Indiana University Athletics
Big Ten Celebrates IU Tournament Moment
1/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The league office began highlighting 10 great Tournament moments on the first day of the 2004 Conference season, Thursday, Dec. 30. Over a 10-week period, the Big Ten will feature a new moment on bigten.org and in its weekly women's basketball release every Thursday, leading up to Thursday, March 3--the opening day of the 2005 Big Ten Tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The IU team winning the title is the fourth moment in Big Ten Tournament history to be recognized this year.
On March 4, 2002, No. 5 Indiana became the highest seeded team to win the Big Ten Tournament, after knocking off second-seeded and regular season League Champion, Penn State, 75-72. It was historic and a truly emotional moment for the Hoosiers as they knocked off the Lady Lions after upsetting top-seeded Purdue in the semifinals, 55-41.
Indiana's fairy-tale run towards the Tournament Championship gained national media attention after Hoosiers head coach Kathi Bennett suffered an automobile accident on Feb. 8. Bennett broke the second vertebra in her neck and was forced to wear a halo device on the sidelines, while associate head coach Trish Betthauser served as the Hoosiers' acting head coach. Senior Jill Chapman posted 14 points and seven rebounds in the win, while teammate Heather Cassady was tabbed the Tournament MVP.
Indiana's victory gave the Hoosiers an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1994-95.
Fans interested in watching Indiana make a run for yet another tournament title can purchase tickets now through Ticketmaster.
All-session tickets for the general public are on sale for $55 at all Ticketmaster outlets, including the Conseco Fieldhouse box office, Ticketmaster charge-by-phone numbers (317-239-5151 in central Indiana) and www.ticketmaster.com.
The women's tournament returns to Indianapolis and Conseco Fieldhouse, featuring 10 games over five days, March 3-7, 2005, with no games on March 5 to make way for the Indiana High School Athletic Association Girls' State Basketball Finals.
