Women\'s Basketball: Hoosiers looking to upset No. 7 Purdue

The women's basketball team heads to No. 7 Purdue tonight riding a two-game winning streak. This streak includes the Hoosiers first victory against a ranked team, then-No. 20 Wisconsin. Purdue (22-4, 12-1 Big Ten) is in a different situation. The Boilermakers had their first loss in the Big Ten Feb. 8 to Iowa. \nSunday, they needed two overtimes to sneak away with a victory at Ohio State.\nWhen the two teams meet, it could be anybody's game.\n"It's great to be in this position at this point of the season," coach Kathi Bennett said. "We had so much focus and energy for the Wisconsin game, and we have to somehow bring that back against Purdue to have a chance against them."\nThe last time the teams met, circumstances were different. Purdue was untouchable. IU (16-7, 7-5) had won three consecutive games, a streak the Boilermakers ended with a 67-59 win in Assembly Hall.\nPurdue dominated much of the first half of the game, but the Hoosiers made a comeback from 22 points down to pull within four points.\nEven with the Boilermakers in a downward spin, IU has been focusing on a specific problem.\n"We have to handle their pressure early," Bennett said. "That really affected us at our place, but it's quite a challenge." \nThe first order of business is to contain Purdue All-American forward Katie Douglas, who has recently been sidelined by a sprained ankle. But against Ohio State, Douglas hit the game-winning shot. In the first match-up with the Hoosiers, Douglas scored 13 points.\n"I'm sure she'll be ready," Bennett said. "Sometimes when players get injured, it causes them to focus and concentrate more. But I know she does all the time, so it won't matter."\nShe wasn't the only Boilermaker to give IU headaches during the first game.\nPurdue freshman Shalicia Hurns scored a season-high 19 points and went 8-of-9 from the field, shredding the Hoosier defense. Senior center Camille Cooper, the third Boilermaker who reached double digits in that game, scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, her third double-double of the season.\nPurdue outrebounded Indiana 37 to 28. Bennett said that can't happen again if IU is to pull off the upset.\n"The rebounding is just huge," Bennett said. "I don't know if were going to get better, we just have to be active."\nBut this game isn't just about win-loss categories. The two teams are playing for the Barn Burner Trophy. This is the seventh year the two have played for this trophy, a traveling memento similar to football's Old Oaken Bucket.\nPurdue has had its hands on the trophy five times, including the past two years. \n"Being at their place with the crowd and the noise, we definitely have to have our intensity level very high," Bennett said. "We have to take great shots, take care of the ball, and defend with all of our might. These are things we have to do"