IU women's basketball set to battle Purdue

Purdue has a national championship; IU has never been to the sweet 16. Purdue has seven Big Ten championships, IU has one. This year, however, there is one statistic which both team are equal.

Both the Purdue and IU women’s basketball teams are 5-1 in the Big Ten and tied for first with Ohio State.

The Hoosiers (12-3, 5-1) will look to break that tie when they welcome Purdue (12-5, 5-1) to Assembly Hall at 7 p.m. today for the first and only game between their in-state rival in the regular season.

IU Coach Felisha Legette-Jack said that with both teams doing so well this season it helps an already fierce rivalry.

“It’s fantastic for the rivalry,” Legette-Jack said. “I think its good energy and great synergy for our community that they have something to look up to and look forward to.”

Legette-Jack, who will be going for her 50th victory as a Hoosier, added that with Purdue having such a rich history and tradition of success it gives her team something to shoot for as the underdog in the match up.

“Until we put the banners on the rafters as Purdue has done we still have a lot to learn and grow,” she said. “We have won 12 games. We haven’t done anything yet. We haven’t won a championship yet. Were going to keep fighting and keep believing and keep looking up there and seeing Purdue out there and we are going to reach.” 

Senior Whitney Thomas, an All-American candidate and Bloomington native could be playing her final game against Purdue and said she would like to go out on top.

“There an in-state team and we just want to own the state,” Thomas said. “That’s what this game is going to be for. Everyone is going to play hard. I’m sure Purdue is going to come out and give us a great game and were going to give them a great game.”

The contest against the Boilermakers will be the 67th meeting between the two teams, with Purdue leading 42-24. Last year the Hoosiers and Boilermakers split their two games with each team winning on the others home court.

In addition to Legette-Jack chasing the 50 win total, junior point guard Jamie Braun is also just 16 points from becoming the 21st player in school history to record 1,000 points.

Braun and the upperclassmen on the team have played Purdue many times, but the Hoosiers also have some new players this year that will experience the rivalry for the first time.

One of those players, freshman Ashlee Mells, a native of Grand Prairie, Texas, who has studied the rivalry between the two schools, said she is both nervous and excited to play against the Boilermakers.

“I’m being a part of the history because it’s still going on right now,” Mells said. “I feel really excited, somewhat a little nervous, but I’m more excited about it being able to play. We had rivalries in high school, but not as big as this rivalry.”

For all the statistics and comparisons that can be made to the tradition of success of the two programs, Legette-Jack said that although this is a big rivalry game the team is focused on themselves and not the black and gold from a couple hours north.

“If we think about them we could be afraid, but if we keep the focus on Indiana like we have always done then we have a shot,” she said. “That’s what we choose to do, remember that it’s just about Indiana; it has nothing to do with Purdue. No disrespect, were not giving them too much respect either. We are just simply saying that we are deciding that this season is only about us.”