Freshmen shine in debut

Kathi Bennett made her debut as women's basketball coach Tuesday night in a 74-64 preseason loss to the Lady Reebok All-Stars.\nBut Bennett wasn't the only one to begin her basketball tenure at Assembly Hall.\nIn fact, two other newcomers to IU overshadowed the former Evansville coach.\nFreshmen Charliss Ridley and Anna Waugh combined for 33 points in 46 minutes as the Hoosiers opened their season with an exhibition loss to a team that included WNBA players.\n"They were outstanding," said Bennett about the freshmen. "They played fearlessly, and that's very good."\nRidley stole the show in the first half as the Hoosiers built a 40-36 lead. Ridley went a perfect six-for-six from the floor and two-for-two from the line for a team-high 14 first half points.\nIn the middle of the first half, Ridley scored 10 of her team's 15 points over a seven-minute stretch.\n"Coach wants me to screen and pop," Ridley said. "I just wanted to keep moving and know where the ball is.\n"It just so happened that after I would set the screen, the defender would leave and I'd be open."\nRidley finished the game with 16 points, six rebounds and a pair of assists.\nRidley, who played power forward most of the game, seemed to have a good chemistry with junior post-mate Jill Chapman. As the Hoosiers tried to claw back late in the second half, the two ran a high-low game to get the All-Stars, thinking they could make up an 18-point deficit.\nThey didn't, getting no closer than the final margin of 10, but the attempted comeback also showcased the shooting of another freshman, as Waugh scored a team-high 17 points.\nWaugh played sparingly in the first half, tallying only six minutes, but nailed two threes and scored eight points.\nHer solid shooting carried over to the second half -- especially in the last eight minutes of the game, when Waugh would add three more threes. Waugh finished five-for-seven from the field, all three-point shots. She was a perfect two-for-two from the line finishing up her 17-point effort.\n"Our shot selection was good in the second half," Bennett said. "We got away from that in the first half. We took some bad shots in the first half, but we came out and did get good shots in the second half.\n"We didn't shoot a high percentage, but we got good shots."\nWaugh picked up for her backcourt teammates Erin McGinnis and Heather Cassady, who combined to shoot two for 18 from the field and one for 12 from three-point range.\nCassady saw 34 minutes of action, accumulating seven points and one assist from her point guard spot.\n"It was pretty rough," said Cassady of her shooting. "I think we just need to stay positive. Tomorrow is a different day"