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(03/01/10 5:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Jamie Braun would not let the IU women’s basketball team lose on her senior day.The lone senior’s double-double ensured it didn’t happen.Braun scored 23 points and pulled down 11 rebounds as the Hoosiers (14-15, 7-11) held off a late rally to beat Penn State 77-68 in their final home game of the season.“This was truly a team win,” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “Everybody contributed in some shape or form. On this particular night, when we stood for Jamie Braun, we came together, and we became something significant.”That unity meant more to Braun than her individual performance in her final game in Assembly Hall.“It feels great since we won,” she said. “That’s all I wanted. I just wanted a victory. It felt good, but it all comes down to our team and stuck together and played well.”Junior forward Hope Elam added 16 points, and junior guard Jori Davis scored 12 to eclipse 1,000 career points in her career at IU.Elam, Braun’s roommate, was glad the Hoosiers won.“Playing with Jamie Braun has been great,” she said. “Getting this win for our lone senior and for my roommate was big for us.”In addition to honoring seniors Braun and manager Kevin Kasten, IU also celebrated National Girls and Women in Sports Day. The IU volleyball and field hockey teams attended the game and were honored at midcourt at halftime.IU played perhaps its best first half of the season, holding the Lady Lions (16-12, 8-10) to just 23.1 percent from the field.The Hoosiers also limited Penn State guard Tyra Grant, who entered the game as the second-leading scorer in the Big Ten, to just four points in the opening half.“We just felt like we wanted their go-to players to beat us a different way,” Legette-Jack said. “We knew that Tyra can shoot the ball, but we tried to make her drive the ball to her right side ... and that frustrated her a little bit.”Down 7-2 early in the half, IU rallied back with scores by Braun and junior guard Andrea McGuirt and never looked back, shooting a 42.9 field goal percentage and an identical clip from 3-point range to take a 37-22 lead into the locker room.The Hoosiers showed no signs of slowing down early in the second half, jumping out to a 20-point lead in the first three minutes.IU led by as many as 23 points in the first nine minutes of the second half, but Penn State did not give up.Down 61-38, the Lady Lions staged a 12-2 run which Grant capped with a 3-pointer with 7:39 remaining.The Hoosiers scored four more points before allowing Penn State to go on another run that put the Lady Lions within single digits with just over five minutes to play.Guard Alex Bentley hit a jumper to put the Lady Lions within seven, but Braun responded with a layup and drew a foul. Her free throw gave IU a 10-point lead with 3:50 to play.Penn State made one final effort, scoring five straight points to put the score at 70-65 with under two minutes remaining.However, the Hoosiers got aggressive on the boards and forced the Lady Lions into fouling, sealing the victory and sending Braun out of Assembly Hall with a bang.IU now looks to the Big Ten Tournament, which begins Thursday at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Hoosiers will play Illinois in the first round.Legette-Jack said it was important to head into the conference tournament on a high note.“In the Big Ten right now, we have every single team with six or more (conference) wins,” she said. “That says that the Big Ten is alive and well, and the fight is on.”
(02/26/10 6:42am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack placed a premium on this final stretch of games before the Big Ten Tournament.Five straight losses weren’t exactly what she had in mind.The Hoosiers (13-15, 6-11) couldn’t complete a rally from a deficit as large as 16 points, and Iowa (16-12, 9-8) completed a season sweep of IU with a 76-64 win Thursday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.The loss was the Hoosiers’ fifth straight.“We’ve got to come ready to play,” Legette-Jack said. “I’m not certain why we don’t have a sense of urgency. We certainly did not have that sense of urgency.”While both teams had four players score in double digits, Iowa shot 45 percent from the field compared to the Hoosiers’ 30.3 percent.“Hats off to Iowa, who’s playing emotional basketball, committed basketball, together basketball,” Legette-Jack said.Hawkeyes center Morgan Johnson led all players in scoring with 18 points, and guard Jaime Printy added 17. Forward Kelly Krei posted a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.For IU, senior guard Jamie Braun led the way with 14 points and 5 assists. Junior guards Jori Davis and Whitney Lindsay each scored 12 points.Freshman forward Sasha Chaplin added 11 points and led the charge off the boards with 7 rebounds.Sophomore forward Danilsa Andujar played just three minutes because of an ankle injury she suffered in practice Tuesday.Despite the high final score, the game began slowly.Krei hit a 3-point shot to score the opening points, but IU responded with a 10-2 run in the first 5:15 of play.The Hawkeyes tied the game at 12-12 with 11:50 remaining in the first half. Iowa scored 15 unanswered points, capped with a Printy 3-pointer, to assume a 25-14 lead with 5:59 left in the half.“We have to get better,” Legette-Jack said. “It’s not about who scores what. It’s when we score.”The Hoosiers trailed by as many as 13 before the buzzer, but Braun nailed a late 3-pointer while Davis and Chaplin hit free throws to keep IU in striking distance. The Hawkeyes led 32-26 at halftime.Iowa reemerged from the locker room with the same swagger it gained with the lead in the first half.Guard Kamille Wahlin, who missed the Feb. 11 meeting with the Hoosiers in Bloomington, hit an early 3-pointer to spark an 11-3 run in the first four minutes of the second half.The Hawkeyes went ahead 43-29. Shortly afterward, however, IU slowly began chipping at the lead.Down 52-41 with little less than 10 minutes to play, Braun went 4-of-4 in two trips to the foul line, and Lindsay scored a layup on a fast break to cut the lead to three with 8:17 remaining.Krei hit a 3-pointer for Iowa, but IU junior guard Andrea McGuirt responded with a 3-pointer of her own.However, the Hoosiers missed too many key shots late in the fourth quarter and allowed Iowa to pull away again.Braun and Lindsay provided last-ditch efforts with 3-pointers, and Lindsay added a layup to put IU back within six with 1:06 to play before the Hawkeyes forced IU into fouling and sealed the victory.Heading into the final game before the Big Ten Tournament on Sunday, Legette-Jack knows what it will take for IU to see the postseason at this point.“We have a lot of work to do,” she said. “There’s still fight in us, but I tell you, we have to make a commitment to start the game off at the beginning.”
