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(12/11/06 4:52am)
FORT WAYNE -- The IU women's basketball team might be giving coach Felisha Legette-Jack wins, but they're not coming easy. \nThe Hoosiers had to fight off a last-second chance by IU-Purdue University Fort Wayne to defeat the Mastodons 69-68 Sunday and improve their record to 8-2. The Hoosiers have won three of their last four games, with each of the three wins decided by three or fewer points.\n"My brother always tells me an ugly win is better than a pretty loss," Legette-Jack said. "It was an ugly game, but one thing we talk about is those that are most invested will be the last to surrender, and we were not going to surrender this game."\nSophomore Whitney Thomas recorded her third double-double of the season for the Hoosiers, finishing the game with 21 points and 14 rebounds.\nBefore the game, Legette-Jack switched up her starting five. Freshman Jamie Braun and senior Sarah McKay started in place of sophomore Kim Roberson and senior Carrie Smith.\n"We changed up the lineup because we're trying to nurse Kim back to health and we thought the lineup change in the post would be conducive for what we're trying to do in the long haul," Legette-Jack said.\nThe move paid off for the Hoosiers as McKay scored 13 for IU and Braun recorded a double-double, scoring 12 points with 11 rebounds.\n"I've been struggling a lot lately," Braun said. "I knew if I couldn't get it done on offense, I'd have to at least give my hardest on defense. I wanted the boards. I was going to get the ball, and I didn't care who I went through to get them."\nThe Mastodons were able to stay in contention in the first half, trailing the Hoosiers by only three, 32-29, as they entered the locker room at halftime.\nIPFW came out of halftime running on all cylinders, jumping out to a 6-2 run early in the second half to take the lead. The Mastodons continued challenging the Hoosiers in the second half as they started sinking threes. IPFW, which had only made two out of its 12 shots from beyond the arc in the first half, converted on seven of 12 in the second half.\nWith just more than a minute to go in the game, the two teams were tied at 65. Thomas broke open the deadlock by making a shot over an IPFW defender to give IU a 67-65 lead. \n"Coach Jack has been getting on me about looking at the basket," Thomas said. "I looked at the basket and it was there, so I just took it in and shot it, and thankfully, it went in."\nThe Mastodons' Ashley Johnson attempted to tie the game at the other end of the court but aired the ball, giving possession back to the Hoosiers. Junior Nikki Smith appeared to shut the door on IPFW, making two free throws with 22 seconds left and extending the Hoosiers' lead to four. The Mastodons responded by making yet another three-point shot, this one by Johnna Lewis-Carlisle with five seconds left. The ensuing inbound pass bounced off Smith and went out of bounds, giving IPFW one last chance. But the Mastodons were unable to get a shot off before the buzzer sounded, and IU walked away with another win.\n"We knew from the beginning that in-state games are always going to be tough," Thomas said. "We played to the end and came up on top"
(12/06/06 4:01am)
If the members of IU women's basketball team seem to have a little extra confidence early on this season, they've certainly earned it.\nThe Hoosiers have sprinted out of the gate to a 7-1 record in their first year with coach Felisha Legette-Jack, their best start since the 2000-01 season, when IU started 7-0. The Hoosiers have already beaten two teams from last year's NCAA Tournament, both times on the road.\n"I think the coaches are doing a good job of preparing us," said junior guard Nikki Smith. "(Assistant) Coach (Vera) Jones is a really good scout. We're always well-prepared. We just go into every game with the attitude like we're just going to go out and play our hardest."\nThe Hoosiers will challenge another team coming off a NCAA tournament appearance tonight when they travel to Ohio to take on Bowling Green State University. The Falcons are the two-time defending champions of the Mid-American Conference and have already built up a 4-1 record this season.\n"We're going to have to come out and play great defense to stop their penetration," senior guard Leah Enterline said. "They have some great 3-point shooters, so we'll have to be able to get out and contest them. They have a couple post shooters that are great from the outside as well as the inside, so we'll have to be smart on defense and know where their key players are."\nFor Legette-Jack, the game will be a reunion of sorts. She and Falcon head coach Curt Miller worked on the same coaching staff at Syracuse University from 1994-1998.\n"I've always admired his intellect about the game," Legette-Jack said about Miller. "He's a very good X-and-O coach. He knows how to find kids who can play his system."\nLegette-Jack said Miller and the Falcons are in good shape to qualify for the NCAA Tournament again this year but has no reservations about beating her former colleague's team. \n"We just hope he takes one step back before taking five steps forward, and that step back is when they play Indiana," she said.\nFor IU, one of the keys to stopping the Falcons will be shutting down their 3-point shooters. In Bowling Green State's last game, an 89-58 win against Oakland University, the Falcons hit 12 3-pointers. On the season, the Falcons have hit 44 percent of the 3-pointers they attempted and have averaged 81.2 points per game.\n"We know they're a great 3-point shooting team, so we want to take that away and just play our game," said sophomore forward Whitney Thomas. "If we play Indiana basketball like Coach Jack has been telling us from the beginning, then we should be OK."\nThe game will be the second game in a three-game road trip for the Hoosiers. Last Sunday the Hoosiers beat Notre Dame 54-51 in South Bend. This Sunday they travel to Fort Wayne to play IU-Purdue Fort Wayne.\n"This is like a Western here," Legette-Jack said. "It's never really about the basketball game. It's about the lessons we're going to learn through the game. This one seems really tough and nearly impossible, but that's why you play the game of basketball because you don't know the outcome until you finish the game"
(12/01/06 4:47am)
Despite being down a key player Thursday night, the IU women's basketball team was able to hold off the University of Evansville, winning 83-80 in Assembly Hall.\n"Today we beat a good team," IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. "This team (Evansville) is a fantastic team that has a strong chance to win their conference and be an NCAA team. But we're soldiers too. Our kids never quit."\nThe Hoosiers (6-1) had to play the Purple Aces without senior forward Carrie Smith, but senior center Sarah McKay rose to the occasion for IU in her first start since her freshman year, scoring 19 points.\n"I needed to step up for this team," McKay said. "Coach challenged me yesterday in practice, saying I need to take care of business. I told my teammates I would catch the ball if they threw it to me. When you have that trust in each other, great things can happen."\nThe Hoosiers looked to be rolling toward another victory early on, building a 24-6 lead within the first nine minutes of the game while holding the Purple Aces to 2-for-16 shooting from the field. Slowly through the rest of the half, though, Evansville was able to chip away at the IU lead thanks to three-point shooting and Hoosier turnovers. The Purple Aces cut the Hoosiers' lead down to 44-43 by halftime following a Robyn Jennings basket as the buzzer sounded.\n"That was a great lift for her and the team," Evansville coach Tricia Cullop said. "We had a great mood in the halftime locker room simply because we were finally back in the game when we could have been buried at the 10-minute mark."\nThe Hoosiers gave up 16 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of play, and Evansville was able to connect eight times from beyond the three-point line. The Purple Aces once again struck first blood coming out of halftime with another 3-pointer by Courtney Felke -- the fourth of six in the game from her -- to give Evansville its first lead since tip-off. Felke finished the game with 20 points before fouling out with just under three minutes to go.\nThe woes continued for the Hoosiers in the second half as nothing seemed to go their way. IU continued to give the ball away, shots failed to drop and Evansville 3-pointers kept falling. Despite their troubles, the Hoosiers were able to keep even with the Purple Aces throughout the second half, never trailing by more then three points. With 30 seconds to go in the game, the score was tied at 80 and Evansville had position following a rebound off an IU missed shot. Sophomore forward Whitney Thomas was able to strip the ball and drive to the basket where she was fouled going up for the shot. Thomas made one of the two ensuing free throws, giving IU an 81-80 lead.\n"Whitney is just relentless," Legette-Jack said. "She was not going to surrender this game, and our quote for the day was 'the team that wants it the most is going to be the last to surrender.'"\nThe Hoosiers were able to force another Evansville turnover with 15 seconds left, and junior guard Nikki Smith made both free throws to extend the lead to four. Senior guard Leah Enterline then sealed the victory for IU by stealing the ball from Evansville's Rebekah Parker as time expired.\n"The last two minutes we played Indiana basketball," Legette-Jack said. "We found a way to pull out a good win. I'm proud of these kids."\nThe Hoosiers look to pick up the momentum from the win when they travel to South Bend to take on Notre Dame Sunday at 2 p.m. A No. 9-seed from last year's NCAA Tournament, the Fighting Irish are 4-2 this season.
