Women's basketball fires up crowd of 13,100 to attend games

IU women’s basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack stepped onto Branch McCracken Court to fireworks, her team dancing and chants of “Coach Jack!” from a roaring crowd.

But once the microphone was in the fifth-year coach’s hand, she knew which words she wanted echoed throughout Assembly Hall on Friday: “Hoo-sier Na-tion.”

In front of a crowd of 13,100 at Hoosier Hysteria, Legette-Jack made it clear that in order for her team to succeed in the upcoming season, it will need the support of its fans.

“We will do anything and everything to get you guys to see what we are doing,” she said.

Senior guard Jori Davis also stressed the importance of better attendance at the Hoosiers’ home games in her final season.

“With the sixth man, we will be too strong,” Davis said. “This is my senior year, and I have worked too hard not to get one of those [banners] like the guys.”

Last season, the Hoosiers went 9-6 at home with a 5-4 mark in conference home games. On average, the Hoosiers faced larger crowds on the road (3,512 fans per game) than when they played in Assembly Hall (2,097 per game).

Both Davis and Legette-Jack mentioned their upset of then-No. 4 Ohio State last season as an example of when the “sixth man” directly impacted their success.
Despite being undermanned compared to the Buckeyes, the Hoosiers were able to beat Ohio State 67-62 in front of their second-largest crowd of the season.

“We had seven players healthy against the No. 4-ranked team in the country,” Legette-Jack said. “And we beat them. Our men’s team is going to be dynamic this year, but their sisters are doing some things, too. I hope you join us as we take on yet another journey.”

This season, IU hopes they won’t find themselves at as much of a height disadvantage with a recruitng class that features 6-foot forward Milika Taufa, 6-foot-3 center Simone Deloach and 6-foot-4 center Kristiana Stauere.

Legette-Jack explained that the added size to her team will hopefully translate to more blocked shots, better rebounding and an overall stronger defensive team. Davis added that a lot of the team’s post players are “pretty quick, so it won’t slow us down very much because a lot of them can still run.”

Stauere, the first Latvian to play for IU women’s basketball, said she looks to add to the team’s combination of size and speed.  

After playing on Latvia’s U-18 national team during the summer, Stauere said she underestimated Hoosier Hysteria when she returned to Bloomington.

“Today everyone was asking me if I was excited,” Stauere said. “I told them, ‘Yeah, I am excited, but I don’t know what to expect because it is my first year.’ Now, I’m really excited.”