Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Readies for Rams (12-20-04)
12/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
THE BASICS
• Indiana (6-3) will play host to the Virginia Commonwealth Rams (3-3) on Wednesday, Dec. 22 . Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. The game can be heard live on WHCC (105.1) with Jeremy Gray calling all the action.
• The IU men will be in action following the women's game on Wednesday. The Hoosier men square off with Charlotte at 8 p.m.
• This will be the second meeting between the Hoosiers and Rams with IU holding a 1-0 edge over VCU. IU won, 68-54, during the 2003-04 season in Richmond.
SCOUTING THE RAMS
Virginia Commonwealth sports a 3-3 record coming in to Wednesday's game with Indiana. The Rams are coming off a, 67-46,win against Loyola (Md.) on Sunday, Dec. 19. The win marked the Rams' largest margin of victory so far this season (21 points).
Senior forwards Lauren Hogan and Maria Giovannetti are the only two Rams averaging double figures in scoring with 12.3 and 10.2 points per game, respectively. Hogan also leads VCU in rebounding with 8.5 per game
Head Coach Beth Cunningham, who is actually a native of Bloomington, Ind., is in her second year at the helm of the Virginia Commonwealth program. Former All-American and Notre Dame's all-time leading scorer, Cunningham served as an assistant coach for the Rams from 2001-02 and an associate head coach from 2002-03. She has an overall record of 17-17. Cunningham, who was a Bloomington South product, also played a year in the WNBA for the Washington Mystics. She is also the daughter of Indiana head baseball coach, Bob Morgan.
VALENTIN ON THE VERGE OF 1,000 CAREER POINTS
Junior Cyndi Valentin is just 92 points away from becoming the 19th player in Indiana history to score 1,000 career points. Valentin has 908 career points entering Wednesday's game. In the likely event she reaches the 1,000-point plateau this year, Valentin would become only the ninth player in school history to accomplish the feat in her junior year. Senior Jenny DeMuth was the last Hoosier to achieve this accomplishment when she scored her 1,000th career point last year on Feb. 19, 2004 against Michigan State.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The Hoosiers are a perfect 4-0 this year when playing at Assembly Hall. The last time Indiana had this record at home was during the 2002-03 season. In addition, the best start the Hoosiers have ever gotten off to on their home court was during the 1994-95 season when they started the season 9-0 at home.
HOOSIERS SCHEDULE THIRD IN SUMMERVILLE RPI POLL
With the Big Ten portion of Indiana's schedule on the horizon, the Hoosiers' schedule ranks third in the nation according to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Summerville RPI Ratings, which measures strength of schedule. The Cream and Crimson have already faced one ranked team (No. 6/6 Baylor on Nov. 19) and will have to prepare to take on five more ranked teams throughout the remainder of the season, all of which are conference opponents. In the overall RPI, IU ranks 10th.
DYNAMIC DEFENSE
Indiana's stifling defense has put them first in two categories among Big Ten Conference teams in field goal percent defense and defensive rebounds. IU has limited opponents to .318 percent from the field with a 156-for-490 shooting effort. Over the course of nine games, the Hoosiers have grabbed an average of 28.4 defensive rebounds.
In addition,the Hoosiers rank second in scoring defense as they only allow opponents to score an average of 50.6 points per game.
Blocks are another strong point for the Cream and Crimson as they rank fifth in the conference with 4.6 per game. Sarah McKay has stopped the most shots for the Hoosiers with 18 on the year (2.00 per game).
NEARING A MILESTONE
With just eight more wins this season, Head Coach Kathi Bennett will have 300 career wins. The fifth-year head coach has compiled a record of 68-60 while in Bloomington.
OFF THE BENCH BOYD
Sophomore forward Annika Boyd has been one of the most productive Hoosiers off the bench during IU's first nine contests.
Boyd's best game this season was when she notched a career-high 15 points in IU's four-point win over Louisville, 61-57 on Dec. 3. She also came up big for the Hoosiers down the stretch, connecting on key baskets to keep Indiana alive.
In its match-up with Eastern Michigan on Dec. 18, Boyd scored 12 points and finished with six rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench. She was nearly perfect from the free throw line connecting on 9-of-10 attempts.
The Minneapolis, Minn., native is currently ranked second on the team in scoring with an average of 6.9 ppg.
NEXT GAME
Up next, the Hoosiers will crack into their Big Ten Conference schedule when they travel to Iowa City, Iowa, to take on the Hawkeyes on Thursday, Dec. 30. Tip off is slated for 8:05 p.m. (EST) can be heard locally on WHCC (105.1) with Jeremy Gray calling all of the action.
