Home never seemed so good for IU

The women's basketball team gets the privilege of returning home this weekend for a match-up with Northwestern on Sunday. \nAssembly Hall has been a stranger to the Hoosiers in recent weeks. IU has played just one home game since Dec. 22, a 60-39 rout of Wisconsin on Jan. 8. In that same frame, the Hoosiers have trekked to four different schools, including last night's contest at Iowa. \nNeedless to say, the team is eager to return. \n"We can't wait," freshman center Sarah McKay said. "It's going to be great."\nCoach Kathi Bennett echoed her team's enthusiasm.\n"Playing on the road is all part of the learning experience," Bennett said. "But it will be nice to come home. Our energy will need to be at an all-time high."\nBennett's club has performed well at home this year, with a 5-1 mark inside Assembly Hall. Overall, heading into last night's road contest against Iowa, IU sat at 8-6 with a 1-2 conference record.\nBennett said she is pleased with where her team is headed. \n"I think this team is getting better," Bennett said. "I think they're exciting, and the attitudes have been tremendous. I'm excited to see what can happen from here on out."\nOne reason for the Hoosiers' steady start has been the potent guard tandem of junior Jenny DeMuth and sophomore Cyndi Valentin. Together, they comprise the Big Ten's leading scoring duo (34.9 ppg), and both players are returning next year.\n"We've been playing together for two years now," Valentin said. "We're starting to click. We each know what the other is going to do."\nDeMuth is IU's leading scorer and rebounder, tabbing just over 20 points and almost 8 boards per game.\nThe Wildcats head into Assembly Hall with a 7-8 mark. After opening the season 7-4, injury and illness have plagued them into their current four-game slide. However, several key players who have been out of the lineup are set to return against IU, according to Bennett, namely All-Big Ten honorable mention center Sarah Kwasinski. Last year, the 6 foot 4 inch junior averaged 12 ppg.\n"(Northwestern), offensively, do things that bother us defensively," Bennett said. "They run the Princeton offense so there is a lot of movement. If they're shooting the ball well, they're really hard to match-up against."\nHelping the Hoosiers match-up will be the emerging freshman center McKay. Since she exploded her way into the lineup with a 19-point, 19-minute performance against Arkansas on December 20, McKay has earned herself five straight starts averaging 10.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and nearly three blocks per game in that span.\n"She has definitely gotten better," Bennett said. "It's because she works at it and really cares. I don't think she was used to the size and intensity level when she got here, but she has taken huge strides."\nTip-off is set for 2 p.m. Sunday.\n-- Contact staff writer Ryan J. Cost at rjcost@indiana.edu.