Defense still focus as women begin season

The groundwork has been laid.\nNow, the waiting begins.\nCoach Kathi Bennett's vision of an aggressive defense has been drilled into her new team. The question left is how long until that lesson is applied on the floor.\n"We have a long way to go," senior forward Rachael Honegger said. "There's a lot we need to work on in order to be competitive in the Big Ten and nationally.\n"Defensive intensity is the key. We need to play defense for 40 minutes."\nThey'll get their second chance to play 40 minutes of defense at 5 p.m. this evening at Assembly Hall against Tapiolan Honka, a team out of Helsinki, Finland.\nThe women's game will be followed by the men taking on Marathon Oil at 8 p.m.\nBennett is focusing on defense this week, but is also trying to get more aggressive play offensively. Bennett is also trying to work on the team's conditioning, a problem that loomed in their 10-point loss Tuesday.\n"We showed that we weren't in very good shape and that's something we need to address between now and Washington," Bennett said. "And our transition (defense) is a big problem. We need to work on getting back quickly and getting our defense set."\nTapiolan Honka has had a rough time on their 10-game tour. They are 0-6 in their first six contests, including a 75-point drubbing by Purdue Nov. 1. In all, Tapiolan Honka has been outscored by an average of 50 points. The team's closest game came last week in a nine-point loss to Wright State.\n"They have got beaten bad by some pretty good schools," Bennett said. "We're not going to take anything for granted.\n"Plus, we're focused on ourselves right now and what we need to do to become a better team."\nUnlike Tuesday, when Bennett rotated her line-up freely, Tapiolan Honka is more likely to see the rotation that will probably see most of the action when things count for real -- next Friday against Washington.\n"I'm going to play the people who have earned it," Bennett said. "Those that have worked the hardest in practice and have had the highest energy level."\nAnd one of those might be freshman Anna Waugh who made the most of her 18 minutes Tuesday night. The 5-foot-8 guard from Franklin, Ind., scored 17 points, connecting on five three-pointers from the field.\nWaugh, who is clearly behind starters senior Rainey Alting and junior Heather Cassady at the guard spot, didn't expect the solid numbers from the floor.\n"I just went out there hoping to play the way I knew I could," said Waugh, adding she wasn't making any statements about the security of Cassady and Alting's starting jobs. "I didn't expect it. When you have halftime and then you sit out, it's hard to know if you'll have your shot when you do get back in there."\nWhile Waugh was five-for-seven, starters Alting and Cassady struggled in the season opener, shooting a combined 2-for-14.\nAlthough it is a preseason game, the score meaningless by all accounts, and against an unfamiliar team, the Hoosiers still want the motivation of a big win to propel them into the regular season.\n"You always want to win," Honegger said. "It doesn't matter against who or where, you just want to win. "It's the best motivator there is"