Women's basketball team breezes by Kent State

The Hoosiers and the Kent State Golden Flashes came into the Tuesday's contest at Assembly Hall undefeated.\nSomeone had to go down.\nIt wasn't the Hoosiers.\nAnd it wasn't even close.\nThe Hoosiers stormed to a 79-42 romp, handing Kent State (2-1) its worst defeat since the 1983-84 season, when it fell to West Virginia by a 38-point margin.\n"I don't want to make any excuses," said Kent State coach Bob Lindsay. "They played better than us. The combination of them playing well and us playing poorly is what resulted in the final score."\nThe Hoosiers are now 6-0 in their preconference season. \n"We have cohesion, and we're playing really well together," said coach Kathi Bennett. "We're confident, and we're playing hard. I think it's a combination of those things."\nThe Hoosiers' pressure defense paid off, as they held Kent State's starting guards to five points for the game, one field goal in 11 attempts from the floor. Coming in, senior Carrie Nance and freshman Lori Krezeczowski combined to average 23 points per game.\nSo the Golden Flames kept the ball down in the post. Centers Julie Studer, a senior, and Andrea Csaszar, a freshman, scored 30 of their team's 42 points.\n"I'm so pleased with what we did defensively," Bennett said. "We thought we could pressure their guards and we just did exactly that."\nIU jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the first five minutes. The Golden Flashes consistently doubled down on junior center Jill Chapman, the Big Ten's Player of the Week and the Hoosiers' leading scorer at 13 points per game. Chapman kicked the ball outside for a few wide-open jumpers.\nWhen triple-teamed on one occasion, she somehow found freshman forward Charliss Ridley for an easy layup, lobbing it over the back of her head.\nRidley wouldn't be in the game much longer. Driving into the lane, she came down hard on her left knee. Though she later subbed in for a few minutes, she perceptibly hobbled. Ridley's status for this weekend's tournament games in Houston is still uncertain.\nAfter jumping out of the gate, the Hoosiers hit a draught, not making a field goal for six minutes. But junior guard Heather Cassady tallied up nine points, reviving the Hoosiers' offense.\nNot playing much in the second half, she ended the game with 12 points and four assists.\n"I've had games where I haven't shot very well," Cassady said. "Tonight, I wanted to come out and get things going."\nAt halftime, the Hoosiers led 36-21. For Kent State, it only got worse. With only five players in reserve, a tired squad allowed the Hoosiers to blow it open with a 23-4 run to open the second half.