Hey folks,

The Hoosiers have themselves a new assistant coach: Katie Abrahamson-Henderson. She comes to IU from Washington, and she’s compiled a pretty impressive record as a head coach at Missouri State. She also worked with coach Jack under Joanne P. McCallie at Duke.

Abrahamson-Henderson replaces Cherie Hogg, whose four years with the team ended this year. To my knowledge, Hogg left on good terms. I’ll double check, but I think her work visa just expired, and she had to return home to Australia.

Check out the press release below, and tell us what you think of the Hoosiers’ newest coach. Take it easy until then.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana head women’s basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack has
announced the addition of Katie Abrahamson-Henderson as the associate head coach on the
Hoosier staff on Wednesday, May 14. Abrahamson-Henderson’s start date at IU is June 1. She
joins the women’s basketball staff after spending last season as an assistant coach at the
University of Washington.

A native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where she was listed as one of the top players in the country as a
prep, Abrahamson-Henderson and her husband, Michael, have two daughters, Savannah and
Brooklyn.

And so does the Big Ten/ACC Women’s Basketball Challenge. The Hoosiers will play Miami next year in Miami on Dec. 5 in the second installment of the now-annual contest.

Last year, Miami went 9-21, 2-12 in the ACC. They lost they’re last game to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the ACC Tournament. Not nearly as tough a match-up, it would seem, as their opponent this past season, NCAA Tournament team Florida State.

See press release below, and have a great day.

Hoosiers Travel to Miami for the Second ACC/Big Ten Women’s Basketball Challenge

The ACC/Big Ten Women’s Basketball Challenge matches 11 teams from each conference in
head-to-head competition traditionally on the first Wednesday, Thursday or Friday after
Thanksgiving, following the men’s basketball ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Last year, the ACC won
eight of the 11 inaugural Big Ten/ACC Challenge games.

Hey folks,

Finals week was mercifully short for me, so I thought I’d bring you a little blogward cheer. Today we’ve got a press release and some news out of Wisconsin, where former IU coach Kathi Bennett - who led the Hoosiers to their last Big Ten title - has landed as an assistant coach under Lisa Stone.

Bennett of course is the sister of Washington State head coach Tony Bennett and the daughter of former Wazzou coach Dick Bennett. Both father and son coached at Wisconsin prior to Washington State, so the ties are natural between Kathi Bennett and the program.

As for the new Hoosiers, it’s Ashlee Mells, a 5-foot-8 guard from Texas who is in the national top 100 and was nominated to be a McDonald’s All-American next year. A full press release is below, but here are a few of the details:
-Mells averaged 15 points, six rebounds and two assists at South Grand Prairie High School.
-She played on an eighth grade AAU team with current Hoosier Jori Davis, something that likely influenced her decision. Mells and Davis finished second in the nation on that team.
-Mells was an all-state selection her senior year, as well as player of the year in her district.

The full release is below. Good luck with finals and have a great summer. Stay with Above the Rim, and we’ll keep you apprised of any women’s basketball news that breaks through the summer. Take it easy.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana head women’s basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack has
announced the signing of Ashlee Mells to the 2008-09 roster. Mells comes to Indiana from South
Grand Prairie High School in Grand Prairie, Texas.

Mells joins 6-2 forward Danilsa Andujar from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., 6-3 forward Sasha Chaplin
from St. Petersburg, Fla. and 6-0 forward Lindsay Enterline from Monroeville, Ind. in the
Hoosiers’ 2008 class.

Hey folks,

Just got an e-mail from Shana Daniels with IU Athletics Media Relations that confirmed something I suspected after a visit to the women’s basketball office yesterday: Georgia Follmer is no longer with the IU women’s basketball team. Daniels told me she’s not playing anymore. She will return for classes in the fall, but she won’t be playing.

I noticed yesterday that Follmer’s portrait wasn’t hanging with the other 11 in the office, nor was she on the team’s roster on the Web site.

Follmer averaged 0.6 points per game last year in 17 games, starting one. She was last year the Hoosiers’ tallest player, listed at 6-foot-4.

Check back with Above the Rim and the IDS for further information as it becomes available.

Hey folks,

Below is a press release from IU Athletics, naming Whitney Thomas and Jori Davis offseason and summer workout team captains. Interesting move, and one I would think spurred by coach Jack’s realization that these soon-to-be sophomores will be the core of this team next year, even if only one will start.

It will be interesting to see if this translates to Jori Davis being selected as a captain - along with Thomas - over Kim Roberson and Amber Jackson, both seniors. What do you think?

IU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL NAMES POSTSEASON AND SUMMER TEAM CAPTAINS

The Hoosiers open postseason workouts on Monday, April 7.

Hey folks,

Just checked the scoreboard, and one Big Ten team is already out of the NCAA Tournament.

Iowa battled hard against the University of Georgia, leading for most of the game before the (hated by me) Pups took them down late.

Conversely, Purdue stayed hot, beating Utah 66-59 - not too shabby considering the Utes went 27-5 this season overall and 16-0 in the Mountain West.

Minnesota, the conference’s third at-large team in the dance, is currently losing to Texas. The Gophers are down 12 with about 10 minutes left.

Ohio State, the Big Ten’s final team, got upset yesterday by No. 10-seed Florida State.

This after Wisconsin and IU both exited the WNIT after just one game, leaving the Big Ten with only two teams advanced beyond their first game in postseason play thus far - Michigan State beat Bowling Green and Michigan and Illinois have yet to play in the WNIT second round.

This from her opening statement at the postgame press conference:

“What a year.

