Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers to Tangle with No.13/15 Fighting Irish
11/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 22, 2005
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HOOSIER HEADLINES
•Indiana (0-1) will take on its second-straight ranked opponent of the season on Wednesday, Nov. 23 against in-state rival No. 13/15 Notre Dame (2-0) on Branch McCracken Court at Assembly Hall. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and can be heard on WHCC FM 105.1 with Jeremy Gray calling all the action.
• This will be the ninth meeting between the two teams, with the Fighting Irish holding a 5-3 edge in the all-time series. The two teams have not met since the 1996-97 season when IU fell to Notre Dame, 71-63 in South Bend.
• The Hoosiers are coming off a 74-62 loss to the defending national champion Baylor on Saturday, Nov. 19.
SCOUTING NOTRE DAME
The No. 13/15 Notre Dame Fighting Irish are 2-0 on the season after defeating Big Ten foe Michigan, 55-45, on Friday, Nov. 18 and Western Michigan, 71-68, on Sunday, Nov. 20. The Fighting Irish finished the 2004-05 season 27-6 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Senior guard Megan Duffy, a Candidate for National Player of the Year and BIG EAST Player of the Year, returns for her second year as team captain in 05-06. Last season, Duffy ranked among NCAA leaders in free throw percentage (fourth), assists (28th) and steals (44th). Duffy had 19 points and seven rebounds on Sunday against Western Michigan. Also leading the Fighting Irish is freshman Lindsay Schrader. She posted a double-double of 10 points, 14 rebounds in her debut against Michigan on Friday and finished off the weekend with 11 points against the Broncos on Sunday.
Head Coach Muffet McGraw is in her 19th season at Notre Dame. One of only seven active Division I coaches to guide her team to a national title (2001), she has compiled an overall record of 501-196. With Notre Dame's first victory in 2005-06 over Michigan, McGraw became the 27th NCAA Division I coach to record 500 career wins. Prior to her arrival in South Bend, McGraw had a five-year stint at Lehigh University, where she was named East Coast Conference Coach of the Year in 1983.
WHAT IT MEANS
An Indiana win would...
• Mark the first win at Indiana for first-year head coach Sharon Versyp
• Bring Versyp one win closer to earning her 100th career victory putting her record at 99-52.
• Mark the first time IU has beaten a Top 25 opponent since Jan. 12, 2003 when it defeated No. 23 Ohio State, 54-50
• Mark Indiana's first win over Notre Dame since the 1990-91
season.
• Hand the Fighting Irish its first loss of the season
IN-STATE SUCCESS
The Hoosiers own a 98-52 overall record when playing against in-state rivals, posting a winning record against all Indiana schools except Purdue (36-22) and Notre Dame (5-3).
NEW ERA
A new era is underway 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
The Sharon Versyp era got underway in exciting fashion in Saturday night's season opener at Assembly Hall against the defending national champion No. 5/6 Baylor Bears. Led by senior Cyndi Valentin's 25 points, six rebounds and four assists, the Hoosiers entered the locker room at half time tied at 40, but it was the Bears who walked away with the 74-62 win.
Valentin led the Hoosiers in the first half with 13 points, including a driving layup to tie the score at 40 at the midway point. Neither team dominated through the first 20 minutes as the lead changed hands four times.
Baylor was led by Young's double-double of 19 points and 16 rebounds. In addition to Young, Tisdale netted 19 points and nine assists.
MOVING ON UP
Seniors Jenny DeMuth, Angela Hawkins, Cyndi Valentin and junior Sarah McKay have already etched their names and are on the rise in the IU record books this season.
Valentin is on track to move into the top-five all-time scoring list in her final season with the Hoosiers. The Bloomington, Ind., native currently sits at 11th overall in the all-time scoring list with 1,185 points.
DeMuth is not too far behind her, sitting in at No. 16 with 1,092 career points. DeMuth also sits at third in free throw attempts (491), fourth in free-throws made (365), and sixth in steals (169). In addition, Hawkins and McKay are up and coming on Indiana's all-time blocked shot lists with 90 and 80, respectively. Hawkins also ranks 10th in career rebounding (615).
A START FOR SMITH
Sophomore guard Nikki Smith earned her first career start against the No. 5/6 Baylor Lady Bears. She contributed nine points on a 3-of-5 shooting effort from three-point range. The Sylvania, Ohio, product also corralled a career-high five rebounds in her first start. Smith saw action in 18 games last season and averaged 1.8 ppg.
COUNT ON CYNDI
In IU's season opener against Baylor on Nov. 19, senior guard Cyndi Valentin netted a game-high 25 points, which is five points shy of her career high (30.) Valentin is used to putting up a bulk of Indiana's points as she was the only Hoosier to score 20 points or more in a single game during 2004-05. She posted a total of seven throughout the year, which gives her 19 20+ scoring performances to her name.
NEXT GAME
Next up is the Hampton Inn Classic, which will be held Nov. 25-26 in Bloomington. IUPUI and Bowling Green will be in action for the first game on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The IU vs. Youngstown State game at 7 p.m. will follow. On Saturday, the consolation game will begin at 4:30 p.m., with the championship game set for 7 p.m. IU's games can be heard locally on WHCC FM 105.1 with Jeremy Gray calling all the action. Fans can also access the game by following Gametracker on IUHOOSIERS.com.