(02/26/10 6:40am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack placed a premium on this final stretch of games before the Big Ten Tournament.Five straight losses weren’t exactly what she had in mind.The Hoosiers (13-15, 6-11) couldn’t complete a rally from a deficit as large as 16 points, and Iowa (16-12, 9-8) completed a season sweep of IU with a 76-64 win Thursday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.The loss was the Hoosiers’ fifth straight.“We’ve got to come ready to play,” Legette-Jack said. “I’m not certain why we don’t have a sense of urgency. We certainly did not have that sense of urgency.”While both teams had four players score in double digits, Iowa shot 45 percent from the field compared to the Hoosiers’ 30.3 percent.“Hats off to Iowa, who’s playing emotional basketball, committed basketball, together basketball,” Legette-Jack said.Hawkeyes center Morgan Johnson led all players in scoring with 18 points, and guard Jaime Printy added 17. Forward Kelly Krei posted a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.For IU, senior guard Jamie Braun led the way with 14 points and 5 assists. Junior guards Jori Davis and Whitney Lindsay each scored 12 points.Freshman forward Sasha Chaplin added 11 points and led the charge off the boards with 7 rebounds.Sophomore forward Danilsa Andujar played just three minutes because of an ankle injury she suffered in practice Tuesday.Despite the high final score, the game began slowly.Krei hit a 3-point shot to score the opening points, but IU responded with a 10-2 run in the first 5:15 of play.The Hawkeyes tied the game at 12-12 with 11:50 remaining in the first half. Iowa scored 15 unanswered points, capped with a Printy 3-pointer, to assume a 25-14 lead with 5:59 left in the half.“We have to get better,” Legette-Jack said. “It’s not about who scores what. It’s when we score.”The Hoosiers trailed by as many as 13 before the buzzer, but Braun nailed a late 3-pointer while Davis and Chaplin hit free throws to keep IU in striking distance. The Hawkeyes led 32-26 at halftime.Iowa reemerged from the locker room with the same swagger it gained with the lead in the first half.Guard Kamille Wahlin, who missed the Feb. 11 meeting with the Hoosiers in Bloomington, hit an early 3-pointer to spark an 11-3 run in the first four minutes of the second half.The Hawkeyes went ahead 43-29. Shortly afterward, however, IU slowly began chipping at the lead.Down 52-41 with little less than 10 minutes to play, Braun went 4-of-4 in two trips to the foul line, and Lindsay scored a layup on a fast break to cut the lead to three with 8:17 remaining.Krei hit a 3-pointer for Iowa, but IU junior guard Andrea McGuirt responded with a 3-pointer of her own.However, the Hoosiers missed too many key shots late in the fourth quarter and allowed Iowa to pull away again.Braun and Lindsay provided last-ditch efforts with 3-pointers, and Lindsay added a layup to put IU back within six with 1:06 to play before the Hawkeyes forced IU into fouling and sealed the victory.Heading into the final game before the Big Ten Tournament on Sunday, Legette-Jack knows what it will take for IU to see the postseason at this point.“We have a lot of work to do,” she said. “There’s still fight in us, but I tell you, we have to make a commitment to start the game off at the beginning.”
(02/23/10 5:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A team with just seven available players would concern almost any coach.But not IU women’s basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack.Plagued by injuries and other issues, the IU women’s basketball team had to endure a stretch of two weeks with just seven active players.The Hoosiers (13-14, 6-10) played three games in that span, with home games against Wisconsin and then-No. 4 Ohio State, and a road contest against Illinois. The team went 2-1 in that stretch.One of those wins came against the conference-leading Buckeyes, a thrilling 67-62 victory in which the Hoosiers held reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Jantel Lavender to three second-half points. Legette-Jack dubbed her healthy players the “sensational seven” after the game.“These young ladies have been working so hard with so many distractions out there,” she said. “So many things going on with the team and injuries and things of that nature, for us to come together and say, ‘You know what? This day, on this particular day, we will not be denied.’”The distractions began as early as Jan. 3, when freshman forward Sasha Chaplin, the team’s leading rebounder, suffered a foot injury during a home game against Michigan State.The injury forced Chaplin to miss the next 10 games and the team to look elsewhere for production off the boards.That left two Hoosier forwards — junior Hope Elam and sophomore Danilsa Andujar — with the rebounding duties.Elam, in her first season with IU after transferring from Vincennes, said she wanted to make an impact on the team with Chaplin sidelined. Andujar, who quietly progressed as a contributor until she recorded a career-high 12 rebounds in the win against Ohio State, sought the same impact.“It’s crucial,” she said. “I feel as though if I can’t do anything else, rebounding is the best thing I can do. So I just have to go hard at it and get as many boards as I can and help us win.”Even other areas of the team were affected by Chaplin’s injury. Junior guard Whitney Lindsay said the lack of inside presence called for more speed from backcourt players.“We’ve always been undersized, but definitely with Sasha being out ... we had to be quicker to make up for that height,” she said. “In the Big Ten, the leading scorers are the post players. The quickness has to make up for the lack of height that we have down there.”However, the front-court injuries didn’t end with Chaplin. Sophomore forward Lindsay Enterline had already been declared out for the season before the Hoosiers’ first game. In addition, freshman forward Jasmine Davis had been unable to dress for much of the season, leaving IU with one less able body in the post.Issues even went beyond the realm of injuries.Sophomore guard Ashlee Mells, who had provided a solid scoring option off the bench, received an indefinite suspension that, coincidentally, lasted the three games during which the team had just seven players.The situation got so dire that Enterline began sitting on the bench in uniform despite being inactive.Now, Chaplin, Mells and Davis have all come back, and IU has a full contingent of able players. However, the accomplishments of the reduced roster will not soon be forgotten.“It makes a statement that we can do all things if we come together, become a team and create that sisterhood,” Legette-Jack said. “No matter what differences you have on the outside, once you cross that line and you come together for the entire time you’re out there, great things can happen.”
