This Sunday the Indiana women’s basketball team will finish up its regular season schedule with a game against Penn State at 4:00 P.M. at Assembly Hall, following a showing of the men’s game at Michigan State.
Tomorrow is Smith's last home game as a Hoosier
The “doubleheader” is being featured in the Big Ten Network’s Head to the Hall promotion. Tickets for the women’s game are on sale for only $1, as Indiana hopes to break the previous record for an on-campus women’s basketball game in Indiana, which is currently held by Purdue’s Mackey Arena (14,124 in attendance). To contribute to the event, the Big Ten Network bought 5,000 tickets for charities. The first 3,000 to arrive will receive free T-shirts.
In addition to the showing of the men’s game and Head to the Hall, the game is also the final home game for Nikki Smith, the Hoosiers’ only senior. Smith played over all four years of her career at Indiana. Although her freshman year was marred by injury, she bounced back in her second year and eventually led the team in scoring with 12 points per game as a junior. An excellent three-point shooter, Smith shot 38.5% from outside with 45 three-pointers made this season, both team-highs. She is averaging 7.0 points in a deep Indiana roster.
The Hoosiers’ (16-13, 9-8 Big Ten) last game resulted in a harsh 69-54 loss to the Minnesota Golden Gophers, a surprising turnaround from the 69-61 overtime upset of a nationally-ranked Ohio State squad just three days before. The Lady Lions (13-15, 4-13 Big Ten) are trying to avoid their 11th consecutive conference loss after kicking off the Big Ten schedule by going 3-1 in the first four games.
The Lady Lions did give Ohio State a scare in their last game, falling just short of giving the Buckeyes their second consecutive loss in an 87-84 showdown that featured a 36-point, 16-rebound effort by Ohio State’s Jantel Lavender and a 25-point showing by Penn State’s Kam Gissendanner.
Although Penn State has struggled for much of the season, the team has several players with the potential to explode on the scoreboard, and a great veteran leader in Gissendanner. Sophomore guard Tyra Grant is also very dynamic, averaging 12.5 points per game in conference play. However the Lady Lions lack a strong rebounding presence and turn the ball over almost 16 times per game on average.
The Hoosiers have several capable scorers as well, with four players averaging in the double-figures, but have been very inconsistent lately. Against Minnesota the Hoosiers shot only 29.4% from the floor and turned the ball over 21 times, compared to 36.5% and only 12 turnovers against Ohio State. Indiana will need to limit mistakes and get Whitney Thomas going early in the post and on the boards to avoid another unnecessary loss. She was practically invisible in the loss to the Gophers.
With the departure of Smith and the support of possibly the largest home crowd ever for an Indiana women’s team, it’s hard to predict an off-night for the Hoosiers tomorrow. Despite the shock of the losses, this team has typically bounced back fairly quickly. Four Hoosiers score in the double figures and the Hoosiers win, 74-68.
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