Indiana University Athletics
IU Wraps up Exhibition Play Against NAIA Foe Brescia University
11/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 10, 2005
HOOSIER HEADLINES
Indiana closes out the exhibition portion of its schedule when it takes on NAIA opponent Brescia University on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m on Branch McCracken Court at Assembly Hall. The game can be heard locally on WHCC 105.1 with Jeremy Gray calling all of the action.
IU is coming off a 70-63 win over the Hoosier Lady Stars on Thursday, Nov. 3 in its first exhibition game of the season. Freshman Whitney Thomas led the Hoosiers with a double-double of 15 points, 11 rebounds.
BRESCIA AT A GLANCE
Brescia University, an NAIA school in Owensboro, Ky., finished the 2004-05 season with an overall record of 8-23.
The Bearcats are coached by Brian Sullivan, who also serves as the head men's golf coach. In his first season, an inexperienced and undersized Lady Bearcat squad finished 8-23. The team showed dramatic improvement over the second half of the season, defeating 5th ranked Georgetown College and 17th- ranked Cumberland (Ky.) in the final five weeks of the 2004-05 campaign. Off the court, the team posted a 3.423 grade point average to finish 14th in the NAIA overall.
Top returners for Brescia are senior Natalie Beasley, who averaged 9.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per contest in 04-05. Also helping out last season was sophomore Sarah McDaniel, who averaged 7.7 points.
NEW ERA
A new era has begun in 2005-06 as Sharon Versyp takes over the Indiana women's basketball program. Versyp is the seventh head women's basketball coach in the 34-year history of the program. Her coaching career includes seven years as an Indiana high school coach, four years as a Division I assistant coach and, most recently, five years as the head coach at the University of Maine. She led Maine to three straight America East regular season championships (2003, 04, 05), the 2004 America East Tournament title and a trip to the 2004 NCAA Tournament.
LAST TIME OUT
Given a tough battle by the visiting Hoosier Lady Stars, the Indiana women's basketball team opened its season with a 70-63 exhibition win on Thursday, Nov. 3. Thanks to a balanced scoring attack with every participating player scoring, the Hoosiers broke the 70-point barrier, something the team managed to do only twice last season. Freshman Whitney Thomas led the Hoosiers with 15 points as part of a double-double including 11 rebounds. The Bloomington, Ind., native connected for the bulk of her scoring from the charity stripe with a 9-for-10 effort at the line.
70-POINT PERFORMANCE
If the 70-point performance by the Hoosiers in their exhibition opener is any indication of how many points they will put up during the regular season, IU has a lot to be happy about. The Hoosiers averaged only 51.7 ppg last season and reached the 70-point mark just twice, both times against conference foe, Wisconsin towards the end of the year.
FRESHMAN SENSATION
Freshman forward Whitney Thomas did not let first-game jitters get to her in last Thursday's exhibition game as she led the Hoosiers in both scoring and rebounding with a double-double of 15 points, and 11 rebounds. Thomas attended Bloomington North High School and also was a standout on the Cougar volleyball team.
LOADED WITH HOOSIERS
Eight members of the Indiana women's basketball team hail from the Hoosier state. This is the second-most in school history as the 1990-91 roster featured nine players from Indiana. Not only does the team feature many players from around the state, but six of them are also former Indiana All-Stars (Brigett Branson-Turkey Run; Jenny DeMuth-Highland; Tara Miller-North Harrison; Kim Roberson-Cathedral; Carrie Smith-Brebeuf Jesuit; and Cyndi Valentin-Bloomington South).
NEXT GAME
IU's first regular season home game is on Saturday, Nov. 19 vs. the defending national champion, the Baylor Lady Bears. Game time is set for 6 p.m. and will follow the IU vs. Purdue football game, which is slated for 1 p.m. The game can be heard locally on WHCC 105.1 with Jeremy Gray calling all the action. Fans can also access the game by following Gametracker on IUHOOSIERS.com.