(11/27/06 7:53pm)
Call it déjà vu.\nFor the second year in a row, the IU women's basketball team is starting a new season with a new head coach. On April 19, Felisha Legette-Jack was named the new head coach of the Hoosiers, becoming the third person in a little more than 13 months to hold that position.\n"I think after what happened in the past, our team needed some fire," said sophomore Whitney Thomas. "The coaches that came in, they definitely brought that. They brought energy and everything we needed to get back up to where we should be."\nThe saga began March 1, 2005, when Kathi Bennett resigned after going 3-13 in the Big Ten to earn ninth place in the conference. After losing to Wisconsin in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, IU began the search for Bennett's replacement.\nMore than a month later, on April 8, 2005, the Hoosiers found their coach in Mishawaka, Ind., native and Purdue alumna Sharon Versyp, who was coaching at the University of Maine. During the Versyp era, the IU women's basketball program improved, going 19-14 in her first year and advancing to the quarterfinals of the WNIT.\nBut the success came with a price. In West Lafayette, the coaching carousel was turning. On March 30, 2006, Boilermaker coach Kristy Curry left Purdue to become the coach at Texas Tech University. A little more than a week later on April 7 -- 364 days after she took the IU job -- Versyp resigned to take over at her alma mater.\n"That's in the past; that's her decision," said junior Nikki Smith. "We hold no grudge; we're just looking forward to the future."\nBut for Nikki Smith and the three seniors -- Leah Enterline, Sarah McKay and Carrie Smith -- the hiring of Legette-Jack from Hofstra University marks the third coach the upperclassmen have seen since arriving in Bloomington.\n"That's kind of cool. You get to play for three different coaches and three totally different viewpoints about basketball," Enterline said. "I've learned something from every single coach, and it's just something that happened. It's not a big deal."\nIf anything, the Hoosiers say what they've been through in their years at IU has made them even closer as a team. Even sophomore Thomas, who never played for Bennett but whom Bennett recruited, can see this.\n"I think it makes the team even stronger and closer together," Thomas said. "Last year around the time coach (Versyp) was leaving, our team got closer, and we came together."\nLegette-Jack said that she feels that the team has responded to her and her coaching staff and is ready to start with a new coach once again.\n"This is my team now; there's no more Sharon Versyp," Legette-Jack said. "I wish her well at Purdue, but there's a new kid on the block now, and we're moving forward."\nLegette-Jack said she is committed to staying with IU. During a speech she gave at an National Association for the Advancement of Colored People banquet last month, Legette-Jack said she doesn't leave a place until the job is done. As for what it takes for the job to be done, she said "championship, after championship, after championship."\n"I love it here," Legette-Jack said. "I'm not a job-hopper; I don't need a certain prestige about things. I just love what I do. As long as I'm empowering and people have confidence in what I'm doing, I can be a couch. I can lock in like a piece of furniture and be here"
(11/27/06 7:50pm)
The winds of change have hit the IU women's basketball team not only on the coaching level, but with the players as well. \nGone from last year's squad are three starters -- Cyndi Valentin, Jenny DeMuth and Angela Hawkins.\n"We have a lot of players on the team that haven't played in the college game yet or been the main factor in the game," said sophomore Whitney Thomas.\nHowever, the Hoosiers do return two starters, Thomas and junior Nikki Smith, who have been joined by seniors Leah Enterline and Carrie Smith, as well as sophomore Kim Roberson as the starting five early in this season.\n"I think we're very young, and I think we were all role players last year," Nikki Smith said. "We're just now adjusting to a new offense, a new defense and us being the players who are going to be making a majority of the plays. I think it's all a learning process right now. It takes time."\nGone for the Hoosiers are the creators of 670 out of the 974 points the Hoosiers scored last season -- more than two-thirds of their offensive output.\n"I think this year is 100 percent different from last year," Nikki Smith said. "Last year we relied on Cyndi and Jenny a lot for our scoring. We put all the pressure on them. If they didn't have a good game, we all didn't have a good game. I think this year everything is spread out. You can have games where one person scores 15, another scores one, and the next day it's totally reversed."\nAs for the new coach, Felisha Legette-Jack said she doesn't make a distinction between the players who started last year and those who didn't.\n"None of them started for me, so I don't give them any more power than the others," Legette-Jack said. "... As far as we're concerned, they're all on the same page, they're an 11-headed monster, and we're all in this thing together."\nHaving a new coach, as well as three new starters who have to fill the sneakers left by the graduated offensive stars of last season, creates an interesting task for the Hoosiers.\n"This is new for all of us, but especially the players who have never played college basketball before," Enterline said. "It's not something where you can tell them anything to or make them feel better about. It's something they have to experience."\nLegette-Jack said she is well-aware of the impact of last year's seniors, who turned the Hoosiers around from 10-18 two seasons ago to 19-14 last year and led IU to a spot in the WNIT quarterfinals. She said she recognizes the program records departed DeMuth and Valentin set, but that she knows they are no longer at IU and the other players will now have to step up.\n"I don't want to underwrite Cyndi Valentin and her efforts," Legette-Jack said. "However three of the four leading scorers have all graduated. This gives us an opportunity to begin again together"
(11/20/06 5:15am)
If IU women's basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack ever considers a career in politics, she already has one supporter. Following the Hoosiers 98-71 win over the University of Dayton on Sunday, Flyer coach Jim Jabir had nothing but good things to say about Legette-Jack.\n"Coach Jack has done a great job with her team," Jabir said in a statement. "She should run for mayor. She would fix any problem Bloomington has."\nIf coaching can help build political resumes, what Legette-Jack has done so far since arriving in Bloomington should surely gain her some votes. Sunday's win pushes IU's record to 4-0.\nSenior center Sarah McKay led the way for IU, scoring a career-high 28 points coming off the bench.\n"It's definitely the first step of many steps forward for us as a team and me personally," McKay said. "I know I needed a breakout game, and this was it."\nFor the second game in a row, five Hoosiers scored in double digits, with senior Leah Enterline (17 points), sophomore Whitney Thomas (13 points), junior Nikki Smith (11 points) and senior Carrie Smith (10 points) all achieving the feat with McKay. Enterline's 17 points tied a career-high, a mark that she's reached twice in her career, including during Wednesday's game against Valparaiso.