(02/22/10 3:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU women’s basketball team tried to win two battles Sunday: one against breast cancer and one against Minnesota.With all the pink throughout Assembly Hall, the team accomplished the former. It did not, however, accomplish the latter.Poor shooting hindered the Hoosiers (13-14, 6-10) as the Golden Gophers (13-14, 6-10) won 59-50 and handed IU its fourth-straight loss.“I thought we struggled offensively,” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “We kind of watched and wanted somebody else to step up. When you’re waiting on somebody else ... that person’s going to get the opportunity that you probably deserve.“This is not easy, it’s not fun. It’s certainly not what we anticipated moving down the stretch in February. We certainly didn’t think we would be on a four-game skid.”IU shot 27.4 percent from the field compared to Minnesota’s 40 percent. Junior guard Jori Davis was the only double-digit scorer for the Hoosiers with 22 points.“It was no big load,” she said. “I just needed to step up and try to be a difference in the game. And the way it was going, it was my job to step up and lead the team, and that’s what I was trying to do.”For the Golden Gophers, guards Katie Ohm and Kiara Buford led the way with 14 points each. Twelve of Ohm’s points came early in the first half on four 3-point shots.Ohm hit three of them in the first four minutes of play to put Minnesota up 12-0, a lead it would not relinquish the entire game.“I think, against the matchup, we were wide open,” Minnesota coach Pam Borton said. “It was just making open shots.”IU also tried to shoot 3-pointers but was woefully ineffective, going just 3-for-16 from long range in the first half and 5-for-27 overall.“That’s passive basketball,” Legette-Jack said. “You’re taking jump shots, and you know that you’ve got the lane open. You’ve got to find a way to get to the lane.”The Golden Gophers looked to be heading to the locker room with a nine-point lead until Davis nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut Minnesota’s halftime advantage to 29-23.IU scored the second half’s first points but would not score again for more than seven minutes.The Golden Gophers went ahead by as many as 18 points before Davis finally ended the Hoosiers’ drought with a layup and foul with 12:08 remaining.Down 45-30 with just more than 10 minutes to play, IU got aggressive. The Hoosiers came back to as close as seven points but ran out of time to have a chance to win.“We definitely picked up defensively and got a couple of turnovers, and that’s what helped us offensively and we just had to keep it up, but we didn’t do that,” sophomore forward Danilsa Andujar said.Legette-Jack said her team still has plenty to accomplish despite the losing streak.“I’m a firm believer in hope and faith,” she said. “I certainly think that some good’s going to come out of this. At the end of the day, you’ve got to stay true to the course, and you’ve got to stay on line to finish what you started.”
(02/19/10 5:49am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU women’s basketball team entered Thursday’s game at Northwestern focusing not on stopping center Amy Jaeschke, but instead stopping her teammates.In a high-scoring, overtime-spanning thriller, the team could not accomplish that goal.The Hoosiers (13-13, 6-9) allowed guard Beth Marshall to hit six of seven 3-point attempts for the Wildcats (15-11, 6-9) and fell 78-73 in an extra period.“The team fought really hard today,” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “They played with a lot of conviction, a lot of character. We don’t feel like (we lost). We felt like we left it out there.”Jaeschke got her 17 points, six rebounds and five blocked shots, but Marshall as well as other contributors powered Northwestern to the win in the end.Two freshman Wildcats, guard Kendall Hackney and forward/center Dannielle Diamant, had the next two highest scoring totals with 14 and eight, respectively.Hackney pulled down eight rebounds, and Diamant blocked three shots.“We had problems with Northwestern,” Legette-Jack said. “They played very well. They protected their home court.”Captains, senior guard Jamie Braun and junior guard Jori Davis, led IU with 17 and 15 points, respectively.“I thought Jamie and Jori played well together,” Legette-Jack said. “They’ll continue to get better. I’m very proud of their efforts as our captains.”The Wildcats opened with a 5-0 start and built a lead of as many as seven points.However, the rest of the first half went back-and-forth in an excellent display of shooting on either side.The Hoosiers shot 44.8 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc. Northwestern was not far behind in either category, posting a 35.5 field goal percentage and a 44.4 mark from 3-point range.Marshall led all players during the half with 11 points.Braun and sophomore guard Ashlee Mells each earned eight points for the Hoosiers, and both were 3-5 in 3-point shooting.Freshman forward Sasha Chaplin added six points and as many rebounds, and IU carried a 33-29 lead into the locker room.The Hoosiers returned to play with the same momentum and scored four points to build a 9-point advantage in just the first two minutes of the second half.IU maintained its 9-point lead until Marshall came to life.The guard buried a 3-pointer with 12:08 remaining to spark a Northwestern run.Marshall hit another from beyond the arc to tie the game at 50-50 with 5:31 to play.From that point, the game became a shootout at the OK Corral.Junior forward Hope Elam’s 3-point shot with 2:11 remaining gave IU a 6-point lead, but the Wildcats responded with a 5-point run to remain within striking distance.Up 68-65 in the final seconds of regulation, Marshall stepped up again and nailed a 3-pointer to tie the game and force overtime.Fouls and free throws were the story of the extra period.Jaeschke struck first, hitting a layup and two free throws to give the Wildcats a 72-68 lead.Davis hit three free throws in two trips to the stripe to bring IU within one, but Marshall hit two more for Northwestern with 2:02 remaining.Elam hit a layup to bring the score to 74-73, but those were the last points the Hoosiers would score.Marshall hit all her free throws in two more trips to seal the win for the Wildcats.Legette-Jack said she still sees promise in her team late in the season.“I think that we’re still getting better towards March,” she said.
(02/15/10 5:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The return of freshman forward Sasha Chaplin was not enough for the IU women’s basketball team.Foul trouble plagued Chaplin and the Hoosiers (13-12, 6-8) in a 66-58 road loss to Wisconsin on Sunday.Fouls were a problem for both teams. IU committed 22 personal fouls, and Wisconsin posted 18. The Hoosiers had three key players with at least four fouls each.IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack expressed displeasure with the officiating after the game.“I certainly don’t know what Indiana has done to people to make it to the point where we don’t get any calls,” she said. “I was very disappointed in the fact that it was really a rough situation out there.” With the win, the Badgers (18-7, 8-6) completed a season sweep of IU. They claimed the Jan. 28 meeting in Bloomington 55-47.Chaplin was effective in her first game since Jan. 3, scoring 13 points, grabbing four rebounds and recording a steal and blocked shot.However, four fouls limited the forward’s floor time to 23 minutes.Senior guard Jamie Braun led the Hoosiers and all players with 20 points, and junior guard Whitney Lindsay added 12.Junior guard Jori Davis, IU’s leading scorer this season, was held to one point while playing with illness.“We probably shouldn’t have played Jori, definitely not that many minutes,” Legette-Jack said. “She’s been sick and throwing up and ... wanted to play. I didn’t think it was my best judgment because she wasn’t as free playing as we need her to be.”Wisconsin forward Tara Steinbauer led her team with 19 points, and guards, Rae Lin D’Alie and Alyssa Karel, added 14 and 13, respectively. Wisconsin opened with a bang as D’Alie nailed two 3-pointers in the first three minutes.Sophomore forward Danilsa Andujar hit two layups to knot the score at 8-8 before the Badgers went on a 10-0 run and gained a lead as large as 13 points.But the Hoosiers did not let up. IU jumped back within six on a fast break score by Lindsay with 6:07 remaining in the half. That ended up being the margin at halftime with Wisconsin ahead 31-25.Early in the second half, the Badgers jumped back out to a 36-28 lead on a 3-pointer, but the Hoosiers responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to come within two points with 16 to play.However, Lindsay’s fouls began piling up midway through the half. The junior guard committed her fourth foul with 11:51 to play. She went out and would not return for six minutes.A 3-pointer by Braun and a layup by sophomore guard Ashlee Mells, who returned from suspension this week, gave IU its first lead of the game at 41-40 with 10:13 remaining.Wisconsin regained the lead after a foul on freshman forward Aulani Sinclair and three more IU fouls led to free throw opportunities for the Badgers to increase their lead to 47-41.Braun and Lindsay again responded from behind the arc with consecutive 3-pointers to rally within two, but Chaplin’s fourth foul sent Wisconsin to the line again to increase the lead to 50-47.Braun tied the game with 3:50 to play after drawing a foul on a made layup, but the Hoosiers got no mercy with fouls.Lindsay fouled out with 54 seconds remaining, and Braun totaled four by game’s end.Steinbauer, D’Alie and guard Teah Gant each made three trips to the free throw line in the final 1:30 of the game to seal the season sweep of IU for Wisconsin.Legette-Jack believed many calls were questionable.“I really hope that (the officials) look at this game and the way they addressed it,” she said.
