Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Face In-State Rival No. 10 Purdue on Sunday
2/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2006
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HOOSIER HEADLINES
• Indiana (14-10, 8-5) closes the regular season on a three-game road swing starting with a matchup with No. 10/10 Purdue (21-3, 12-1) on Sunday, Feb. 19 in West Lafayette at Mackey Arena. Tipoff with the Boilermakers is slated for 1 p.m. and can be heard locally on WHCC-FM 105.1 with Jeremy Gray calling all the action. Comcast SportNet Chicago will also televise the game live Dave Eanet serving as the play-by-play annoucer and with Suzie McConnell Serio providing color. Fans can also follow the game on Gametracker at IUHOOSIERS.com.
• Half a point in the AT&T Crimson and Gold Cup presented by Simon Malls standings is at stake when the two teams meet on Sunday. Indiana is currently winning the series, 6-3 . A total of 20 points can be won throughout the year. The winner of regular season head-to-head competition earns the point for its institution. Should the teams split or tie in regular season competition the point is split between the two institutions. If the two institutions do not compete in head-to-head regular season competition, the team that places higher at the Big Ten Championship will earn the point.
• The Boilermakers got the best of the Hoosiers earlier in the year, claiming a 61-56 overtime victory on Jan. 5 in Bloomington. Purdue leads the all-time series, 37-22.
WHAT IT MEANS
An Indiana win would...
• Mark its third-straight Big Ten win of the 2005-06 season. The Hoosiers have not registered three-straight league wins since the 2000-01 season (Ohio State, Michigan State and Minnesota.)
• Snap a six-game losing streak against Purdue in the all-time series
• Be its first win over a Top-10 team since it defeated Purdue, 55-41 on March 2, 2002 at the Big Ten Tournament
•Mark its first win over the Boilermakers since the 2001-02 season, and the first win over Purdue at Mackey Arena since 1996-97.
SCOUTING PURDUE
No. 10/10 Purdue enters Sunday's game with a 21-3 record overall and a 12-1 mark in conference play. The Boilermakers only conference loss was to Iowa (77-71 OT), and Purdue most recently defeated Michigan, 75-50, on Thursday, Feb. 16 in West Lafayette.
Junior forward/guard Katie Gearlds (14.8 ppg), and senior forward Aya Traore (13.4 ppg) are the leading scorers for Purdue. Traore was honored as the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week for the period ending Feb. 12. She shared the honor with IU guard Cyndi Valentin. In its last game vs. the Wolverines, Gearlds led Purdue in scoring and rebounding with 19 points and six rebounds. Sophomore forward Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton leads the team in rebounding with 5.7 rpg.
As a team, Purdue leads the Big Ten in blocked shots (5.09 per game) and steals (11.17 per game). The Boilermakers also rank second in scoring defense (54.8), scoring margin (+13.2), and turnover margin (+5.48). They also rank 15th in the nation in scoring defense and 18th in scoring margin.
Head coach Kristy Curry is in the midst of her seventh season at the helm of the Purdue program. Over the last six seasons, Curry has compiled an overall record of 174-47 including a 85-24 mark in Big Ten games. Prior to her arrival in West Lafayette, Curry had coaching stints as an assistant at Tulane (1991-93), Stephen F. Austin (1993-94), Texas A&M (1994-96) and Louisiana Tech (1996-99).
BIG TEN COACH OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE
Head coach Sharon Versyp is a candidate for the 2006 Big Ten Coach of the Year. The Hoosiers are on track to finish above the .500 mark for the first time in three seasons. Should IU accomplish this feat, Versyp will be one of just three active Big Ten coaches to earn a winning record in their first year as head coach following a losing season prior to their arrival. Iowa's Lisa Bluder took over a 9-18 Hawkeye program in 2000-01 to finish 21-10 overall that year, while Ohio State's Jim Foster went 22-10 in 2002-03 after taking over the team that finished 14-15 the year before.
Versyp is on track to make a mark in IU history as well. The school record for a one-year turnaround by a first-year head coach is 10, set Kathi Bennett in 2000-01. Versyp is currently tied for second with Jim Izard with four more wins then the previous year.
MOVING ON UP
Seniors Jenny DeMuth, Angela Hawkins, Cyndi Valentin and junior Sarah McKay are on the rise in the IU record books this season. Valentin, who recently broke her own school record and already holds the school and Big Ten record for career free-throw percentage (.885), is also on track to finish her career among the top-five scorers in IU history. The Bloomington, Ind., native currently sits at sixth overall in the all-time scoring list with 1,584 points, tied for fourth in three-pointers made (156) and fifth in career free throws attempted (409), and three-pointers attempted (437) .
DeMuth is not too far behind in career scoring, sitting in at No. 10 with 1,421 career points. DeMuth also sits at second in free throw attempts (644), eighth in blocked shots (78), and eighth in rebounding (708).
In addition, Hawkins and McKay are up and coming on Indiana's all-time blocked shot lists with 115 and 81, respectively. Hawkins also ranks seventh in career rebounding (760).
LAST TIME VS. PURDUE
Indiana fell in a hard fought game to then-No. 14/14 Purdue, 61-56, in overtime, at Branch McCracken Court at Assembly Hall on Jan. 5. A turnaround jumper by Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton with 17 seconds remaining in overtime gave Purdue all it needed to capture the slim victory over IU,as Hoosier senior Jenny DeMuth's posted 13 points and 12 rebounds.
