Paradise lost for IU in island tournament

The IU women's basketball team spent its Thanksgiving Break in paradise. But the trip to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, was not as delightful as they had hoped, as the Hoosiers dropped two games in the Paradise Jam and saw their season record fall to 2-2.\nIU was edged out by Mississippi State 70-67 in Friday's first round game, and lost to Iowa State 75-59 in Saturday's consolation game.\nThe first round game featured a furious IU rally. Despite falling behind Mississippi State by 21 early in the second half, the Hoosiers climbed back into the game to cut the lead to one with less than a minute left to play. The Bulldogs hit a pair of free throws late to seal the victory.\n"I'm very proud of how this team fought back in the second half," IU coach Kathi Bennett said in a statement. "We had a lapse early on that put us behind, but it was good to see this team respond as well as it did." \nSophomore guard Cyndi Valentin and junior guard Jenny DeMuth each scored 15 points. Sophomore forward Angela Hawkins contributed a double-double, collecting 13 rebounds to go with 10 points.\nAgainst Iowa State, the offense unable to put together a comeback effort, as the Hoosiers committed 19 turnovers. The Cyclone defense held IU to 36 percent shooting from the field.\nValentin, again, led IU in scoring with 17 points.\nIU will go on the road again this Friday when they take on Virginia Commonwealth.