Minn. natives go 'Barn'storming

One ranked team in one rickety arena. This is what's in store for the IU women's basketball team tonight when the Hoosiers lock horns with the No. 14-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers at the notorious 76 year-old Williams Arena.\nWilliams Arena, nicknamed "The Barn," has risen into infamy since its original construction in 1928, featuring a raised floor, shaky rims and a notoriously raucous fan base. While they have heard about "The Barn," IU players will simply look at it as just another gym.\n"I've never been there myself, but I've heard lots of stories about the raised floor and the crazy fans," freshman center Sarah McKay said. "It'll be an experience in itself, and we'll get some shots up and get a walk-through before the game, and hopefully it won't affect us too much."\nGym issues aside, IU will have its hands full against the powerful Golden Gophers, who come into the game with a 15-3 overall record and a 4-3 record in the Big Ten. IU coach Kathi Bennett said Minnesota can attribute their success to the play of the dynamic duo of senior guard Lindsay Whalen and junior center Janel McCarville. \n"They have two of the best players in the conference in Lindsay Whalen and Janel McCarville," Bennett said. "I feel that in order for us to compete with them, we've got to get back and get our defense set. We've got to take Whalen out of the mix, and we've got to do a good job with McCarville and force her into turnovers."\nWhalen, who recently took her place as Minnesota's top all-time basketball scorer, for both men's and women's basketball, is currently averaging 21.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. McCarville flanks Whalen's play with 15.7 ppg and 10.1 rpg and leads the team in blocks and steals with 44 and 45, respectively.\nIU has its own pair of caped crusaders in junior Jenny DeMuth and sophomore Cyndi Valentin. DeMuth comes into the contest averaging 19.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while Valentin adds 15.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists.\nStill smarting from the 24-point loss at the hands of the No. 8 Purdue Boilermakers, the Hoosiers have learned from their mistakes in last Sunday's "Pack the Hall" game.\n"I think we'll bounce back well from the loss," McKay said. "We got frustrated early, and we learned that we can't do that anymore, and Minnesota's a good team to go up against after such a tough loss." \nTonight's game also marks the return of freshman Annika Boyd and sophomore Kalli Kullberg to their home state of Minnesota. Both Kullberg and Boyd have played alongside six current Golden Gophers on the North Tartan AAU team. Boyd said the reunion will be fun, but intends to beat her former teammates.\n"It'll be interesting to see everyone and how they've changed, I really don't know what to expect at this point," Boyd said. "It will be fun to go against them for the first time. I'm looking forward to it, I want to battle"