Hoosiers look to remain perfect at home

The IU women's basketball team (9-6, 2-3 Big Ten) hosts a pair of conference foes this weekend when they play Wisconsin at 7 p.m. tonight and Michigan State at 2 p.m. Sunday at Assembly Hall. Tonight's game is the annual Pack the Hall night, but it has a twist this year.\nIU coach Kathi Bennett will pledge $5,000 of her own money to the Wabash Valley affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer if IU breaks their existing single game attendance record when they host Wisconsin tonight. The previous record is 5,503 fans and was recorded against Purdue almost four years ago. \n"We're struggling to get noticed," Bennett said. "Our attendance figures are way below average in the Big Ten and we want to stop that trend. The other cause is very near and dear to my heart. It's raising awareness about breast cancer. Either way, whether we break the attendance record or not, we are creating awareness."\nSenior forward Lisa Eckart, who played for Bennett at Evansville, concurs with Bennett's assessment.\n"It's a great cause and we need more people to support us," Eckart said. "But the cause is the most important and greatest aspect of Friday night."\nAt the same time, Bennett has her team prepared for the match-ups this weekend.\nFirst is the contest versus the Badgers (3-13, 1-5 Big Ten), a team IU has defeated 13 consecutive times at Assembly Hall. Wisconsin features six players who are six feet or taller, including 6-foot-7 junior center Lello Gebisa.\n"Wisconsin is a lot better than their record," Bennett said. "They have nice size. They are a tall team and their post players are skilled. We are going have to have great ball pressure on defense and keep the ball out of their hands."\nTwo days later, the Hoosiers square off with Michigan State (9-7, 2-3 Big Ten) on Sunday, a team they lost to by 26 points last Thursday in East Lansing, Mich. IU only shot 26 percent from the field in that game and tallied a mere 12 points in the first half. \n"It's still fresh in our minds," senior guard/forward Jill Hartman said. "It was one of those games you don't know what to say about. We can't wait to play Michigan State, but the Wisconsin game is first and we can't look past them."\nThe Hoosiers are led by sophomore guard/forward Jenny DeMuth who ranks 14th in the Big Ten with an average of 13.5 points per game, although the 5-foot-10 DeMuth has scored only 15 combined points in the last two contests. \nFreshman guard Cyndi Valentin recorded 21 points in IU's last game, a 71-68 loss to Michigan on Sunday.\nHartman, who scored eight points against the Wolverines including two threes, stressed the importance of teamwork and playing solid defensively. \n"A huge impact is going to be how well we play together," Hartman said. "We are going to have to play as a cohesive unit. Defense will be essential too. Defense gets us going. It all starts with defense."\nThe Spartans counter with senior forward Syreeta Bromfield who ranks eighth in the conference with just over 15 points per game. \nWhile IU will look to break the attendance record, they also will look to protect their home floor and remain perfect at home this year.\n"We can't let anybody beat us on our home floor," Eckart said. "It's a pride thing. It's pride and having confidence when we play at home."\nBennett said she hopes the team can use this weekend to start a winning streak.\n"Friday-Sunday is a quick turnaround. We usually play Thursday-Sunday if we play twice over the weekend," Bennett said. "It will be good because we need to build toughness. We need to build that toughness and hopefully we can build that toughness this weekend"