\n"I'm just trying to get back to the way that I came in here playing -- being the confrontational guard that I am," Enterline said. "Every game that's the mindset I'm going to have. I think in order for the team to have that mindset, I have to be that way."\nBut the night belonged to McKay, the 6-foot-7 Canadian center who came off the bench with 12:13 left in the first half with IU trailing 16-13. McKay presided to score the next eight points for the Hoosiers to take a 21-20 lead. By the time she was taken out, just more than nine minutes later, McKay had 15 points.\n"It was really exciting seeing Sarah McKay do what we know she can do and what we expect her to do on a consistent basis," Legette-Jack said. "Today was the first day that I think she realized what we, as a coaching staff, have already known about her."\nFor the rest of the game, every time McKay was taken out or put back in, she received a standing ovation from the 731 in attendance at Assembly Hall.\n"I love the fans; our fans are the best," McKay said. "We might not have a packed house, but it sure feels like it with the people we have coming out to our games."\nShe took the energy from the crowd and finished the game shooting 11-of-12 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.\n"My teammates were just setting me up very well in spots that I can score from," McKay said.\nThe Hoosiers play two games over Thanksgiving break, traveling to Coral Gable, Fla., to compete in the Miami Holiday Classic. They will face Wright State University Friday night and either University of Miami or Nicholls State University on Saturday.
(11/17/06 4:49am)
Following the IU women's basketball team's 85-51 win against Valparaiso University Wednesday, a question was posed to IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack about taking momentum from the win into the Hoosiers' 6 p.m. game Sunday against the University of Dayton. But Legette-Jack just wanted to enjoy the win against Valpo, saying her team wouldn't start preparing for the Flyers until Friday.\n"(Dayton coach) Jim Jabir is a fantastic coach who's been coaching a very long time," Legette-Jack said. "My assistant coach (Vera Jones) used to be the assistant coach there, and that's all I want to know right now. We're going to enjoy this win and smell these roses because it's been a while since these kids had roses."\nThe roses come in the form of a 3-0 record for the Hoosiers, including an upset win last weekend against the then-No. 15 University of Kentucky. In each game they've played, three different IU players have led the Hoosiers in scoring. \n"We are the 11-headed monster," Legette-Jack said, using a term to describe her squad, whose roster this season runs 11-deep. "We're going have to rely on everybody to step up, and right now everybody is."\nIn Wednesday's game, five Hoosiers scored in double figures. Freshman Michelle Carr finished with eight points, two points short of becoming the sixth IU player in the game to record double digits.\n"I think it shows confidence that everyone's willing to put the shot up, no matter who it is," said senior Carrie Smith, who had 10 points against Valparaiso. "Everybody gets some playing time and everyone takes some shots."\nIn addition to Smith, senior guard Leah Enterline, junior guard Nikki Smith, sophomore forward Whitney Thomas and freshman guard Jamie Braun all scored in double figures Wednesday. Enterline led the way with 17 points, tying her career high.\n"It's just fun for us to play because if one person is having an off-night, there are three or four other people there to pick them up," Smith said.\nBut it's not only offense the Hoosiers are using to defeat their opponents. Just one look at the scores from IU's three games show how tough their defense is. In their first game, against Wake Forest University, IU allowed only 53 points. As it turned out, that's the most they've allowed this season, with opponents scoring only 51 points in the other two games. Even after allowing Valpo to shoot 50 percent in the first half and score 40 points Wednesday night, IU's defense stepped up in the second half and the Crusaders shot 2-for-30 in the second half for only 11 points.\nBefore Wednesday's game, Legette-Jack said one of the keys to stopping the Crusaders would be to shut down their center Tamra Braun. The Hoosiers did just that, keeping the 6-foot-5 center scoreless, something Legette-Jack said was a testament to IU's post players.\n"You come in their paint, and it's dangerous," Legette-Jack said. "Even when I play pickup with them, I'm a little nervous."\nWhen the Hoosiers do start to look at Dayton, they will be looking at a team that has the capability to score points. In last Saturday's game against the University of Memphis, the Flyers put up 96 points. But for now, Legette-Jack just wants to enjoy IU's recent success.\n"We're going to enjoy this right now and not move too fast with our success," she said. "But we're not going to stay too long either. Right now our kids need to celebrate this win, hug each other, laugh and talk about whatever they talk about in the locker room. We're going to concentrate on Dayton on Friday"
(11/15/06 5:05am)
It should be a hero's return for the team that IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack calls the "11-headed monster." The IU women's basketball team returns home tonight after its 54-51 victory over the No. 15 Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday.\nThe Hoosiers (2-0) will try to defend their home court tonight against the Crusaders of Valparaiso (0-1) at 7 p.m. in Assembly Hall.\n"It was definitely a huge win. I know people didn't expect us to get that," said sophomore forward Whitney Thomas. "But it's just the same game over again except for it's reversed situations, where Valpo's coming in as the underdog. And like (Legette-Jack) said, we can't take them lightly. They're a good team, and we got to get ready to play."\nWhen the Hoosiers returned to practice Monday, Legette-Jack said she felt the intensity wasn't at the level that it should have been.\n"We didn't come back like a championship team should come back," she said. "We had a lackadaisical practice; we didn't have energy; we weren't talking. This wasn't the IU team I was expecting."\nThe Hoosiers are aware that they will have to be ready to take on the Crusaders to avoid a letdown game.\n"It's one of those things -- great win; we're all really excited about it," junior guard Nikki Smith said. "But we have to keep moving on because we don't want us to be that ones that get upset. So we want to still enjoy the win but move on and just keep playing hard."\nThe Hoosiers will be the second Big Ten team to face Valparaiso in this young season. On Friday night, the Crusaders dropped a 64-45 game to Northwestern. Even with the low score, Legette-Jack said the Mid-Continent Conference team has some offensive weapons.\n"They got a great shooter. (Carrie Myers) is a fantastic 3-point shooter from the perimeter -- she's got a quick release," she said. "Their inside 6-foot-5 kid (Tamra Braun), she's great. She can go over her right shoulder or her left shoulder, so we got to be ready to go. We got to be big, even though we're not big, and we have to change up our defense a lot for them."