(02/12/10 6:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Hoosiers’ unblemished record in February and 21 offensive rebounds fell into Iowa’s hands.The Hawkeyes (13-11, 6-7) pulled down 53 total boards to the Hoosiers’ (13-11, 6-7) 29, downing IU 71-67 in Assembly Hall on Thursday.“Unfortunately, you saw a display on boxing out and defense that we were not familiar with in the last four or five games,” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “We regressed in that category; we’ll take full responsibility in that, and we will get better.”Legette-Jack said the impact of the rebounding margin was “significant.”“Nobody out-rebounds Indiana that way if we had any pride in our defense,” she said. “We will get better. We’ll have a lot more pride in what we stand for when it comes to taking ownership of the box-out.”Conversely, Iowa coach Lisa Bludler could not have been happier with her team’s aggression off the boards.“It was extremely important,” she said. “We talked a lot about rebounding because at the beginning of the year we weren’t rebounding very well, and we’ve turned it around quite a bit.”Bludler added the Hawkeyes, who entered the game as the second-ranked scoring team in the Big Ten, needed the rebounding to win while managing just 38.5 percent from the field.“We didn’t shoot the ball as well as we usually do today,” she said. “So for us to get those extra opportunities was really important.”Iowa guard Jaime Printy led the Hawkeyes with 28 points, and guard Kachine Alexander added 21 and pulled down 16 boards.For IU, senior guard Jamie Braun powered the offense with 20 points, and junior forward Hope Elam added 13 but fouled out with 4:05 to play, unable to help the Hoosiers avoid defeat.“We’ve played through her early fouls before,” Legette-Jack said. “The next person on the bench has to be ready. I thought that we looked like we were deer getting ready to get hit by a train. That’s not the focus we have to have.”The teams stayed within striking distance of one another throughout the first half.IU facilitated well on the offensive end in the half, recording seven assists and receiving points from six different players.However, Alexander completed a double-double before the half with 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Iowa knotted the score at 32-32 at halftime.During the second half, the Hoosiers staged several runs and led by as many as seven, but Printy’s 20 second-half points and the Hawkeyes’ 12 offensive rebounds never allowed IU to seize the game.Trailing 61-54 with 5:03 remaining, Printy hit a 3-pointer, and Alexander was the beneficiary of Elam’s final foul, making a layup and adding a free throw to come within two.A 3-point shot by junior guard Andrea McGuirt gave the Hoosiers a 64-62 lead, but McGuirt followed the shot with a foul of Iowa forward Kelly Krei behind the arc.Krei made all three shots to give the Hawkeyes a 65-64 lead.Three offensive rebounds and a missed layup by Braun later, Iowa grabbed one final defensive board with a 69-67 lead with a second to play, and an immediate IU foul sealed the contest.Legette-Jack said the Hoosiers’ courage must improve during the remainder of the season.“We had decisions to make, and we failed to make them,” she said. “We’ll do better with that, and we’ll take this one and learn the lesson.”
(02/05/10 5:16am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Last Sunday’s stunning victory over then-No. 4 Ohio State has the IU women’s basketball team believing in itself.“It makes a statement that we can do all things if we just come together and become a team,” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said.The Hoosiers (12-10, 5-6) hope to continue the wave of momentum from their monumental upset to Champaign, Ill., for a rematch with Illinois at 2 p.m. Sunday.IU won 50-48 in its Jan. 7 match with the Fighting Illini (12-9, 4-7) in Bloomington, thanks to a furious late five-point surge and winning layup by senior guard Jamie Braun.Illinois has since won just two games and is currently tied with Northwestern at the bottom of the Big Ten standings, but the Hoosiers figure Sunday will still be a challenge.“They’re so good, they’re so athletic, and they’re really good at home,” Legette-Jack said.Braun expects a grudge from the Fighting Illini.“They’re going to be mad,” she said. “We beat them here, and I’m pretty sure we beat them kind of on a last-second shot, too. It’s going to be tough. We’re just going to have to stay together as a team.”The Hoosiers hope to slow Illinois center Jenna Smith, who ranks third in the conference in scoring with 18.7 points per game and was the Fighting Illini’s leading scorer in their previous contest with IU.Sophomore forward Danilsa Andujar knows she must be instrumental in accomplishing that goal.“I think I’ll attack her more and make her play defense on me, so hopefully I get her into some foul trouble,” Andujar said.While the team had just seven players available against Ohio State, Legette-Jack said matching the intensity from that game would not be a problem.After one of the biggest victories in IU women’s basketball history, the Hoosiers have reason to be confident. Andujar was one of the biggest reasons IU upended the Buckeyes, pulling down 12 rebounds and helping limit Ohio State center Jantel Lavender to just three second-half points.“When you take a cap off somebody’s ability, and you allow them to become as much as they can become, they can grow,” Legette-Jack said of Andujar. “This is certainly her time now.”Andujar said she was just concerned with helping the team win.“Whatever I can do to help us win, that’s what ... I’m really focused on,” she said. “I’m just really focused on rebounding and defense to help us win as a team.”
