Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Looks to Stop Nittany Lions on Sunday
1/14/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
• Penn State owns a 21-3 advantage over Indiana in the all-time series, including a 9-1 mark in the last ten meetings.
• The Hoosiers are undefeated at home this season, owning a 6-0 record at Assembly Hall.
• Junior guard Cyndi Valentin is just 26 points away from becoming the 19th player in IU school history to accomplish this feat.
SCOUTING PENN STATE
The Nittany Lions, who are receiving votes in both the most recent Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Poll (1/10-1/16), sport a 9-6 record overall and a 4-0 mark in Big Ten play coming in to Sunday's game. Penn State most recently triumphed over Illinois, 76-41, on Jan. 13 on its home court. Sophomore guard Jennifer Harris led the way with a career-high 26 points on the night.
Senior guard Tanisha Wright, the Big Ten's leading scorer with 19.9 ppg leads Penn State on the offensive end. Two other Nittany Lion's rank first in the conference in their respective categories as senior guard Jess Strom is first in assists (85/5.67 per game) and free throw percentage (58-63/.921) and sophomore center Amanda Brown leads the Big Ten in field-goal percentage (47-74/.635).
As a team, Penn State carry a No. 1 ranking in the conference in free throw percentage with a .799 clip (219-274).
During her tenure at Penn State, head coach Rene Portland, who was awarded the 2004 WBCA/Russell Athletic National Coach of the Year, has compiled an overall mark of 655-228. In her 24 years with the Nittany Lions, Portland has coached four first-team Kodak All-Americans, four conference player of the year and one Wade Trophy winner. Portland has also served as the head coach at Colorado (1978-80) and Saint Joseph's (1976-78).
VALENTIN ON VERGE OF 1,000 CAREER POINTS
Junior Cyndi Valentin is just 26 points away from becoming the 19th player in Indiana history to score 1,000 career points. Valentin has 974 career points entering Thursday'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 carry an unblemished 6-0 record this year when playing at Assembly Hall. The last time Indiana opened the season with six-straight home wins 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.
DYNAMIC DEFENSE
Indiana's stifling defense has put them near the top of three categories among Big Ten Conference teams. The Hoosiers rank first in scoring defense as it has limited opponents to an average of 51.1 points per game over the course of 14 games as well as three-point field goal percent defense (42-158/.266). In addition, IU is second in and field goal percent defense (251-737/.341). Not only do IU's defensive efforts rank high in the conference, the Hoosiers have also made it on to the national scene as their scoring defense and field-goal percent defense both rank 10th in the nation.
STEPHENSON STEPPING UP
Senior guard LeeAnn Stephenson has been a major asset to the Hoosiers as of late. Stephenson, who entered this season with zero double-digit scoring performances, has already obtained double-digits four times this season (ISU-10 points, VCU-17 points and Minnesota-11 points, Northwestern-10 points). She is currently the second leading scorer on the team with 6.6 ppg.
In addition to her 11-point performance vs. the Gophers, the Garland, Texas, native had a career night when IU met up with Virginia Commonwealth on Dec. 22. She notched a career-high and game-high 17 points (her previous was 10) to go along with an all-time best seven assists (her previous was 5). Stephenson also matched her career-high in rebounds with three. She was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line and was 4-for-8 from the field.
NEARING A MILESTONE
With just six more wins this season, Head Coach Kathi Bennett will have 300 career wins. The fifth-year head coach has compiled a record of 70-63 while in Bloomington.
MARK THE DATE NOW
February 20, 2005 will be a big day for Hoosier women's basketball. Indiana hosts Purdue at 2 p.m., but the rivalry is hardly the story. When the Hoosiers and Boilermakers tangle, fans will have an opportunity to help fight cancer simply by showing up.
In honor of IU women's basketball fans, Vera Bradley Designs will donate $10,000 for breast cancer research if the Hoosiers 'Pack the Hall' with 10,000 people.
NEXT GAME
The Hoosiers continue with their three-game home stand when they host No. 5/5 Ohio State
on Thursday, Jan. 20. Tip off with the Buckeyes is slated for 7:00 p.m. (EST) and can be heard locally on WHCC (105.1) with Jeremy Gray calling all of the action. Livestats will be available via the Indiana Hoosier website: iuhoosiers.com.