\nDefense has been one of the strong suits for the Hoosiers, and IU hopes the strong defensive play will continue tonight. Including two exhibition games, the Hoosiers have held their four opponents to less than 30 percent shooting from the field. In Sunday's game, IU held Kentucky shooters to 14.7 percent in the second half.\n"We're very scrappy. We just like to get on the ball and run," Smith said. "We're very quick on the perimeter, and I just think we need to keep playing hard. We know if we're tired we can have two or three people that can come off the bench and help us. I think the thing is keep playing hard and getting all over the ball."\nWhile Hoosiers boast an undefeated record that might leave some coaches satisfied, Legette-Jack said there are more things she looks at than the box score.\n"The type of team we want to have is the team that you can't look at the stats and see who hurt you," Legette-Jack said. "You have to really watch the film and really concentrate on the film. And that's showing passion and desire and loose balls and chipping a tooth on the floor because you're going after something that seems it's impossible, but you go get it anyway. \n"Those are the kind of statistics we like to keep for our team"
(11/10/06 4:39am)
The exhibitions are done. Now comes the game that counts.\nThe IU women's basketball team starts its regular season tonight in the Women's Sport Foundation Classic hosted by the University of Kentucky. Prior to tonight's game, the Hoosiers have gotten two exhibition wins under their belt.\n"This is when the fun starts," junior guard Nikki Smith said. "I mean, everyone likes to practice for a game to go out there and play as hard as you can because this is what you practice for. So it's just really exciting to start the season off and just get going."\nThe Hoosiers will start out the tournament playing Wake Forest University tonight at 6 p.m. The Demon Deacons are coming off of a 12-16 campaign from a season ago, but IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said Wake Forest will be no easy task.\n"They're a fantastic program," Legette-Jack said. "Coach (Mike) Peterson's doing a great job over there at Wake Forest. He's always been a fantastic coach even when he was out at Texas Christian and Minnesota. Now he's doing a great job with Wake Forest."\nHowever, the coach said, IU is more concerned about its own game plan then its opponent's.\n"We can't really worry about Wake Forest; it's about what we're trying to do for IU," she said. "We're going to give them a little bit of attention, but it's really about us."\nThe Hoosiers are coming off exhibition wins over the University of Indianapolis and Northern Kentucky University by scores of 66-35 and 74-61, respectively. In those two games, the Hoosiers held their opponents to a combined 23.8 field goal percentage. Still, Legette-Jack said she would like to see more.\n"We always can play better defense," she said. "If we can hold teams to zero, that's what we want, and if we can't, we got some work to do. Defensive things that we can control are our intensity and our passion, and we're going to continue to work on those things, and we're going to try to play for March."\nIn each game, freshman guard Jamie Braun has come off the bench and scored double digits for IU. She said she hopes the trend continues in her first regular season game.\n"If my shot falls then I think I'll have a good chance," Braun said. "My teammates have given me the open looks that I need. It just depends if my shot falls."\nThe Hoosiers will follow up the Wake Forest game with a game against either Washington State University or No. 16 Kentucky, depending on the result of their game and the result of the Cougars-Wildcats game. The game will be Sunday at either 11 a.m. or 1 p.m. Legette-Jack said she isn't looking at Sunday's game just yet and hasn't done too much scouting on Wake Forest.\n"I haven't really looked at Wake Forest yet," she said. "We respect all, we fear none. So we're not going to give too much attention to our opponent. If we really work on ourselves and play with the intensity and the passion that we know that we can play with, I think we have a good shot against anyone we play"
(11/07/06 4:14am)
The IU women's basketball team survived early foul trouble and relied on strong defensive play to win its second and final exhibition game Monday night.\nThe Hoosiers defeated Northern Kentucky University 74-61 at Assembly Hall, a much closer deficit than the Hoosiers enjoyed during their 66-35 win in their first exhibition game Friday night against the University of Indianapolis.\n"Our young team beat somebody today," IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. "Northern Kentucky's a fantastic team with a well-seasoned coach, who in my opinion could be a future Hall of Fame coach."\nThe Hoosiers found themselves in foul trouble early in the first half when three of their starters -- senior guard Leah Enterline, senior forward Carrie Smith and sophomore forward Whitney Thomas -- recorded two fouls each with 13:42 remaining until the half. By halftime, the other two IU starters -- sophomore forward Kimberly Roberson and junior guard Nikki Smith -- were also playing with two fouls. In total, the Hoosiers committed 12 personal fouls in the first half, while the Norse scored 13 of their 26 first-half points from the charity stripe.\n"That was a blessing in our opinion because it gave an opportunity to expose our bench a little bit," Legette-Jack said. "It allowed them to get the minutes that they deserved and to see what they can do with those minutes."\nWith time running out in the first half, Northern Kentucky guard Nicole Chiodi took a running shot from the half court line as the buzzer sounded. The ball sailed in, and the Norse took a 26-24 lead heading into the break.\nA stifling defense kept the Hoosiers in the game in the first half as IU was able to get six steals and block seven NKU shots, including four blocks by senior center Sarah McKay coming off the bench.\nThe second half went back and forth for the first four minutes as both teams traded baskets with the game tied at 32. But with 15:45 left in the game, Thomas made a shot as she was fouled and made the ensuing free throw. From there on, the Hoosiers took control of the game, going on a 13-2 run following Thomas's free throw to take a 48-34 lead.\n"We're a passionate team; the head coach is passionate, and they got to play with passion," Leggete-Jack said. \nThree Hoosiers scored in double figures against the Norse. Freshman Jamie Braun, who scored 12 points in her IU debut Friday, led the Hoosiers with 14 points in just her second game with the Hoosiers.\n"If I keep going out there and shooting when I have the open shots, when they fall then I think I could have a successful time throughout the rest of the year," Braun said.\nIn addition to Braun, Carrie Smith tallied 10 points, and Nikki Smith scored 13.\n"I just went out there and played hard, and things just happened the way that they did," Nikki Smith said. "It started out just kind of a fast-paced game, and I just took it to the basket."\nThe Hoosiers pick up again Friday night in Lexington, Ky., when they face Wake Forest University in the Women's Sports Foundation Classic.
