NEW YORK -- The NBA upheld a flagrant foul call against Ron Artest and suspended the Indiana Pacers' forward for one game Sunday for accumulating six flagrant foul points.
INDIANAPOLIS -- In the waning minutes of a tightly contested game between IU and No. 14 Penn State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday, both teams must have been thinking about last year's Championship contest. The IU women's basketball team upset the Lady Lions 75-72 in last year's conference tournament on its way to the NCAA Tournament.
By Natalie A. Trout Indiana Daily Student INDIANAPOLIS -- Maybe it would have been easier if the women's basketball team had lost by 20 points. But the IU women's basketball season is over, and it ended with a three-point loss. Watching the game, it would be hard to guess that the Hoosiers had a 13-15 record and that No. 14 Penn State had a 24-7 mark. The two teams played with equal intensity and skill. But IU couldn't pull it out and lost 67-64 in a battle that ended in heartbreak. "I felt we played incredibly well," IU coach Kathi Bennett said after the loss. "I'm very proud of my team and we played well enough to win." It was a team effort Friday when the Hoosiers met the Lady Lions. Senior forward Lisa Eckart had a team-high 15 points and freshman guard Cyndi Valentin had 10. Both freshman center Angela Hawkins and senior guard Kristen Bodine chipped in with nine points apiece. Baskets came from seniors and freshmen. Eckart said there was no doubt that all members of the team wanted this game more than anything. "We are an incredibly good offensive team," Eckart said. "I think that to compete in this game we had to have five people playing together at the same time with good defense." With the Hoosier effort coming from everyone on the team, the game was an emotional one as seniors saw their last playing time as a Hoosier and underclassman began to think about the year to come. Unlike Penn State, who doesn't have any seniors, IU said goodbye to six. Eckart said her time spent as an IU basketball player has given her the time of her life. Junior Jamie Gathing agreed. "Everyone loves you at IU," Gathing said. "Whether you're a cheerleader or a basketball player, it's a great feeling. I love playing basketball here." With the underclassmen, Bennett said she hopes the Penn State game leaves them with a hunger to be a better team. "Maybe a little bit of a bad taste so that they want to be Big Ten Champs and really hungry to win a title," Bennett said. "We are hungry to have a better record and do better in the regular season and get to the NCAA tournament." One of Bennett's biggest obstacles right now is saying goodbye to the seniors on her team. It's Eckart in particular that brought a tear to her eye. "She's a very special kid," Bennett said. "She's going to be very successful with whatever she does and more than anything I respect her loyalty. She gave everything she had." Eckart said she was thankful for having the opportunity to play for Bennett at both Evansville and IU. She also said she believes in the younger players on the team and added they are a great group who will succeed. "You're soon going to see more girls around the state wanting to be a Hoosier," Eckart said. "You're going to see more fans coming and more records being broken in attendance." It's the end of a season for the underclassmen, but it's the end of a chapter in the lives of the seniors. Although it was a game they could have won, Bennett said the Hoosiers definitely didn't lose because they lacked the heart. "This season we had a lot of ups and downs," Bennett said. "But we ended very much together and very strong and playing good basketball."
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The IU men's basketball team finished its season by reinforcing the on-going theme of not being able to come through on the road. The vintage Hoosier team that on the road comes out flat, digs a hole for itself and spends the entire rest of the time playing catch-up was once again present.
March began with high hopes for the men's volleyball club team as it hosted the Hoosier-Illini Classic on March 1.
The role of a closer has been one of the more ambiguous positions to define throughout baseball history. Major league closers of the past like Sparky Lyle and Lee Smith used to pitch three and four innings to rack up their saves. But ever since Dennis Eckersly redefined the closer's role in the late '80s as a one-inning stopgap, coaches and managers of every level have searched thoroughly for that ninth inning hurler to seal victories for their ball clubs.
It's a team that beat IU (12-14, 5-11 Big Ten) on its home court in front of a record-breaking crowd. It's also a team that squashed the Hoosier's 17-1 run in a road game back in February when IU barely pulled off a 49-48 win.
For the Hoosiers' water polo team, senior leadership is essential to the success of the team. The Hoosiers' seniors, led by All-American Kristin Stanford, are the backbone of the team. But even the seniors need a little motivation sometimes to keep them on their competitive edge.
The IU women's water polo team travels to Ann Arbor, Mich., this weekend to compete in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Weekend on Saturday and Sunday. Along with IU, other teams competing include Penn State-Behrend, Mercyhurst, Washington, Jefferson and the host school Michigan.
This weekend both the men's and women's indoor track and field teams scatter to different meets as they try to qualify individuals for their respective NCAA Championship meets. These meets, just one week before the NCAA Indoor Championships, give runners a chance to qualify for nationals if they haven't already done so.
For the second time in as many weeks, the IU baseball team canceled its scheduled series in favor of better weather this weekend. The Hoosiers were supposed to travel to Fairfax, Va. to take on George Mason, but instead will be heading further south to Asheville, N.C., to play two double headers on Saturday and Sunday against the Akron Zips. Both day's games will start at noon.
A grueling Big Ten regular season has come to a close for the Hoosiers. The IU wrestling program had a tough time in the conference season this year, earning only one dual meet victory against a Big Ten team, but the Hoosiers will now have a chance for redemption.
When the fall portion of the IU men's golf team's season ended, they were looking forward to a winter of weight lifting, conditioning and working on their putting.
After nearly a month and a half of trying, the Hoosiers (18-10, 8-7 Big Ten) were finally able to string together two straight wins with a 74-70 victory over Minnesota Tuesday night.
INDIANAPOLIS -- Defense is nothing new for this group of players. Defense has been the cornerstone of the IU women's basketball team ever since coach Kathi Bennett took over the helm three years ago.
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Hoosiers were ready for Wisconsin. They wanted to win for the seniors. They wanted to win to defend last year's Big Ten Tournament Championship status. It looked like IU's ballgame from early on, but the 18-1 run from Wisconsin in the second half had the Hoosiers looking hopeless.
All the excitement Tom Coverdale had regarding Tuesday's game was not tucked away. More than once during his last appearance in Assembly Hall, the senior guard was waving his arms to pump up the crowd, and following one adrenaline-filled moment, Coverdale pumped his fist and screamed into the stands before joining his team in the timeout huddle. The IU men's basketball game against Minnesota signaled more than just the end of Coverdale's, senior guard Kyle Hornsby's and senior forward Jeff Newton's careers in Bloomington. It was also crucial for the Hoosiers, who needed a win to help their chances for an NCAA tournament berth.
In its last home game of the year, the IU men's basketball team needed a win to bolster their NCAA tournament chances and to send out its three seniors in style.
All winter long, the weather forced the IU women's golf team to practice indoors. Monday, after finally getting outside and competing in a tournament, Mother Nature again payed it a visit.
Last night's game against Minnesota was the final opportunity for IU fans to erupt in cheers after a three-pointer from guards Tom Coverdale and Kyle Hornsby, and the last time they could yell "Newwwt" after forward Jeff Newton blocked a shot or threw down a dunk.
