Hoosiers fall to No. 6 Baylor

For 20 minutes, the unranked IU and No. 6-ranked Baylor women's basketball teams appeared to be equals. Unfortunately for the Hoosiers (0-1), they had to play a second half where the defending national champions pulled away for a 74-62 victory Saturday at Assembly Hall. \nIn the first half, the lead changed four times. Sophomore guard Nikki Smith contributed to the lead changes when she hit two key three-pointers to tie or give IU the lead. \nThe Hoosiers shot 55 percent from behind the arc in the first half, but struggled in the second half, making only 11 percent of their three-point attempts. Senior guard Cyndi Valentin led the Hoosiers in the first half with 13 points, including a driving lay-up to tie the game at 40 just before the halftime buzzer.\n"We really competed tonight," Valentin said. "We gave them our best shot, but they are a really tough team. They played hard."\nLeading the Bears was All-American senior forward Sophia Young, who finished with 19 points and 16 rebounds. Young said that the close first half did not concern her team.\n"We weren't worried," Young said. "(Baylor coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson) just told us to rebound and hustle for loose balls. Because of our experience, we weren't worried."\nAfter the break, IU scored the first basket of the second half, but it would be its last lead of the game. Baylor responded with a 25-5 point run, giving the Bears a 16-point lead -- their largest of the game.\nIU came no closer than 10 points the rest of the game. With most of the starters limited because of foul trouble, IU struggled against Baylor's zone defense. The Hoosiers managed to hit only 21 percent of their shots in the second half.\nFirst year IU coach Sharon Versyp, who made her regular season debut at the game, said the second-half troubles were the key to the game.\n"They are a great second-half team," she said. "Our defense was pretty good, but our shooting is what hurt us. We had wide-open looks with our best shooters shooting and couldn't knock them down."\nDespite the loss, Versyp said she was pleased with the effort her team gave throughout the game, refusing to quit against the defending national champions.\n"We competed," she said. "We played intense for 40 minutes. Being able to score against this team was a big plus and to play so well defensively says a lot."\nCompeting for the Hoosiers for the first time in more than a year was senior guard/forward Jenny DeMuth. After sitting out all of last season with a knee injury, DeMuth said she was happy to be out on the floor again. Though the team lost in her return debut, DeMuth said she felt good about how the Hoosiers played.\n"We came in as the underdog and showed we could compete," she said. "I don't think they expected as much from us." \nIU will be tested again in its next matchup against No. 15 Notre Dame on Wednesday night. Versyp said she is confident her team will continue to improve.\n"We're not far off from being a great team," she said. "We have to keep learning the system and it will come together"