(11/06/06 5:08am)
For the IU women's soccer team, history needs to be enough in the eyes of the NCAA.\nThe Hoosiers (9-7-4, 5-4-1 Big Ten), who compiled a 13-game unbeaten streak from Sept. 1 through Oct. 13, finished their season Thursday night with a 2-1 loss to Michigan in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. The 13-game unbeaten streak was one short of the program record of 14, but after the streak, IU ended its season with a five-game losing streak.\n"I'd say the disappointment in one word would be 'massive,'" IU coach Mick Lyon said. "We had totally set ourselves up with a great season until the last five games. We just totally disappointed ourselves, and to finish the season with that kind of loss was nothing less than massive."\nThe Hoosiers now wait to see if their 9-7-4 record is good enough to be noticed by the NCAA, which announces which teams have earned the 64 spots in the NCAA Tournament today.\n"I'd be very surprised if we get a bid," Lyon said. "To get in the NCAA Tournament, you're talking about being in the top 20 percent of the country. I think we're probably in the top 30 percent, but there's a heck of a lot of competition in that last 10 percent. And I think that separates teams getting in and not getting -- how they've done in the last couple of weeks and not having any bad losses."\nIn Thursday's game against Michigan in State College, Penn., the Hoosiers got on the board first in the 16th minute when senior defender Lauren Lamping sent a shot that deflected off the head of a Wolverine defender attempting to clear and went into the right corner of the net. But the Michigan own goal was canceled out by an own goal against the Hoosiers four minutes later when Lamping tried to clear a ball out of the box that ended up in the Hoosiers net.\n"The two own goals were drastically different," Lyon said. "The goal Michigan gave up, if the kid hadn't headed it, I think (senior midfielder) Carrie DeFreece probably would have been in on goal and had a good chance of scoring. And then our goal was very disappointing because there was no pressure on Lamping, and there was no pressure on our goalkeeper, and it was a lack of communication."\nThe Wolverines scored the game-winner in the 29th minute off a Judy Coffman corner kick. Coffman's strike sent the ball in front of the Hoosiers' net, where it was headed away by freshman defender Jessica Boots. But Boots' header was sent to Wolverine Lindsey McDonald, who fired a shot past junior goalkeeper Stacey Van Boxmeer to give Michigan a 2-1 lead.\n"It was a just a great strike, one of those career kind of goals, and it was unfortunate," Lyon said.\nThe Hoosiers were unable to get the equalizer despite several chances, including two in the 75th minute by junior forward Lindsay McCarthy. Freshman forward Kristin Arnold took a free kick from freshman forward Liz Holby. Arnold attempted to cross the ball to McCarthy, but Michigan goalkeeper Megan Tuura made the stop. Holby tried to set up McCarthy again following the first attempt, but this time the ball went wide of the net.\n"We had more than enough chances to finish the game," Lyon said. "The ball hit the post, the cross bar, it rolled to the goalkeeper, it missed the far post. I would say we had five really legitimate chances to score a goal, and we didn't put it in."\nAfter 15 more minutes of play, time had run out on the Hoosiers.\n"The players are disappointed. I'm disappointed. everybody's disappointed because we set ourselves up for great things, and at the end of the day, we fizzled and died," Lyon said.
(11/02/06 5:09am)
The IU women's soccer team was unstoppable Oct. 1. That day, the Hoosiers defeated Michigan 2-1 to win game 10 of a 13-game unbeaten streak.\n"I just think that overall as a team, we played really well that game, defensively and offensively," said freshman forward Kristin Arnold, who had a goal and an assist in the game. "We defended really well as a team, We were able to win the 50-50 balls in the midfield. I think that because of that, we had a lot more opportunities." \nThe Hoosiers (9-6-4, 5-4-1 Big Ten) look to recapture the magic from that early October game at 7:30 tonight when they once again face Michigan (8-6-5, 4-3-3 Big Ten) in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament at State College, Pa.\n"I've been reviewing the tape for the last couple of days," IU coach Mick Lyon said. "While we travel on Wednesday, we'll have the players reviewing the DVD on their computers."\nA lot has changed for both teams since their first meeting. At the time, the Wolverines were playing .500 ball and had dropped four of their last five matches. But the Wolverines bounced back following the IU game and started a six-game unbeaten streak of their own before falling to Michigan State in the regular season finale. Michigan earned the fifth seed in this weekend's tournament. \nIU went on to extend its unbeaten streak three more games before dropping its last four and falling from a possible top seed to a fourth seed.\n"It's been sort of a disappointment," said junior midfielder Beverly Markwort. "We're ready to get out of that slump we've sort of been into and put all our energy into the coming games. Hopefully, we'll have three games coming up."\nThe winner of the first-round game will advance to Friday's semifinals where they will play the winner of the No. 1 Penn State vs. No. 8 Northwestern. Another win would put the Hoosiers in Sunday's Big Ten Championship. The Hoosiers are looking for some wins to help their chances of getting an NCAA Tournament bid.\n"We're packing enough clothes to be there four days," Lyon said. "To me, I think we need to win a couple games to get a lock on it. If we can fight our way past Michigan and get to face the Penn State-Northwestern winner, I like our chances."\nOne thing is already certain for the Hoosiers: They will have to get past Michigan without junior defender Jenna Babcock. In the 64th minute of the Hoosiers game against Purdue, Babcock was sent off with a red card for kicking a Boilermaker player who was on the ground. Babcock will not be able to play in the first-round game because of the penalty.\nLyon said Babcock's spot will be filled by junior Katy Stewart.\n"I think she'll do an admirable job," Lyon said. "She played at the back all last spring. And (senior) Lauren Dieter is also training to play in that spot as well."\nIf the Hoosiers get by Michigan, Babcock could play against Penn State or Northwestern. And the Hoosiers said they hope to give her that chance.\n"If we can come away and do well at Penn State this weekend, there's certainly a lot left of our season to play," Arnold said. "We just have to come in with some confidence, knowing that even though we did well at the beginning of our season, that's not going to define the end of our season"
(10/27/06 5:03am)
