IU women's basketball team opens Big Ten play against Northwestern

The Northwestern women’s basketball team finished last in the Big Ten a year ago, and currently has a 3-7 record this year. Despite the poor record the Hoosiers are not overlooking a team that recently added a coach with 509 career victories.

IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack will lead her team onto the floor at 5 p.m. Saturday at Assembly Hall against the Northwestern Wildcats, in the Big Ten season opener.   

Legette-Jack said she respects first-year Northwestern coach Joe McKeown, a coach that has taken teams to the NCAA tournament 17 of his 22 years of coaching.

“We are a team that is trying to get out of the basement,” she said. “We certainly don’t have enough history of success to believe that were somebody yet. Northwestern is a great team, they have a seasoned coach who has won 20 games a season and he knows how to get it back there.”

Junior guard Jamie Braun said her team will not overlook Northwestern and added she is excited to start the conference portion of their schedule.

“When you get into conference play you know it’s a whole different level,” Braun said. “Everyone is coming to bring it now, because the games before count towards something, but this counts towards the championship which everyone is trying to build, so everyone plays a little harder.”

The Hoosiers will be playing without freshman forward Sasha Chaplin for this game and the rest of the season. Chaplin injured her knee on Dec. 9 against Butler and will have surgery before the end of the month.

One player that will see more time because of the injury is freshman forward Danilsa Andujar. Andujar said she is ready to step up and fill in for Chaplin.

“I’ve been ready since I’ve set foot in Indiana,” she said. “I’ve worked hard, I’ve come a long way, I’ve worked daily and I’m ready to play whatever role they need me to play.”