Team looks to right ship

An oft-heard phrase in any aspect of life is, "If you just keep fighting things will get better." The IU women's basketball team is taking that philosophy to heart, and they are indeed fighting. IU (9-11, 2-8 Big Ten) has lost its last seven games, the longest losing streak since 1994 when they lost ten straight. \nBut two of those losses in the current skid were by three points. IU will look to snap their losing streak when they battle with Iowa tonight at 7 p.m. in Assembly Hall. \nIU dropped a hard-fought contest to No.15 Minnesota by three points at home on Sunday. Despite the loss, IU is taking the positives from that game. \nCoach Kathi Bennett said it means everything to carry over that same intensity from last game to this game. She said that intensity translates to the outcome of the game, good or bad. \n"It (intensity) has to be the same, if not better than the last game," Bennett said. "Our defensive intensity is crucial for success."\nIn the last game, the Hoosiers shut down Minnesota, the nation's best field goal percentage team and held them to just 59 points for the game. In addition, they limited them to just under 40 percent for the game, 12 percentage points below their average field goal percentage.\n"It showed we can play with anybody in the Big Ten because they are one of the best teams in the conference," senior guard/forward Jill Hartman said. "We did a number of things well against Minnesota, and hopefully we can use confidence for the Iowa game." \nAt this point in the season last year, IU held an identical 9-11 overall mark, and they were 3-6 in the conference before they went on to win five of their final seven regular season games. After that, the Hoosiers captured the Big Ten Tournament Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. \nBennett said there is no reason why the Hoosiers cannot make a run in the regular season and have success in the Big Ten Tournament again. \nThat possible run starts with Iowa tonight. The Hawkeyes (12-9, 4-6) are led by junior forward Jennie Lillis and junior guard Kristi Faulkner. Lillis leads the team with an average of 15.9 points per game and averages nearly eight rebounds per contest and last year was a Big Ten honoree as a sophomore. Faulkner poured in 29 points in a victory over IU on Jan. 30 in Iowa City, Iowa. She ranks right behind Lillis in team scoring average.\n"They are awesome offensively. They score a lot of points," Bennett said. "They've scored the most points on us than any other team since I've been coach here."\nIowa ranks fifth in the conference in scoring offense with an average of 72.7 points per game in their 21 games.\n"They cut without the ball so well," Bennett said. "They make hard cuts. Also, their guards are very explosive. We have to stop their guards from cutting and not let them pass where they want to."\nLately, IU has been led by its seniors. Hartman and senior guard Kristen Bodine have combined to lead the team in scoring. They have averaged 13 and 14 points respectively in the last three games, and they both are shooting at least at a 50 percent clip in those contests.\nWhile Iowa has won 12 of the last 14 meetings between the two teams, the Hoosiers won last year in the Big Ten Tournament by two points on their way to the Tournament Championship. \nMeanwhile, it has been no secret that IU has played much better at home this year versus away from Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers are winless on the road in the Big Ten, but hold a 2-3 conference mark at home.\n"With the crowd cheering for us at home, that gives us confidence," freshman forward Brigett Branson said. "It's an uplift at home. On the road we have to fight the crowd and try to play through it. But right now we just feel more comfortable at home."\nBoth Iowa and IU rank near the top of the conference in rebounding offense.\n"They are not a very big team, so rebounding will be even more important," Branson said. "Rebounding is such a big defensive factor. Games come down to rebounding a lot of the time, so we have to make sure we do the job on the boards."\nThe Hoosiers have six games remaining this year in the regular season. After Iowa, they hit the road to take on Wisconsin and Northwestern before returning home on Feb. 23. \nBennett said she relishes the opportunity and has a tremendous amount of confidence in her team. \n"These next four games are huge. I'm glad this next one is at home," Bennett said. "There's no reason why we can't win the rest of our games this season, and I truly believe that"