It's been a motto for the IU women's soccer team all season long: The next game is the most important game of the players' lives.\nIn terms of important games, Friday's road game against Purdue (12-4-3, 5-3-1 Big Ten) could certainly qualify. The Hoosiers (9-5-4, 5-3-1 Big Ten) look to snap a three-game losing streak, work toward a higher seed for next weekend's Big Ten Tournament and try to earn an NCAA Tournament bid -- not to mention they are playing their in-state rivals.\n"I think we've refocused and are prepared for a huge game this Friday," senior midfielder Carrie DeFreece said. "I think we're going to take out our anger from the frustration from the last three games and have a good game this weekend."\nIf the Hoosiers defeat the Boilermakers, it will be only the second time, the first since 1999, that IU has bested its rival. A win would also give the Hoosiers the third seed in the Big Ten Tournament. If they lose, the Hoosiers could fall as far as the sixth seed, depending on the outcomes of the Northwestern-Wisconsin and Michigan-Michigan State games.\n"We just got focused on one goal we're looking at, which is (to) win the next game to become third in the league," IU coach Mick Lyon said about his team's attitude in practice this week. "It's the only focus we've got."\nTo pull off the win, IU will have to do something it hasn't done during its current three-game losing streak -- score a goal. IU has lost all three games to Northwestern, Iowa and Illinois by a 1-0 decision.\n"I don't think it's anything we've necessarily been doing wrong," senior forward Megan Pipkens said. "We've had the chances; we just have to capitalize on the opportunities."\nLyon said his staff will keep telling the girls to do the same things they've been doing offensively all season, but just try to find other ways to tell them. He also said getting back to fundamentals on throw-ins and corner kicks will be key.\n"I think we also got a little bit away from our set plays," Lyon said. "We've thrown in a few different ideas, and we might go back to the drawing board and say, 'Hey, let's go back to plan A,' and hit it hard and execute it to perfection because that's where some goals will come."\nEven though the Boilermakers own the all-time series against IU at 7-1-1, the record can be deceiving. No IU-Purdue women's soccer game has ever been decided by more than one goal. Three games have gone into overtime, including last season's 1-1 tie.\n"We've been mighty close," Lyon said. "It's been just a hair's breadth difference between a win and a loss. Last year was even closer, with missing a penalty in overtime."\nEven with IU trying to beat the Boilermakers for the first time in seven years, the Hoosiers are more concerned about getting the win to help their postseason chances.\n"Our pure focus is we go in there, we get three points, we keep marching forward," Lyon said. "And it will be big to be in West Lafayette and put them on their tails. (That) would be nice"
(10/23/06 3:21am)
IU women's basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack talked about the importance of voting while drawing on some lessons from basketball Saturday when the first-year Hoosier coach gave a 15-minute speech at the Monroe County NAACP's Freedom Fund Banquet Dinner.\n"I think that it's not our right; it's our obligation to voice your opinion on what you think that matters," Legette-Jack said in her speech.\nLegette-Jack was the keynote speaker at the event, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's largest annual fundraiser held at Terry's Banquet and Catering in Bloomington. Other speakers at the event included Mayor Mark Kruzan and Monroe County Commissioner Iris Kiesling.\nThe coach also made a commitment to her team's success both on the court and in the classroom, saying that she and her coaching staff would make sure the players had GPAs above 3.0.\n"We're going to graduate them, and we're going to win championships with them," she said to a round of applause.\nLegette-Jack used an anecdote from her high school days to stress the importance of making a choice. She talked about a guidance counselor in high school who strongly discouraged her from going to Syracuse because it would be a difficult experience for her. Legette-Jack said her mother, on the other hand, told her she had put herself in a position to make a choice, and the counselor said she was qualified to go to Syracuse, she should go.\n"Sometimes people in your life are wrong. They make you make those bad choices," Legette-Jack said. "That's why we talk about choice, not chance determines your destiny."\nFor the second year in a row, the Hoosiers will open a season with a new coach. Legette-Jack replaces Sharon Versyp, who left IU after one season to take the head coaching job at her alma mater, Purdue. Legette-Jack made a commitment to staying at IU. \n"This team has been under a lot of duress," Legette-Jack said. "I am the third coach (in three years) for the women's basketball team, and I was asked earlier, 'Are you going to stay?' I don't leave until the job is done."\nAfter the speech, Legette-Jack said that this was her first time working with the NAACP but that she plans to join.\n"I love the cause. I love the fight," Legette-Jack said. "I've been kind of admiring from afar. Now it's time to get in the game."\nAs she makes the commitment to the NAACP, she asked those in attendance at Saturday's banquet to make the same commitment to her team. \n"I am not cocky. I'm just confident that (God) did not bring me to Bloomington to fail," she said. "And if you want to reach, why not strive and reach for the moon? You might just land on a star. \n"We're going after that moon guys and we're going to need your help. Will you join me"
(10/20/06 3:55am)
Following its 1-0 loss last Sunday to Northwestern, the IU women's soccer team was down but not out.\n"Everyone's working pretty hard and trying to get back," freshman midfielder Christie Kotynski said. "We know we probably could have done better on Sunday. We're trying to work as hard as we can to make up for it this weekend."\nWhile the loss ended the Hoosiers 13-game unbeaten streak -- one short of the school record -- IU coach Mick Lyon said he hopes his players are able to take the loss as motivation for the final three regular season games and into the postseason tournament.\n"That's certainly how the coaches are taking it," Lyon said. "To say we want to start a new unbeaten streak and certainly taking care of the next three games is a priority. We want to go 3-0. If we go 6-0 into postseason play then we'd be extremely happy."\nIU (9-3-4, 5-1-1 Big Ten) looks to start a new streak Friday night in Iowa City as the Hoosiers take on Iowa (5-10-1, 0-7-0 Big Ten) and face off against Illinois (9-6-0, 5-2 Big Ten) Sunday in Champaign. Even though the Hawkeyes haven't won a Big Ten game so far this season, Lyon knows the Hoosiers can't overlook them.\n"I know what we're going to get from it, which is a real tight defense probably playing in a 5-4-1 or a 4-5-1 and looking to counterattack," Lyon said. "We'll have to talk to the girls about being organized while we attack and taking the chances that come."\nJunior defender Jenna Babcock said that while the team's last loss is pushing the Hoosiers to do well this weekend, she feels there is a bigger prize at stake.\n"It's more of a motivation for a Big Ten championship," Babcock said. "We need these games now. We put ourselves in a position where we have to win."\nThe Hoosiers still control their own destiny as they are in second place in the Big Ten with 16 points. Penn State leads the Big Ten with 19 points but plays its final two Big Ten games this weekend and can only get six points. If the Hoosiers can get three points out of a win in each of their last three games, they will be assured no less than a tie with the Nittany Lions -- who gave Hoosiers one point from a 0-0 tie -- for the Big Ten regular season championship.\n"That pushes us," Babcock said. "We know we can win it, and we know how to. We just need to do it."\nBut the road won't be easy for the Hoosiers. After their game against Iowa, the last two games in the Hoosiers' regular season will be against Illinois and Purdue, both school that are tied for third place in the Big Ten with 15 points, just one point behind the Hoosiers.\n"That's something we haven't spoken to them yet about," Lyon said about the team controlling where they finish. "But we're going to take it into the weekend and talk about fact that destiny's in your own hands, so either step up or get your just desserts."\nThe Hoosiers haven't beaten the Illini since 1998, but they have come close in recent years. Since Lyon arrived as the Hoosiers' coach in 2002, IU has not lost to Illinois by more than one goal.\n"We lost by a real unfortunate goal last year," Lyon said. "The year before we tied them, so I feel very confident. I think we match up well with them. We got players in the right places to match up against their strengths, and I think it'll be a cracking game on Sunday, no doubt about it"
