability to force Lindsay Whalen, last year’s Big Ten Player of the Year, to the bench with two fouls with 9:41 remaining in the half, From the time Whalen went to the bench, the Hoosiers went on a 17-10 run to close out the half.
Whalen would get her revenge, however, scoring 11 of Minnesota’s final 13 points of the game to seal the victory. She finished with 27 points.
Minnesota got off to a solid start in the second half as well, opening on a 12-6 run to open up a 37-31 lead. The Hoosiers and Gophers then traded baskets for a stretch before Minnesota was able to open up a 50-42 advantage. Indiana rallied yet again, however, to take a 53-52 lead with under four minutes left in the game.
Indiana was led in the scoring column by Valentin, who finished with 15 points. Jill Hartman continued the impressive offensive streak she has been on, scoring 12 points and making both of her three-point attempts. Kristen Bodine also chipped in with eight for the Hoosiers.
The Hoosier defense held the Gophers to just 39.7 percent from the field. Minnesota’s biggest advantage came on the glass, where the Gophers out-rebounded a smaller Indiana team, 47-29. Janel McCarville finished with a game-high 14 rebounds to go with her 12 points. Kadidja Andersson added 10 points in the win.
A crowd of 3,867 turned out to see the game, a mark that ranks as the fourth-highest in school history. Earlier in the season, the Hoosiers smashed the school record by bringing 7,986 fans in through the gates against Wisconsin. Indiana has set three of its top eight attendance marks this season.
"We had a lot of fun out there and we were really intense," senior Jill Hartman said. "I think the crowd really helped and got us pumped up. I think we play better when we are having fun, and are fired up. Its disappointing when you want something really bad, but it was good to have fun and be excited."
The Hoosiers return to action at 7 p.m. on Thursday when they host Iowa at Assembly Hall. The game can be heard live in Bloomington on WHCC 105.1 radio with Jeremy Gray calling all the action. Fans outside of Bloomington can listen live on the internet by visiting iuhoosiers.com and selecting the Iowa game from the schedule/results link on the women’s basketball page.
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