ONCE A BOILER, NOW A HOOSIER
Head coach Sharon Versyp will take a walk down memory lane when she enters Mackey Arena on Sunday, as she once played in the same arena.Versyp attended Purdue from 1985-88, where she was a standout on the Boiler basketball team. The Mishawaka, Ind., native is one of seven players in Boilermaker history to be a four-year starter and her 1,565 career points still rank ninth in the Purdue record books. She also sits at fourth in single-game assists (12) and seventh in career assists (418).
VALENTIN HONORED BY BIG TEN
Indiana senior guard Cyndi Valentin was recognized as Big Ten Co-Player of the Week, the league office announced on Feb. 13. She shared the honor with Aya Traore of Purdue.Valentin earned the honor for the second time in her career. Her first honor was on Dec. 13, 2004. The Bloomington, Ind., native netted 22 points in each game against Penn State on Feb. 9 and Northwestern on Feb. 12. Valentin starred in her final regular season home game versus the Wildcats, as she went 4-of-6 from three-point range, corralled a season-high seven rebounds and recorded five assists and two steals. On the week she averaged 22.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals in 38.5 minutes of play.
HOOSIERS ON TV
IU's three remaining regular-season games will all be televised, beginning with the IU-Purdue matchup, which will air live on Comcast SportsNet Chicago on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 1 p.m. The Hoosiers' next game at No. 17 Minnesota on Feb. 23 at 8 pm. (EST) will be shown on Fox SportsNet North, and IU's final regular season game vs. Iowa on Feb. 26 at 1 p.m. (EST) has will be televised by Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
CHALK UP ANOTHER ONE FOR DEMUTH
After breaking the school record in career free throws made on Jan. 9, Jenny DeMuth captured another school record on Feb. 9 against Penn State to move into first place in career steals. The Highland, Ind., product surpassed former IU standout and current Youngstown State head coach Tisha Hill's (1989-92) record of 210. DeMuth currently has 213 steals.She is the only Hoosier that ranks among the top five in both categories (free throws and steals.)
TURNAROUND SEASON
Indiana is on pace to have a big turn-around season. With three regular-season games left, the Hoosiers have already claimed four more overall and five more Big Ten wins this year. IU is the most improved team in the conference after finishing 10-18 overall and 3-13 in league play in 2004-05. The last time IU followed a losing season with a winning season was in 2000-01. The Hoosiers were 10-18 in 1999-00 and followed that season with a 20-11 mark in 2000-01. The school record for one-year turnaround was set in 1978-79 when IU was 21-14 overall after finishing 7-16 in 1977-78.
CLEAN SWEEP x TWO
With its 58-43 win over Penn State on Feb. 9, the Hoosiers successfully swept the Lady Lions for the first time in the series between the two teams. IU also garnered another sweep of a Big Ten foe when it defeated Northwestern, 60-46 on Feb. 12. The last time IU swept two conference opponents in the same season was in 2001-02 when it claimed both regular season meetings against Ohio State and Michigan State.
CHARTING NEW TERRITORY
With Indiana's 14-point win (60-46) win Northwestern on Feb. 12, it collected its sixth double-digit victory over a conference opponent this season. Before the 2006 campaign, the Hoosiers collected only a combined five double-digit conference wins from 2002-05. The most double-digit wins by a Hoosier squad came in 1982-83 when IU dominated nine conference foes by a double-digit margin on the season.
TOP OF HER CLASS
Whitney Thomas is a Big Ten Freshman of the Year candidate. Thomas not only leads all freshman in rebounding (7.0), but she also ranks third in steals (1.3), and 10th in scoring (6.0) and field-goal percentage (.457).The Bloomington, Ind., product recorded her third career double-double (12 points, 13 rebounds) against Ohio State on Jan. 19. She is the only freshman in the league to have recorded more than one double-double. Thomas has four double-digit rebounding efforts this season, and has started in 23 of IU's games this season.
LAST THREE GAMES TREND
Five IU athletes have shot better then .400 from the floor in the Hoosiers' last three games including Cyndi Valentin (.514), Whitney Thomas (.467), Jenny DeMuth (.429) and Nikki Smith (.412). In addition, Smith has shot .538 from three-point range (7-of-13).
DEMUTH IN BIG TEN RECORD BOOKS TOO
Not only does Jenny DeMuth's school-record 483 career free throws appear in the IU record books, but DeMuth's mark also can be found in the Big Ten laurels. She currently ranks seventh overall and needs two more to move into sole possession sixth place.
COUNT ON CYNDI
With 10 20-plus point scoring performances under her belt this season, Valentin currently has 27, 20-plus point scoring performances to her name, which ranks third in school history. Indiana's all-time leading scorer, Denise Jackson, has the most in school history with 36. Valentin also ranks third for most 20-plus scoring performances in a single season behind Jackson's 16 in 1982-83 and Rachelle Bostic's 12 in 1983-84. Valentin is accustomed 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 20-plus point efforts throughout the year.
NEXT GAME
Indiana continues with its three-game road swing to finish the regular season, as it travels to Minneapolis, Minn., to play the No. 17/16 Golden Gophers on Feb 23. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. (EST) The game will be broadcast live on Fox SportsNet North and can be heard locally on WHCC-FM 105.1 with Jeremy Gray calling all the action.