(10/16/06 4:05am)
Needing only one win to etch its name into the program's history books, the IU women's soccer team fell short.\nThe No 16. Hoosiers (9-3-4, 5-1-1 Big Ten) lost 1-0 to Northwestern Sunday, ending their unbeaten streak at 13 games, just one short of the school record of 14 games which spanned the 1993 and 1994 seasons. The loss was the first for the Hoosiers since falling to Creighton University 2-1 Aug. 27.\n"One of the lessons we said we would try to learn from this is maybe we're not invincible," IU coach Mick Lyon said. "Sometimes you need to take a little step back to take a bigger step forward."\nBefore losing to Northwestern Sunday, the Hoosiers extended their unbeaten streak to 13 and gave Lyon his 150th career victory Friday night with a 1-0 win over Wisconsin.\n"I had no idea, so it was kind of nice afterwards," Lyon said about win No. 150. "It's nice, but I guess it's something you try to celebrate later in the year."\nThe Hoosiers' goal against Wisconsin came in the 66th minute when senior defender Lauren Lamping lofted a pass in the direction of freshman defender Jessica Boots, who redirected the ball with a header to the right of Badger goalkeeper Lynn Murray into the net for Boots' first career goal.\n"I hadn't scored in this Big Ten season," Boots said. "So when it went in I was surprised but excited because we needed it as a team."\nFollowing the goal by Boots, the IU attack continued as the Hoosiers attempted to earn an insurance goal. The Wisconsin defense didn't allow IU to get another goal, but the Hoosiers didn't need it. The Badgers' best chance for an equalizer came in the 71st minute when junior goalkeeper Stacey Van Boxmeer put herself in the middle of a crowd of players and made a save while colliding with a Wisconsin attacker. The save was one of three Van Boxmeer made against the Badgers, who brought the Big Ten's second-highest scoring offense into the game. The victory was the eighth shutout for IU on the season and the third in a row.\nIn the 27th minute of the Northwestern game, the Hoosiers let through the first goal since Michigan scored against them Oct. 1. Northwestern's Laura Janowitsch sent a cross pass through the goal box to Kelsey Hans. Hans took the pass and sent it past Van Boxmeer as both players slid onto the ground. The Hoosiers had some opportunities to get the equalizer and tie up the match but were unable to capitalize on their chances.\nThe best chance for the Hoosiers came in the 41st minute after senior forward Megan Pipkens was taken down by a Wildcat defender in the box. On the ensuing penalty kick freshman defender Kelly Lawrence took a shot that bounced off Northwestern goalkeeper Lauren Johnston. The rebound bounced right back to Lawrence who once again had a one-on-one against Johnston. She was unable to take advantage of the chance as once again Johnston made the save.\n"I thought (Johnston) played outstanding. She had a great game," Lyon said. "We made it a little easy by not really testing her. But the ones where we did test her, she came up big"
(10/13/06 4:55am)
Don't blame IU coach Mick Lyon if he's been acting a little superstitious lately. After all, what he's been doing is working.\n"We're not changing anything right now, including the underwear," Lyon said. "It's one of those you don't change anything to alter the karma that we've got."\nAs the IU women's soccer team approaches the program's unbeaten streak record, the Hoosiers (8-2-4, 4-0-1 Big Ten) cracked into the National Soccer Coaches Association of America top 25 for the first time since Oct. 8, 2001, when they were ranked No. 23. The No. 16 ranking the Hoosiers received in Tuesday's NSCAA poll match the highest ranking IU has ever received since it was ranked No. 16 in October of 1998.\n"I think the girls were very excited," Lyon said. "It was a nice reward for some good effort and as I told them it's nice to be ranked in the NSCAA because you're ranked by the coaches, people who have seen you play and played against you and know what it's about to compete at that level."\nEven though being ranked No. 16 is nice, junior goalkeeper Stacey Van Boxmeer said the Hoosiers hope that in the coming weeks they will be able to improve on that ranking.\n"We were pretty shocked at first to not be in the poll at all to jumping to 16th," said Van Boxmeer, who on Monday was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. "But we're pretty excited about it, and we just hope we can stay on the charts and hopefully get a higher number."\nThe Hoosiers will try to improve this weekend with a game Friday night against Wisconsin (6-4-3, 3-2-1 Big Ten) at 7 p.m. and again Sunday against Northwestern (7-6-1, 3-2-1 Big Ten) at 12 p.m. Both games will be at Bill Armstrong Stadium.\nIU brings a 12-game unbeaten streak into the weekend. If the Hoosiers get out of the weekend without a loss, their streak will increase to 14, tying the program record when IU won 14 straight games between the 1993 and 1994 seasons. But for the Hoosiers, the streak is an afterthought. Right now they have bigger and better things on their minds.\n"We try not to focus on the records, and we're happy to get them," senior midfielder Ali Brown said. "But for us, we're taking it one game at a time and just winning these crucial Big Ten games and hopefully getting that Big Ten championship and going on into the postseason."\nBrown will be one of six Hoosiers who will celebrate senior day Sunday. In addition to Brown, forwards Carrie DeFreece and Megan Pipkens, defenders Lauren Dieter and Lauren Lamping and midfielder Shannon Vnoucek will all be playing in their last game at Bill Armstrong Stadium. \n"I know we're going to keep playing on past this game," Brown said. "But it's just kind of weird that it's the culmination of 15-plus years of soccer and all that I've worked for here in my senior year."\nLyon said he has a lot of respect for this year's senior class, which was one of his first full recruiting classes after arriving at IU from Evansville before the 2002 season.\n"They came on a promise of something great if they worked their tails off, and those six have absolutely worked their tails off," Lyon said. "The fittest, hardest-working group of seniors that I've ever seen and this is their prize. This is what they've worked for and what they deserve is this, which is having a great season so far, and I want them to continue and keep on playing"
(10/09/06 4:30am)
If Sunday's IU women's soccer game had been televised, it could have been considered for a spot on ESPN's "Instant Classics."\nIn one of the biggest games for the Hoosiers in nearly a decade, IU fought to a scoreless tie against No. 13 Penn State to extend its unbeaten streak to 12 games. Despite the 0-0 score, there was still a lot of action on the field with missed chances from both teams and a combined 38 fouls called against each side.\n"It's a top five game, that's for sure," IU coach Mick Lyon said. "It was exciting stuff."\nThe Hoosiers' best chance to score came toward the end of the first overtime in the 100th minute when junior midfielder Lindsay McCarthy was able to get an open shot on the net off a corner kick by senior defender Lauren Lamping. McCarthy aimed and took fire at the net, but the ball hit off the top crossbar and rebounded to the feet of freshman forward Kristin Arnold, who took a shot that was blocked by a Nittany Lions defender. Senior forward Carrie DeFreece took the rebound off the defender and ripped a shot that was deflected out of bounds by a Penn State player. On the ensuing corner kick, freshman midfielder Ali Brown crossed the ball to freshman midfielder Taylor Fallon, who took a shot at Penn State goaltender Alyssa Naeher. Naeher was able to get a hand on the ball and deflected it left of the net.