IU Outlasts Lady Stars, 70-63
11/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 3, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.-- 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 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.
"It was nice to play a different group of players other than ourselves," head coach Sharon Versyp said. "They have a good group of three point shooters, which we need to be able to defend. This was a great experience for us and we gained a lot out of it."
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.
"It was the first game and I am sure like everyone else I was nervous" Thomas said. "I got that double double from my teammates. I probably couldn't have done it without them."
Other double-digit performances came from senior Cyndi Valentin with 14 points and junior Annika Boyd with 12 points.
Indiana started off slowly, missing its first nine shots, and earning its first three points of the game off free throws. Valentin broke the Hoosier drought with a three-pointer at the 15:18 mark to close IU's deficit to two at 8-6.
With Indiana trailing 30-24 after a jumper by former Hoosier Jill Chapman-Daily, the Hoosier defense clamped down, holding the Lady Stars scoreless for the final 2:38 of the first half and the first 2:59 of the second. Taking advantage of the Lady Stars inability to score, Indiana went on a 6-0 run to close out the first half. Valentin led the Hoosiers into the break with 10 points as the teams went into the locker room tied at 30-30.
Indiana kept the momentum in its favor to start the second half by scoring the initial seven points of the period. A dominant defensive stand by the Hoosiers, in which the Lady Stars were held scoreless for more than five-and-a-half minutes, keyed a 16-2 Indiana run.
With Indiana leading 42-35, the Lady Stars climbed back into the game. Starting with a three-pointer by former Ball State guard, Johna Goff, the Lady Stars went on a run, closing the gap to 44-40 at the 14:26 mark. After a three-pointer by former Penn State standout Lisa Shepherd, the Hoosier lead dropped to three at 48-45.
With neither team able to take control, sophomore Nikki Smith nailed a trey on an assist from Valentin to push the Hoosier lead back to eight, 66-58, with 3:46 remaining. The Lady Stars would not get any closer than eight until the final two minutes when Colorado State graduate Angie Nelp hit a lay-up at 1:22 to close out scoring.
Next up, the Hoosiers welcome Brescia University for their second-and-final exhibition contest on Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. The pre-season tilt will take place in Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind. The game can be heard locally on WHCC 105.1 (Hoosier Country) with Jeremy Gray calling all the action.