• Indiana (6-3) will play host to the Virginia Commonwealth Rams (3-3) on Wednesday, Dec. 22 . Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. The game can be heard live on WHCC (105.1) with Jeremy Gray calling all the action.
• The IU men will be in action following the women's game on Wednesday. The Hoosier men square off with Charlotte at 8 p.m.
• This will be the second meeting between the Hoosiers and Rams with IU holding a 1-0 edge over VCU. IU won, 68-54, during the 2003-04 season in Richmond.
SCOUTING THE RAMS
Virginia Commonwealth sports a 3-3 record coming in to Wednesday's game with Indiana. The Rams are coming off a, 67-46,win against Loyola (Md.) on Sunday, Dec. 19. The win marked the Rams' largest margin of victory so far this season (21 points).
Senior forwards Lauren Hogan and Maria Giovannetti are the only two Rams averaging double figures in scoring with 12.3 and 10.2 points per game, respectively. Hogan also leads VCU in rebounding with 8.5 per game
Head Coach Beth Cunningham, who is actually a native of Bloomington, Ind., is in her second year at the helm of the Virginia Commonwealth program. Former All-American and Notre Dame's all-time leading scorer, Cunningham served as an assistant coach for the Rams from 2001-02 and an associate head coach from 2002-03. She has an overall record of 17-17. Cunningham, who was a Bloomington South product, also played a year in the WNBA for the Washington Mystics. She is also the daughter of Indiana head baseball coach, Bob Morgan.
VALENTIN ON THE VERGE OF 1,000 CAREER POINTS
Junior Cyndi Valentin is just 92 points away from becoming the 19th player in Indiana history to score 1,000 career points. Valentin has 908 career points entering Wednesday's game. In the likely event she reaches the 1,000-point plateau this year, Valentin would become only the ninth player in school history to accomplish the feat in her junior year. Senior Jenny DeMuth was the last Hoosier to achieve this accomplishment when she scored her 1,000th career point last year on Feb. 19, 2004 against Michigan State.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The Hoosiers are a perfect 4-0 this year when playing at Assembly Hall. The last time Indiana had this record at home was during the 2002-03 season. In addition, the best start the Hoosiers have ever gotten off to on their home court was during the 1994-95 season when they started the season 9-0 at home.
HOOSIERS SCHEDULE THIRD IN SUMMERVILLE RPI POLL
With the Big Ten portion of Indiana's schedule on the horizon, the Hoosiers' schedule ranks third in the nation according to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Summerville RPI Ratings, which measures strength of schedule. The Cream and Crimson have already faced one ranked team (No. 6/6 Baylor on Nov. 19) and will have to prepare to take on five more ranked teams throughout the remainder of the season, all of which are conference opponents. In the overall RPI, IU ranks 10th.
DYNAMIC DEFENSE
Indiana's stifling defense has put them first in two categories among Big Ten Conference teams in field goal percent defense and defensive rebounds. IU has limited opponents to .318 percent from the field with a 156-for-490 shooting effort. Over the course of nine games, the Hoosiers have grabbed an average of 28.4 defensive rebounds.
In addition,the Hoosiers rank second in scoring defense as they only allow opponents to score an average of 50.6 points per game.
Blocks are another strong point for the Cream and Crimson as they rank fifth in the conference with 4.6 per game. Sarah McKay has stopped the most shots for the Hoosiers with 18 on the year (2.00 per game).
NEARING A MILESTONE
With just eight more wins this season, Head Coach Kathi Bennett will have 300 career wins. The fifth-year head coach has compiled a record of 68-60 while in Bloomington.
OFF THE BENCH BOYD
Sophomore forward Annika Boyd has been one of the most productive Hoosiers off the bench during IU's first nine contests.
Boyd's best game this season was when she notched a career-high 15 points in IU's four-point win over Louisville, 61-57 on Dec. 3. She also came up big for the Hoosiers down the stretch, connecting on key baskets to keep Indiana alive.
In its match-up with Eastern Michigan on Dec. 18, Boyd scored 12 points and finished with six rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench. She was nearly perfect from the free throw line connecting on 9-of-10 attempts.
The Minneapolis, Minn., native is currently ranked second on the team in scoring with an average of 6.9 ppg.
NEXT GAME
Up next, the Hoosiers will crack into their Big Ten Conference schedule when they travel to Iowa City, Iowa, to take on the Hawkeyes on Thursday, Dec. 30. Tip off is slated for 8:05 p.m. (EST) can be heard locally on WHCC (105.1) with Jeremy Gray calling all of the action.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's BasketballWednesday, August 12
Wednesday, August 12
Tuesday, August 11
Tuesday, August 11