(02/01/10 5:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Only seven IU women’s basketball players dressed to defend Assembly Hall against one of the best teams in the nation.In the end, those seven were all the team needed for sororities and other attendees to storm Branch McCracken Court.The short-staffed Hoosiers (12-10, 5-6) staged a furious defensive effort and held No. 4 Ohio State to just 20 second-half points en route to a 67-62 upset.“What a great focus, oneness, team,” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “We always went by the tutelage of ‘less is more.’ Well, we were down to seven, and that has to be enough. This young team just got focused, and we played together.”The 2,891 fans in attendance, powered by the women from the Sorority Sisterhood Challenge, were electric in the final minutes.“It was deafening,” Legette-Jack said. “I don’t know what it feels like yet to have 17,000 people here cheering for us, but I know that 2,800 was deafaning. It was unbelievable that they gave us that extra person.”The game marked the second time in the same week the Buckeyes (21-3, 9-2) had been upset. Purdue beat the Big Ten leader 63-61 in West Lafayette on Monday.“We’re not in that flow,” Ohio State coach Jim Foster said. “We’re giving up easy baskets at the (defensive) end, going against more set defenses, and the ball is not moving like it needs to move.”IU allowed Ohio State to shoot just 22 percent from the field in the second half after the Buckeyes had registered a 46-percent effort in the first half.“I think that they played very hard,” Foster said of the Hoosiers. “I think they did a very good job off the dribble. We just got beat too often off the dribble, and they just played a much better second half than we did in terms of ball movement, intensity, et cetera.”Ohio State center Jantel Lavender managed just three field-goal attempts and as many points in the second half after dominating the paint and scoring 17 points in the first half.“I just think they were packing the lanes in a lot, and our ball reversal stopped a little bit,” Lavender said. “So getting the ball in a good position where they weren’t able to double-team was becoming difficult. We just got out of the flow of our game.”Sophomore forward Danilsa “City” Andujar, whose seven offensive rebounds and five defensive boards comprised arguably the best effort of her collegiate career, sparked the Hoosiers.“My goal was to get 10 rebounds, but I surpassed that,” Andujar said. “I just want to keep getting better and keep helping us win.”Despite the daunting task going into the game, the Hoosiers showed flashes of capability early in the contest.Trailing 42-35 at half, IU scored the first four points of the second half and rallied to within one point after junior guard Jori Davis hit a layup off a steal by junior guard Whitney Lindsay with 16:33 to play.Lindsay hit a 3-pointer with 9:37 left to rally IU back within one, and a minute later Andujar grabbed her own rebound twice in a row before draining a shot to give IU a 59-58 lead.Ohio State regained the lead on two free throws, but Andujar hit a heavily contested shot to put the Hoosiers on top for good.“I decided to slip the screen, and I expected to be wide open when I got there,” Andujar said. “I saw the defense come, so I just turned looking for an outlet. There was no one there, and I was like, ‘What the heck?’ So I took it, and it went in.”IU held on through timeouts and Ohio State foul attempts to seal one of the biggest wins in the history of the school’s women’s basketball program.“We want to continue our journey as long as we can,” Legette-Jack said. “Right now, this game is really exciting for us, but we’re not going to go too high or too low because we have such a long way to go to do what we want to do as a team.”
(01/29/10 4:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Following her team’s 55-47 loss to Wisconsin on Thursday, IU women’s basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack said there is still much to learn.“We’re a work in progress until the end of the season,” she said.The coach added that the Hoosiers (11-10, 4-6) need to adopt an attacker’s mentality as they prepare for a rematch with No. 4 Ohio State at noon Sunday in Assembly Hall.“We’ve got to continue to figure out what our attack is all about,” she said. “It doesn’t matter who we play; we have to really kind of put forth our energy towards the attack. We’re going to work on that and you’ll see a better attack team the next game we play.”IU fell 81-64 to the Buckeyes (21-2, 8-1) in Columbus, Ohio, on Jan. 17. The Big Ten’s top team had been undefeated in conference play before losing 63-61 at Purdue on Monday.“They’re a very good team,” Legette-Jack said after the first meeting. “They’ve got different weapons they can beat you with. Their pressure’s one way, their size is another way, their ability is another way.”Ohio State sophomore guard Samantha Prahalis powered the Buckeyes offensively in the first meeting with 23 points and five assists. Junior center Jantel Lavender added 20 points and 13 rebounds.Three Hoosiers had double-digit points in that contest, but the boards made the clear difference as Ohio State pulled down 55 total rebounds to IU’s 29.“I think our team adjusted in one capacity, but we’ve got to learn how to adjust in others,” Legette-Jack said.IU showed positive signs, Legette-Jack said, in a losing effort against the Badgers (16-5, 6-4) as they stayed within striking distance of one of the Big Ten’s best teams.“(The players) left it out there, they played with everything they had,” she said. “We fell short. We were right there to compete.”The Hoosiers accomplished a goal on the defensive end, holding Wisconsin under the team-instituted limit of 59 points.Junior guard Whitney Lindsay said keeping opponents under that mark is really important to the team.“We’re really, really serious about it,” she said. “The stats don’t lie. When we hold teams under 59 points, we usually win the game.”While limiting Ohio State to that ceiling is a tall order, Legette-Jack insists IU has the heart to make it happen at home Sunday.
(01/28/10 3:50am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Striving for more defensive consistency has been a recurring theme for the IU women’s basketball team this season. Expect more of the same this week. The Hoosiers (11-9, 4-5) have focused extensively on defense in practice as they prepare to battle Wisconsin at 7 p.m. today in Assembly Hall. The team saw an increased need to improve defensively following its 70-56 loss at Michigan on Sunday. “We’ve got to take defense more serious,” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. She said the Hoosiers were able to work on defense during practice Tuesday. “We paid a serious price – we practiced without basketballs for the first hour so that we can understand that defense is what we believe in. “We can score baskets, but when we stop playing defense, we start watching and getting on our heels and now we question our shots. That’s when we end up with 56 points versus a team on the road.”Legette-Jack added because the team lacks a true defensive leader, senior guard Jamie Braun and junior guard Jori Davis have to step up in that area to complement their scoring.“I just think the world of Jamie Braun and Jori Davis,” she said, “but it doesn’t matter what I think if we don’t get out there and win basketball games and make it happen for ourselves. They have to give us more rebounds; they have to give us more assists. ... They’ve got to do it all.” Davis agreed and said offense was “the last thing on my mind right now.” “That’s pretty much it,” she said. “Defense and communication have been the keys we need to win this next game.” That next game could be another big challenge for the young Hoosiers. The Badgers (15-5, 5-4) enter Thursday’s game tied for third in the Big Ten and lead the conference in scoring defense, allowing just 52.3 points per game. “They are an unbelievable defensive team,” Legette-Jack said. “They are relentless when it comes to the defensive side. It’s going to take every ounce of everybody on our team to hold a good Wisconsin team down.” Wisconsin has relied on two strong post players, forwards Tara Steinbauer and Lin Zastrow, to power its defense to one of the nation’s best. Junior guard Alyssa Karel leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.9 points per game.Senior point guard Rae Lin D’Alie has facilitated the Badgers’ offense with 7.4 point and 2.9 assists per game. IU’s own point guard, junior Whitney Lindsay, said her defensive role is crucial for success. “The more pressure you put on the ball up top, the harder it’s going to be for the guards to be able to see their post players underneath,” she said. “That’s why my job is so important. I’ve got to bring the energy. I have to spark that flare on defense.”
