Chapman and Cassady return to Assembly Hall

Jill Chapman and Heather Cassady were assets to last year's successful women's basketball team. Tonight both will return to the court in Assembly Hall. The only difference is, they won't be wearing IU jerseys. The two will instead be playing for the Reebok Lady Stars in against many of their former teammates tonight at 7:30 p.m.\n"I love IU and I'll always want to come back here and do what I can to help. It's different knowing that I'm here and not playing for IU," Chapman said after practicing with the team on Wednesday. \nCoach Kathi Bennett said she loves to see Chapman and Cassady on the court but not on the opposing team. She likes the idea however, of seeing how the Hoosiers can stack up against such incredible talent. It will give them something to measure up to and see what level they are at.\nSenior Allison Skapin said Chapman is a tough competitor and has served as a tall player to practice against. \nFreshman Kali Kullberg never had the opportunity to play with Chapman and Cassady but has seen the talent they represent in practice and the intensity they bring to the court.\n"You can just see what they brought to the court last year," Kullberg said. "This year it brings so much leadership to see what they can add because of where they'd been with basketball and how hard they've worked."\nPlayers and coaches said they are excited about the presence of Chapman and Cassady at practice, but not everything is running smoothly this season for the women's basketball team. Problems began to arise Saturday morning when junior LeeAnn Stephenson suffered an ACL injury. She will be sitting out for the year.\n"We lost LeeAnn so that kind of changes our combinations and who's on the floor," Bennett said. "I think it's a learning process for this team. We've got to play hard and stay together."\nSkapin hopes to do her best in the Reebok Lady Stars game and said she'll go out and play with all she's got.\n"I'll do what I can to help the team," Skapin said. "Exhibition helps us to see where we are against other competition."\nBennett said senior Kristen Bodine would return to the court on Friday night. Kullberg is excited to see what Bodine does at the game coming off of her sprained ankle. Kullberg said she feels lucky to share the point guard position with Bodine.\n"You can just feel the comfort of the team when she's back on the court," Kullberg said.\nChapman said exhibition games really give a team a chance to gel on the court and shows what players play best together.\n"They have to have fun," Chapman said. "They can't be too stressed out."\nWhat may be stressing the team out is what Bennett said the coaches are trying to teach the young players. A new kind of basketball for this team will focus on motion instead of set plays. Bennett said this could be tough to teach younger players because they are so dependent.\n"One breaks down and they all break down," Bennett said. "It's a process to build that. I think we have to be patient."\nChapman will soon see how her former teammates measure up against the Reebok Lady Stars. She knows coming into Assembly Hall and playing for the opposing team will be quite an experience.\n"The crowd that used to watch Heather and I will be cheering against us," Chapman said. "But we love to come back and help the team out. Of course we will be here the whole time watching them play and cheering them on"