We certainly had bigger plans than this in our second year here. We certainly believed after watching us go through preseason, and for our kids to step up and decide that we’re gonna play for something bigger than the game of basketball, we certainly believed that there was more basketball for us to play.

But for some reason, it didn’t see it to be that way, because we certainly tried to do all that we could to win this game.

To have five players in double figures, to go 30-for-37 from the free-throw line, to have 11 assists, to me, I think that, not that anybody deserved to win, but I certainly thought that we put ourselves in position to win.

I’m very proud of this team. I think that we lost our poise a little bit, but for such a freshman-laden team, for us to lose our poise just a little bit exhilarates us to believe that the future’s gonna be bright.”

That from one of the most quotable people I’ve ever met. Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

Hey folks,

We’re awaiting our last postgame presser of the year, so I’ll go ahead and throw some thoughts up on the blog for your reading pleasure.

-Tamera Young and Dawn Evans were just unstoppable tonight. Together, they scored 68 of their teams 86 total points. To put it all in perspective, someone from James Madison told us Evans tied the program’s all-time record for most points in a game with her 38. Young apparently set that record just a few days ago.
-Truth be told, IU’s defense wasn’t that poor against Young and Evans. The former hit several contested shots off screens, and the latter had her 3-pointers falling from as far as 25 feet. The Hoosiers aren’t of course blameless, their execution got sloppy at times, especially late.
-The Dukes are a very well-rounded team. They have shooters and scorers (if there is a distinction), and they can rebound like all get out.
-It felt like, late in the year, the Hoosiers began to tire as a team. Perhaps not in terms of physical or mental fatigue. It just seemed like games started to wear on the team later in the season, something evident both against Purdue and James Madison.

That’s it for now. Look for mine and Buckey’s stories in Monday’s IDS, and we’ll try to have some season wrap-up stuff for you soon. Until next time.

We’re ready for second half action here at Assembly Hall. The Hoosier lead by three at the half, 34-31.

15:20 to play: IU leads 41-39
Three Hoosiers are in double figures now–Amber Jackson, Whitney Thomas, and Jori Davis. Dawn Evans is up to eleven points now and is giving Tamera Young some relief on the offensive end.

11:44 to play: IU leads 48-45
Dawn Evans scored the last four points to give JMU a 43-41 lead. Nikki Smith is heating up though, with two straight 3-pointers, giving IU the lead back. The pace of the game is really picking up and it should make for a good finish.

6:24 to play: IU leads 59-52
IU is starting to pick up their play. Jamie Braun got open for two straight layups and they continue to move the ball for open shots. Their recent run brought the crowd back into it after being silent for much of the game. JMU’s Dawn Evans has also picked up her offense and now has 18 points. Evans and Young have 39 of the Dukes 52 points.

1:59 to play: IU leads 67-61
Jamie Braun just finished a nice running drive to the basket. Young and Evans now have 25 and 23 points respectively. The other three players in JMU’s lineup right now haven’t scored.

1:00 to play: IU leads 69-65
After a JMU free-throw, Whitney Thomas hits two from the line. She’s 15 of 16 from the line on her way to 25 points. Evans answers with a deep three, giving her 21 second half points and 26 for the game.

28.5 to play: IU leads 71-68
Jamie Braun misses a jumper and then Evans is fouled shooting a 3-pointer. She makes all three foul shots and IU is up by one. Roberson is fouled and makes both free throws.

13.3 to play: IU leads 72-20
Kim Roberson gets tangled up with Dawn Evans and is called for a foul. Roberson limped off the court with the help of the trainer. Evans nails the two free-throws and now has 31 points. Jamie Braun is fouled. She makes one of two freebies. James Madison will have the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead.

End of regulation: Tied 72-72
Tamera Young hits a baseline layup after an uncontested drive to the basket. Jori Davis shoots an early shot from half court leaving JMU 1.3 seconds to score. Tamera Young doesn’t get a shot off though and we’re going to overtime.

Final Score: James Madison wins 86-81
Dawn Evans and Tamera Young completely took over the game. They combined for 68 of the team’s 86 points. They hit big shot after big shot leading JMU in its comeback effort. The Hoosiers just looked like they ran out of gas in the overtime period. They fouhgt hard until the final buzzer but just couldn’t answer Evans and Young. Rough way to end the season for a young and talented Hoosiers team. With only Nikki Smith graduating, though, IU should be strong next year.

I’m here at Assembly Hall with yours truly, Zach Osterman. The same Zach Osterman whose Sigma Alpha Mu team tuned in a first place performance at Little 500 Qualifications today (he does it all). The Hoosiers host the James Madison Dukes in second round WNIT action. IU had a first round bye, while James Madison defeated Radford in the first round.

15:50 to play in first half: IU leads 10-4
IU is looking to get the ball inside early against the Dukes. Amber Jackson has a quick four points early for IU and Whitney Thomas has two. Tamera Young has all four of James Madison’s points.

11:39 to playin 1st half: IU leads 19-11
IU is controlling the glass on both ends of the floor and Amber Jackson is looking very good in the low post. She has a quick eight points. Tamera Young looks very quick for James Madison. She also has eight points.

3:44 to play in 1st half: IU leads 30-23
Amber Jackson picked up her second foul and was forced to the bench, but IU has still been in control the whole way. Whitney Thomas has 10 points. The Dukes are struggling to find another scorer besides Tamera Riley. She has 12 of the 23 points for JMU.

Halftime: IU leads 34-31
Big run to close out the half by James Madison. Tamera Young scored the last five points of the half to bring the Dukes within three. IU controlled much of the first half, but JMU is carrying the momentum into the locker room. IU should have Amber Jackson back to begin the second half which should be a boost.