(01/22/10 5:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When Northwestern rallied to within two points of the lead to begin the second half, the IU women’s basketball team leaders did not flinch.Three players scored in double digits and fought for rebounds on the offensive end as the Hoosiers (11-8, 4-4) held off the Wildcats (12-7, 3-5) 61-55 in Assembly Hall.“It really took all of us to beat a very good Northwestern team,” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said.Senior guard Jamie Braun led IU in scoring with 18 points and pulled down four offensive rebounds.Junior forward Hope Elam scored 15 points, 13 of which came in the second half. Junior guard Jori Davis recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end.Legette-Jack never expected anything less of the Hoosiers’ three most productive players this season.“They had a sense of focus, and they knew that when the game got tight, they had to come through,” she said. “They understand that, when it’s our time to be called upon, we have to step up, and we have to be big.”Northwestern ended the game shooting a 37.9 field goal percentage to IU’s 34.4 percent, but the Wildcats managed little in the first half, shooting a modest 25 percent from the field.“I thought the first half was the worst half of basketball we’ve played all year,” Northwestern coach Joe McKeown said. “We didn’t shoot the ball very well and certainly didn’t breathe on Indiana from a rebounding standpoint. To me, that was the difference in the game.”The one bright spot for the Wildcats was center Amy Jaeschke, whose 17 points helped her become the first player in Northwestern history to top 1,000 points in a career.In what ended as a low-scoring, low-percentage shooting half, IU led by as many as 14 and never trailed. Northwestern only made eight shots from 32 attempts en route to a 28-21 halftime advantage.However, the Wildcats re-emerged from the locker room with a bang, scoring six consecutive points to open the second half and cut the Hoosiers’ lead to two.After the two teams traded points back and forth to a 34-31 IU lead with just over 12 minutes to play, Elam, who managed just two points in the first half, came alive.The junior hit two 3-pointers and assisted another in a span of two minutes, sparking the Hoosiers to a 43-33 lead with 10 minutes to play.“(Northwestern) tried to take Jori and Jamie out of the game and, well, they forgot about Hope,” Legette-Jack said.Elam said she took pride in coming through late after a slow start.“The good thing about our team is that if one person isn’t hitting, we have other people who can step up and hit, which my teammates did (in the first half),” she said. “Second half, I just got into a rhythm and everything connected.”Also key to IU’s strong push late in the game was Davis’ aggressive rebounding. Her 12 boards were just two shy of her career-high, and her five offensive rebounds led all players.“Coaches expect a lot from me,” Davis said. “My rebounding has to get up, and I’ve just been trying to improve ... and let the scoring stay consistent. Everything else has to get better in order for me to be a better player.”The Hoosiers worked the clock for the remainder of the second half before forcing Northwestern into foul trouble and sealing the 61-55 victory.IU hits the road this weekend for a rematch with Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Sunday.
(01/21/10 3:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Following Sunday’s 81-64 loss at No. 5 Ohio State, IU women’s basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack said her team wasn’t where it needed to be defensively.“You’ve got to protect what you think belongs to you,” she said. “We haven’t done the best job at that. We, as coaches, have got to get better at demonstrating what kind of intensity we need to have defensively. And then two, (we) have to become that defensive team that we think we are.” That evaluation begins Thursday as the Hoosiers (10-8, 3-4) welcome Northwestern to Assembly Hall. The Wildcats (12-6, 3-4) enter the contest shooting at a .420 field goal percentage, fourth-best in the Big Ten. They also rank second in the conference in assists at a 16.67 per-game average. Legette-Jack praised Northwestern’s strong shooting and facilitating, adding that the Wildcats are a lot better than they were last year.“Their precision is unbelievable,” she said. “Right when you think they’re getting ready to shoot, they make that extra pass.” Northwestern center Amy Jaeschke, an All-Big Ten selection a year ago, has powered the Wildcats both offensively and defensively. Jaeschke’s presence necessitates that strong defensive mentality for IU, said sophomore forward Danilsa Andujar. “It’ll be important for everyone to rebound and box out,” she said. “I think the box-out is crucial in either team getting the rebound, so if we’re just more aggressive than them at the box-out, we’ll get the rebounds and definitely pull out the win.” While the Hoosiers aim to find themselves defensively, they still believe scoring will be there for them, said leading scorer and junior guard Jori Davis. “Offense is what we naturally can do,” she said. “We’re a defensive team because we need to focus more on defense to win these games. Our offense takes us a long way, but in the end, it’s the defense that will get us the wins.”
