IU women eye another upset of No. 23 Huskers

On Dec. 5, 2010, the last time senior forward Aulani Sinclair played against Nebraska at Assembly Hall, the unranked Hoosiers knocked off the then-No. 19 Cornhuskers 67-61.

That was the last ranked team the Hoosiers defeated.

Tonight, it will be much more of a challenge for Sinclair to repeat that feat as a banged-up IU plays No. 23 Nebraska at 6:30 p.m.

During the past two days of practice, the Hoosiers had only seven players available to practice, excluding freshman forward Jocelyn Mousty, who IU Coach Curt Miller intends to redshirt.

Senior guard Jasmine McGhee is battling an ankle injury suffered in Sunday’s win against Northwestern. Senior center Sasha Chaplin is still recovering from a concussion suffered against Michigan last Thursday.

Both have sat out of practice the past two days and will be game-time decisions tonight.

“We are huge underdogs in this game, and we are banged up as badly as we’ve ever been,” Miller said. “That’s a little scary.”

Nebraska (11-4, 1-1) boasts junior forward Jordan Hooper and senior point guard Lindsey Moore, who combine to average more than 35 points per game.
Last season, Hooper made First Team All-Big Ten and Moore Second Team.

“I certainly think the engine that makes them go is Lindsey Moore, who is arguably one of the top three point guards in the country and will be drafted in the first round of the WNBA (draft),” Miller said. “She is as good of a point guard as we’ll guard all year. Everything offensively starts with her.

“Her and Hooper just give them an incredible one-two punch.”

Hooper has already been named Big Ten Player of the Week once this season, averaging 18.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.

“We definitely have to know where she’s at at all times on the court,” Sinclair said.
“We know she can hit the threes as a post. She can score pretty much anywhere on the court.”

Miller said what scares him about Hooper is her ability to beat good defense.

“She’s one of the few kids in the country that can make shots while being guarded,” he said. “You can do everything perfect, and she can still make shots over you.”

Miller said even more challenging for the Hoosiers is the Cornhuskers’ full-court defense.

Miller has prepared his team to go against what he calls a “94-foot team” for 40 minutes.

“The past two days we’ve been (working on breaking the press) at the beginning of every practice,” Sinclair said. “We have our great guy players out here who are quick, fast and athletic. They get up in us just like they’re going to do. We’re prepared for it. We’ve just got to go out and execute.”

Miller and Sinclair both said one of the biggest keys to upsetting the Cornhuskers will be keeping possession of the ball.

“They are just absolutely pressure, pressure, pressure,” Miller said. “They take you out of rhythm. They take you out of sets. They make you have to make individual plays. They frankly can just shut you down and turn you over.”

Regardless, Sinclair said she still remembers beating Nebraska in 2010 and thinks this team has a chance to do it.

“Yeah, definitely,” she said. “If we just come out and play together as a team and stick to our game plan, just know what we’re supposed to do and play our defense the right way, play defense as a team and really hustle, I think we’ll be all right.”