IU travels to Dayton to take on Flyers

The IU women’s basketball team will take its 4-3 record on the road Wednesday afternoon to face a stiff test from the Dayton Flyers at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio. The team is coming off a tough home loss to then-No. 21 Florida State in the inaugural Big Ten/ACC Women’s Basketball Challenge.\nThe Hoosiers kept the game close throughout the contest Nov. 30 against the Seminoles, leading for a good portion of the game and losing by only seven. \nDayton presents another challenge for IU. The Flyers (6-2) are currently riding a six-game winning streak, and senior forward Nikki Oakland was named Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Player of the Week this week after averaging 23.5 points and 10 rebounds per game in a pair of contests last week. \nIU coach Felisha Legette-Jack called Dayton “a seasoned team” and said she is aware of some of the Flyers’ strengths, including their inside game. But she said her team is more focused on playing their game and not worrying about specific players on the other side of the scorer’s table. \n“It’s about us, we can’t focus on their kids,” Legette-Jack said. \nSenior guard Nikki Smith echoed her coach’s comments. She said she and her teammates want to focus on playing together and adapting to their opponent as the game progresses. \n“It’s never really about the other team,” Smith said. “In the end, it’s really about just playing Indiana basketball.”\nSophomore guard Jamie Braun has come on strong lately. She brought home all-tournament honors from the Paradise Jam Tournament over Thanksgiving break in the Virgin Islands, and then followed that with her first double-double of the season against Florida State. Braun leads the team in scoring with an average of 15.3 points per game. She’s also averaging 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists. \nBraun, who moved to the role of starting point guard this year, said she is feeling much more comfortable as the weeks progress. She also said, as one of four returning players from last year and the starter in an on-court role often nicknamed “the floor general,” her teammates look to her as a leader. Braun said she didn’t struggle too much stepping into the role, partially because of the play of IU’s freshmen. \n“I don’t think it was harder at all,” Braun said. “The freshmen came in and really started stepping up.”\nThis game will be the second road game for the Hoosiers this season, but the fifth in their last six played away from Assembly Hall. After opening their schedule with two home games, the Hoosiers traveled to Ball State and the Virgin Islands – a neutral site – for their next four games. The team will also visit Kansas on Sunday. \nSmith, the lone senior on the team, said she thinks the early road trips will help the team – especially the six freshmen – as the season progresses. She said the decreased distractions of road games can help players focus, and teaching young players how to handle hostile environments will be key to success down the road. \n“I think it’s definitely a learning experience,” Smith said. “I think playing away from home is hard to do.”