(01/15/10 6:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Following its nail-biter win against Michigan at Assembly Hall on Thursday, the IU women’s basketball team passed a test of its character, head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said.That character is in for another, much heavier test in two days.The Hoosiers turn around for arguably their toughest test of the season thus far when they travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on No. 5 Ohio State at 2 p.m. Sunday.Legette-Jack said that while IU is well aware of what’s ahead, it’s what the Hoosiers expect in each conference road game.“They’re all big,” she said. “Our challenge is we want to be road warriors. We want to be able to challenge on the road.”The Buckeyes (18-1, 6-0) enjoy a comfortable lead in the Big Ten and lead the conference in scoring offense, scoring margin, field goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage, rebounding margin, assists, turnover margin and assist-to-turnover ratio.Ohio State also boasts conference and national leaders in individual categories.Center Jantel Lavender averages 22.0 points-per-game, leading all Big Ten players and currently sitting ninth in the nation. Guard Brittany Johnson has been among the country’s elite from behind the arc, ranking fifth in Division I with a 50.7 3-point field goal percentage.Another key to the Buckeyes’ success has been the efficient ball distribution from guard Samantha Prahalis, who stands second nationally with 8.1 assists per game.However, that wasn’t enough to sway Legette-Jack from her confidence in her team.“We understand how great Ohio State is, but you know what? Michigan took them to a 3-point loss at their place,” she said. While the order appears tall, IU could enter the Jerome Schottenstein Center on a high following Thursday’s dramatic victory over the Wolverines.The Hoosiers enjoyed leads of as many as 11 points in the second half before allowing Michigan to come back late.IU led 62-60 with one second remaining and left an open lane for the Wolverines to force overtime with a layup, but the attempt missed, and the Hoosiers left victorious.Junior forward Hope Elam enjoyed arguably the best game of her young career at IU, leading the team with 24 points and pulling down a season-high 10 rebounds.“I definitely knew with the absence of Sasha Chaplin ... that we had to step up our rebounding because she was our leading rebounder,” Elam said. “So I knew tonight that was what I had to do.”Rebounds will be at a premium against the Buckeyes, who haven’t allowed their opponents much success off the boards.Coming off a hard-fought victory, however, the Hoosiers embrace the challenge of facing one of the nation’s best. “We respect all, but we fear none,” Legette-Jack said. “And it’s not about Ohio State; it’s about Indiana and what we’re trying to do as a team. We’re trying to get better every single day in practice, and that leads us to Ohio State. Bring it on.”
(01/14/10 3:51am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU women’s basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack has described defense as her team’s game.The Hoosiers (9-7, 2-3) look to prove that identity even further, as they play host to a heavy-shooting Michigan team at 7 p.m. today in Assembly Hall.Legette-Jack said that with the Wolverines (10-6, 2-4), IU can expect to see “threes go up in the air.”“They’re a great shooting team,” she said. “They have three young ladies in the top-20 in our conference in three-point shot attempts and percentage, so we’re going to have to guard the three-point line in order to be successful.”Two of those players, junior guard Veronica Hicks and sophomore guard/forward Carmen Reynolds, rank sixth and ninth, respectively, in the Big Ten in 3-point field goals made.Junior forward Hope Elam said IU has been preparing to guard against teams that like to take the long shots.“We did a pretty good job in practice of defending at the three,” she said. “I feel like if we just get stops by their guards, we’ll be fine.”Elam and the other front-court players have seen their roles increase recently as the Hoosiers have been without their top rebounder, freshman forward Sasha Chaplin, for the last two games.“I think I speak for myself and the two other post players that we have to step it up a little more now that Sasha’s out because she was significantly a part of our post presence,” Elam said.Chaplin has averaged 7.3 rebounds in her 14 games this season. Legette-Jack added that she would rather see the remaining forwards produce rather than adjust game plans without Chaplin.“I’ve challenged our power forwards,” she said. “They’ve got to show up a little bit more, and we’ve got to get more rebounds from them. They’ve got to be a little bit more confrontational on the rebounding aspect. We see that our forwards can score; they’ve got to be willing to take more shots.”IU will also look for shots from its guards, especially leading scorers junior Jori Davis and senior Jamie Braun.Braun comes off her second double-double of the season in an overtime loss at Penn Stateon Jan. 10, as well as a furious late-game scoring tear to lead the Hoosiers against Illinois on Jan. 7.Braun said her teammates could count on her to do it again if necessary.“I just think it helps them know that I’m here now to take the shots that I’m supposed to take,” she said. “I think they know that I’m here, and I’m ready to help our team win.”Legette-Jack said it was great to see the team’s lone senior carry IU to a win.“It’s great to see that Jamie’s having a lot more fun playing the game again,” she said. “She’s now understanding that it’s not always about making the shot, you’ve got to take the shot. We expect you to take them, and we’ll rally behind you, good, bad or indifferent. She understands her role on our team.”The Hoosiers also hope to “Pack the Hall” today by selling out the game.“We’re really excited about our 2,000 fans that come on a constant basis, but it really would be nice to match what the Big Ten shows us,” Legette-Jack said. “Our hope is that we can really bring in our Hoosier nation and bring it up to five or 6,000.“I just believe that when you have your fans cheering for you, it takes you to a (new) level.”
(01/08/10 4:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After a slow first half, the IU women’s basketball team came together late and claimed a thrilling 50-48 victory over Illinois Thursday.Senior guard Jamie Braun overcame earlier turnovers and miscues and scored the final five points for the Hoosiers (9-6, 2-2), including a 22-foot 3-point basket to tie the game and a hard-driven layup for the winning points with just over two seconds left.“I just knew at the end of the game that, obviously, Illinois was playing pressure defense like they were at the beginning,” said Braun, who finished with 12 points. “I guess I just decided to take (the shot) out and see if it looks good.”IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said she was happy to see the team’s lone senior seal the victory.“Jamie’s a team player, a consumate team player,” she said. “At the end of the game, it is great when your seniors step up and say, ‘Climb on my back; we’re going to win, and if we lose it’s going to be on me.’ I respect what she did today.”Also propelling the Hoosiers was the aggressive play of junior guard Jori Davis, who led the team in scoring with 18 points.Davis made extra efforts to draw fouls against Illinois senior forward Lacey Simpson when she drove for layups and earned three trips to the foul line. The junior converted four of five free throws.“(Illinois has) a great defender in Lacey Simpson,” Davis said, “and one of the things we wanted to do was at least try to get her in foul trouble early, get her out of the game, and then more things would open up on the offensive end and also on the defensive end because she’s also able to score for them.”For the Fighting Illini (10-4, 2-2), senior center Jenna Smith led scoring with 12 points, but they all came in the first half. IU allowed the Illinois to lead by as many as eight points in a turnover-heavy first half; IU committed seven and Illinois had 10.Davis led the Hoosiers in scoring in the half with 8 points, including four free-throw attempts. Junior forward Hope Elam added 6 and pulled down a team-high 4 rebounds.IU struggled to maintain offensive pace with Illinois in the first half. The Hoosiers managed just 25.9 percent field goal efficiency to the Fighting Illini’s 42.9 percent.Another early plague for IU was lack of communication; the Hoosiers committed three shot clock violations, including one by Braun at the end of the first half. The senior was late in passing to freshman forward Aulani Sinclair, who couldn’t get a shot off before the buzzer sounded. As a result, Illinois claimed a 27-21 halftime lead.However, IU began a rally with just under 14 minutes to play. Davis scored and drew a foul to add another point, and then Sinclair drained a three-pointer to cut the Fighting Illini’s lead to one point at 36-35.The Hoosiers matched Illinois point-for-point until Simpson stole a pass and scored a layup to put the Fighting Illini up 48-45 with 2:58 to play. Braun then missed a free-throw attempt, but Elam rebounded and passed back to Braun at the top of the key. The senior hit the game-tying three-pointer with 1:38 remaining.Following a timeout, Illinois missed a jump shot and sophomore forward Danilsa Andujar rebounded. Andujar passed to Braun, who drove to the basket for a layup, but Illinois freshman guard Adrienne Godbold blocked her attempt. IU recovered and called a timeout with eight seconds left.The Hoosiers went right back to Braun after the timeout. From the top of the key, she drove fiercely down the right side of the lane and made a layup to give IU a 50-48 lead with just under three seconds remaining.The Fighting Illini attempted a last-second three-pointer that went in-and-out, giving the Hoosiers the victory.IU hits the road for its next game, traveling to Penn State at noon Sunday.
