Women's Basketball: Valentin reclaims 3-point title

With the fight song blaring and the cream and crimson crowd on its feet, the IU women's basketball team took the court for the first time this season during Hoosier Hysteria Friday night.\n"It was a big asset to be in front of 10,000 fans or however many there were," first-year IU coach Sharon Versyp said. "We were able to sell ourselves to the fans and get them excited about our program."\nAfter being introduced to the boisterous crowd, the Hoosiers played a scrimmage with the red team, the starters, defeating the white team, the reserves, 16-9. \nFifth-year senior Jenny DeMuth scored the first points of the game after sustaining a season-ending injury at last year's Midnight Madness.\n"It was a rough year, but it felt good to be back," DeMuth said. "I was kind of nervous, but when the crowd gets behind you, it is easy."\nThe white team attempted a comeback in the closing minutes, but the red team, powered by senior Angela Hawkins, held off the late charge. Hawkins made several strong plays in the post, grabbing numerous offensive rebounds and attacking the basket, to help hold the lead. Senior guard Cyndi Valentin iced the game on a breakaway layup off a turnover.\nIn the 3-point contest, \nValentin beat sophomore guard Nikki Smith to advance to the final round against the men's winner, senior Marshall Strickland. Valentin reclaimed her third title in four years against Strickland with a score of 14-12 in the final round. \n"Tonight was fun," Valentin said. "It's a great way to start the season. In last year's three-point contest, (former guard) Ryan Tapak beat me, but I made sure I won it this year."\nFollowing the long range contest, the men's and women's squads teamed up for the spot shot contest. DeMuth and sophomore D.J. White advanced to the final round of the contest when DeMuth hit a field goal with the clock winding down.\nThe duo faced freshman Kimberly Roberson and sophomore Robert Vaden in the title round and while DeMuth and White made it close, Roberson and Vaden won 30-25.\n"It was a lot of fun after watching (Midnight Madness) for so many years," Roberson said. "Me and Robert had practiced, so we had a little game plan."\nVersyp said she was happy to see her team perform so well, especially Roberson.\n"We've got a lot of players who could be big surprises this year," Versyp said. "We think Kim is going to be one of those players who is going to step up"