\n"On Wednesday, I would have said I'd be happy with it," Lyon said about the tie. "But after the game and hitting the bar and scrambles ... we're unlucky not to get a win out of it. I'm a little bit disappointed."\nFor the seventh time this season, the Hoosiers were able to hold an opponent scoreless. This time IU held in check one of the top offenses in the Big Ten, featuring Aubrey Aden-Buie -- the second leading points scorer in the Big Ten -- and Katie Schoepfer, who entered the weekend fourth in the Big Ten in points. IU freshman forward Kelly Lawrence was on Aden-Buie for much of the game and was able to kick away some chances Aden-Buie might have had for a shot.\n"We just play to our strength as defense," Lawrence said. "We just keep tight and shoot outside. As a unit we all defended well together."\nThe Hoosiers only allowed Aden-Buie to get off two shots, and though Schoepfer had five shots in the game, the only one on net came in the 95th minute when she took a shot that was blocked by junior goalkeeper Stacey Van Boxmeer.\n"I think it's just a testament to our defense," Lamping said. "We play well together, a lot of communication, we have each others back, and we trust each other."\nThe Hoosiers certainly had their chances to score throughout the game. In the 64th minute, Brown crossed the ball to Lamping, who rocketed it toward the net. Naeher was able to get a hand on the ball and knock it wide. IU had another chance off a Brown corner in the 78th minute when the ball bounced off a number of Hoosier players and rolled along the goal line to junior forward Suzie Teixeira, who took a shot that Naeher stopped. With all the chances the Hoosiers had, not one was able to get a goal to pull off the upset.\n"We got to look in the mirror and say 'I'm good,'" Lyon said after the game. "We need more of our players to do that. Because now we've arrived, and we've got one of the best defenses in the Big Ten, and I'm not afraid of us playing anybody"
(10/06/06 4:12am)
With one goal in seven shots on net, the offensive play of the IU women's soccer team in Wednesday's game against the University of Evansville might have left IU coach Mick Lyon wanting to see a little bit more.\nThe defense came through for the Hoosiers, though, giving junior goalkeeper Stacey Van Boxmeer her sixth shutout of the season.\n"The team's really tight and there for each other, and we're just ready for any team," junior forward Lindsay McCarthy said. "We didn't play great (Wednesday), but we still got that win."\nFollowing IU's 1-0 win against the Purple Aces at Black Beauty Field, Lyon expressed his confidence in his team's back five.\n"I don't see us giving up a goal again," Lyon said. "I just look at our schedule going, 'It's going to be really tough for someone to score against us."\nThe Hoosiers (8-2-3, 4-0-0 Big Ten) hope to see Lyon's vision come true Sunday when they take on No. 13 Penn State (7-3-2, 3-1-0 Big Ten) at noon at Bill Armstrong Stadium. Last season the Nittany Lions advanced to the NCAA Final Four.\nLyon has reason for his confidence in the team's ability to keep balls out of the net. In 13 games this season, Van Boxmeer has posted a 0.59 goals-against average. If this number holds up, she will break the program record of a 0.70 GAA set in 2000 by Chrissy Heubi.\n"Any balls over the top we're real comfortable with because we got speed back there," Lyon said about his defense. "And our goalkeeper, Stacey, plays well off her line so she covers everything up right there."\nVan Boxmeer gives credit to the four defenders for keeping the opponents from getting off too many shots.\n"If you look at the stats -- one shot on net, one save," Van Boxmeer said after Wednesday night's game. "My defense is helping me out so much, they're so consistent, so comfortable, that it makes my job basically just talking to them and telling them positionally what to do."\nLyon credits the back four coming together as a team for the reason of their great play.\n"They understand each other," Lyon said. "They're talking to each other, and as one person moves, the other three are going, 'I know what I want.' So they've really got an understanding of each other. (But) I want them to have a better understanding. There are still times where they're disagreeing with each other, but at least they don't take that disagreement to the point that they break down."\nIn addition to the GAA record, the Hoosiers are approaching a couple of other team records as well. IU has gone 11 games without a loss, second behind a streak of 14 straight wins that spanned between the 1993 and 1994 seasons. The six shutouts are three away from the record for most shutouts in a season, behind the 1993 and 1998 seasons, when the Hoosiers posted nine shutouts each year.\n"It definitely helps our confidence," Van Boxmeer said of the unbeaten streak. "But we do know going into this game it's going to be a different game altogether. Penn State's always aggressive, always smart with the ball, and every game against them is always a battle."\nLyon said that for his team to be successful Sunday, he will "expect anyone on the field to be errorless for the game."\n"That's what you need, because Penn State has a couple special players," Lyon said. "If you're errorless and eliminate that threat we'll have a nice game"
(10/05/06 5:51pm)
EVANSVILLE -- For IU women's soccer coach Mick Lyon, it was a happy homecoming indeed.\nIn his first game against his alma mater and the team he coached for nine seasons, Lyon's Hoosiers defeated the University of Evansville 1-0 to extend the team's unbeaten streak to 11 games.\n"I didn't expect anything less than a win," Lyon said about his homecoming. "I expected a shutout."\nThe Hoosiers (8-2-3, 4-0-0 Big Ten) scored the game's only goal in the 18th minute of play when senior midfielder Carrie DeFreece crossed the ball to junior forward Lindsay McCarthy, who was covered by a Purple Aces defender. McCarthy was able to get under the defender and placed the ball past Evansville goaltender Whitney Raeon to give McCarthy her first goal since scoring against Texas Tech Sept. 2.\n"I knew Carrie DeFreece always crossed the ball," McCarthy said. "I just ran as hard as I can, and my defender hit it up. I knew I had a one-touch hit to get it in the goal."\nIU had another chance with five minutes left in the first half when McCarthy had the ball down by the net. McCarthy was able to find an open senior forward Megan Pipkens, who had a one-on-one opportunity against Raeon. However, Raeon denied the Hoosiers an opportunity to go up by two goals going into halftime.\nComing out of halftime, the Hoosiers were able to keep the same intensity they had during the first half. McCarthy was presented with another scoring chance in the 67th minute, after senior midfielder Ali Brown found herself down in the corner by the Purple Aces' goal. Brown crossed the ball to junior forward Suzie Teixeira, who passed it to McCarthy five feet in front of the net. McCarthy kicked it into Raeon's chest. Three minutes later, McCarthy took the ball down the field and found freshman midfielder Kristin Arnold streaking toward the net. Once again, Raeon was able to make a save, and the score remained 1-0 in favor of the Hoosiers.\nFrom there on the Hoosiers were able to shut down the Evansville offensive attack, giving junior goalkeeper Stacey Van Boxmeer her sixth shutout of the season.\n"If you look at the stats -- one shot on net, one save," Van Boxmeer said about the shutout. "My defense is helping me out so much, they're so consistent, so comfortable that it makes my job basically just talking to them and telling them positionally what to do."\nThe Hoosiers will try to extend their win streak to 12 games at noon Sunday when they take on No. 13 Penn State at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