(01/08/10 4:39am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After a quick start in the non-conference season, the IU women’s basketball team looks to make more headway with its Big Ten slate.The Hoosiers hope to begin with a road victory at noon Sunday at Penn State (10-4, 2-2).“This is a young team that’s fighting right now,” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said.IU has shown competitiveness on both sides of the court thus far. Guards senior Jamie Braun and junior Jori Davis both entered the season with expectations of leading the team offensively, and both have delivered. Davis leads the team in points per game with 17.1, and Braun owns the team’s second-highest average at 11.4. Braun also leads the Hoosiers with 46 assists.The pleasant surprise for the Hoosiers has been the post play of its top two forwards, junior Hope Elam and redshirt freshman Sasha Chaplin, both of whom have averaged 9.6 points per game thus far.Elam, who transferred to IU from Vincennes University, has provided a substantial boost to the Hoosiers’ frontcourt. She has given the team a dependable scoring option underneath the basket.Chaplin, who missed the majority of the 2008 season with an injury, has averaged 24.8 minutes per game after playing no more than 22 minutes in any one contest during her true freshman season.Chaplin has been IU’s top rebounder, pulling down 102 boards for a per-game average of 7.3. IU began the 2009 Big Ten season with a 68-63 victory in its conference opener at Michigan State, but the competitiveness of the Big Ten soon caught up to the squad. IU lost to in-state rival Purdue in West Lafayette, 76-66, on Dec. 31 and to the vengeful Spartans, 53-44, last Sunday in Bloomington.The Hoosiers’ next opponent presents legitimate challenges.The Lady Lions have been one of the conference’s better rebounding teams, particularly on the offensive end of the court. Their average of 15.8 offensive rebounds per game is second best in the Big Ten, and they also average 27.5 defensive boards. Carrying on in Big Ten play, Legette-Jack said, the team’s confidence and resolve has been, and will be, pivotal.“We’re going to have some valleys that we’re going to face, but we’re also going to hit some places that are really high,” she said. “This is a long season, and we’re going to keep getting better as a team.”
(01/04/10 3:47am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU women’s basketball team followed its conference loss at Purdue with a second straight Big Ten defeat at the hands of No. 16 Michigan State Sunday.The Hoosiers (8-6, 1-2) couldn’t quite keep up with the Spartans (11-4, 2-2) and lost by a score of 53-44.Allyssa DeHaan and Brittney Thomas led Michigan State in scoring with 16 and 13 points, respectively. DeHaan also led the Spartans with 12 rebounds.For IU, junior guard Jori Davis again led the way offensively, scoring 20 points. Junior guard Whitney Lindsey added 12.The Hoosiers led for much of the defense- and turnover-heavy first half, claiming a 20-17 advantage at the break.However, Michigan State took advantage of IU’s mistakes in the second half, converting their seven turnovers into 10 points to outscore the Hoosiers 36-24 in the final 20 minutes, sealing the victory.IU continues Big Ten play when it plays host to Illinois at 7 p.m. Thursday.
(12/10/09 5:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It was pretty clear in high school that Jordan Haverly would be playing volleyball at the collegiate level.The current freshman outside hitter just needed time – an extra year – to find the right place for her, and she eventually decided IU was that place.Ranked as the No. 20 recruit nationally by PrepVolleyball.com in 2008, Haverly originally committed to Nebraska, which later that year finished in the semi-finals in the NCAA Tournament.However, she examined the situation there more closely and decided it wasn’t going to work, despite the program’s prestige.“It just wasn’t the right fit,” she said. “I think a lot of people don’t understand that, but it really is – you feel like you have a place or you fit in with a program, and that just wasn’t the right place for me.”Subsequently, Haverly stayed in her hometown of Cherry Valley, Ill. during the 2008-09 academic year rather than attend Nebraska.She said she took classes at a local community college, worked out with a trainer and played as much as possible while mulling over her options.“I played volleyball in a bunch of different leagues and played with my old club team and just whoever I could play with,” she said.After a year of preparation and searching, she officially transferred to IU, maintaining freshman eligibility.Haverly, a unanimous Big Ten All-Freshman selection this season, flourished as a late addition to the IU volleyball team’s freshman class.In her first season with the Hoosiers, she set a record for most single-season kills by a freshman with 446 at a per-set average of 3.35, which was seventh-best in the Big Ten.IU coach Sherry Dunbar said Haverly’s arrival was “huge for the program.”“She wants to be great right now,” Dunbar said during the season. “She’s never played collegiate volleyball until this year. She’s still learning to fit in ... and do all those type of things that freshmen do.”The productive youngster had no shortage of accomplishments or accolades before entering the college ranks.Haverly served as team captain each of her four years at Keith Country Day School, amassing the second-most kills in a career in Illinois’ class 1A history with 1,671, according to IUHoosiers.com.She also led the Cougars to their first state finals appearance her senior year and competed internationally with the A2 program Club Fusion in 2007.Her teammates recognized the kind of player and person Haverly was when she first arrived on campus.“She’s a little ball of energy,” said sophomore setter Mary Chaudoin, Haverly’s “big sister” on the team. “She’s got some comeback, and she stands her ground.”After leading the Hoosiers in terminations this season, Haverly said she is excited about playing another three seasons at IU.“We’ve been able to see a lot of positive things this year,” she said. “I think in the next few years, it’s going to be a huge difference from what people normally think of as Indiana volleyball. “It’s going to be in those top programs, and I’m just really excited to see it get there and hopefully be a part of the teams that do get there.”