Minnesota women's basketball coach Brenda Oldfield pondered the same thing other Big Ten coaches have been wondering about IU center Jill Chapman.\n"How do you stop her?" Oldfield asked with a chuckle.\nChapman, a senior, proved unstoppable against the Gophers Sunday, when she exploded for 26 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in the 75-60 IU loss. Taking into account Chapman played with an injured back and battled against triple teams in Minneapolis, Chapman's performances last week were even more impressive, IU coach Kathi Bennett said.\n"The best success we had was putting in our 6-foot-7 center, who shut her down for at least a little while," Oldfield said. "She has great hands (and great) touches around the basket. She is definitely a nice, low-post presence for Indiana."\nThree days earlier, Chapman lit up Wisconsin with a season-high 30 points and 11 rebounds in the 70-63 upset. Chapman averaged 28 points and 9.5 rebounds while shooting 62.5 percent in last week's two games, earning her Big Ten Player of the Week. The award is her first of the season but fourth of her career.\n"Like I was telling one of my teammates, it's a nice award, but it would have been better if we won both games," said Chapman, who has 11 double-doubles this season. "It's nice, but I just want to win. Then I'd be able to appreciate it a little more."\nThe two eye-catching performances arrived after she contributed a season-low four points against Michigan Jan. 20. Bennett said after the loss, Chapman needed to act more energetic around the basket. The 6-5 center had also been dealing with a sore, tight back, which has been feeling better.\n"She maintained her composure and finished down the stretch, and that was really good to see," Bennett said about Chapman against Minnesota. "I've always said that when Jill plays like that, we win. We didn't win that because our defense faltered. But if she continues to get that we will get some."
SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED\nDespite ranking ninth in the conference, the Hoosiers (9-11, 3-6 Big Ten) managed to shake up the Big Ten a bit with their upset of formerly first-place Wisconsin (16-4, 7-3 Big Ten) last Thursday.\nThe loss to IU -- along with losses to Minnesota and Penn State -- has dropped the No. 15 Badgers to second behind 2001 champion Purdue. Wisconsin boasted an undefeated record and 15-game winning streak before stumbling to No. 23 Minnesota.\nBennett shook her head Tuesday when asked if she was glad her team caused a stir in the Big Ten and inadvertently aided the Boilermakers.\n"We helped Purdue," Bennett said with a snort. "Actually, our staff is probably closest to their staff to anyone in the Big Ten. I have tremendous respect for them."\nIllinois and Iowa are tied for third place with records of 6-3.
MORE NUMBERS\nThe Hoosiers have played four top-25 teams in January -- seven if you count previously-ranked Penn State and Michigan and vote-getter Iowa. \n"For a team that lost one of it's best players that's trying to regroup, I think that's quite a challenge," said Bennett, referring to point guard Kristen Bodine, who's out for the season with a torn ACL. "If we stay believing in each other and focusing and keep getting better, I do think we will be a team that's tough down the stretch."\nThe Hoosiers' lone victory against a ranked team came against Wisconsin. IU's strength of schedule stood at 33rd in the nation, according to collegerpi.com Tuesday. \nIU's rating-percentage index of 92 ranks ninth in the Big Ten, the second-toughest conference behind the Southeastern Conference. RPI represents a calculation of strength of schedule and how the team performs against that schedule. It considers only whether a team wins, disregarding margin of victory or location of game.
