Team tensions run high as IU faces Wisconsin

It's a team that beat IU (12-14, 5-11 Big Ten) on its home court in front of a record-breaking crowd. It's also a team that squashed the Hoosier's 17-1 run in a road game back in February when IU barely pulled off a 49-48 win. Not only that, but it was on their court that freshman forward Brigett Branson sprained her ankle. The tension is high as the women's basketball team plays its first Big Ten Tournament game tonight against Wisconsin. \n"I feel like they're going to be a team that will play with a great deal of passion," coach Kathi Bennett said of the Wisconsin Badgers (7-19, 5-10 Big Ten). "There's the situation with their head coach. And I know they really like her, but we've got to combat their intensity."\nWisconsin Coach Jane Albright recently announced that she would be resigning as head coach at the end of the season. While that may give Wisconsin the extra shove to win the game, IU is as prepared as ever to dominate on the court, even against great size.\n"They out size us," Branson said. "They have some really tall girls, but I think our quickness will be our advantage."\nBranson is still recovering from the sprained ankle she suffered on Wisconsin's court. Bennett said Branson is ready to come back and play even though her ankle remains tender and sore. \nPerhaps the biggest recovery from an injury is freshman guard Kali Kullberg. Kullberg tore her anterior cruciate ligament after the Dec. 14 game against Purdue. She had played in too many games to redshirt the season. Kullberg dressed for the last two games and is a possible player for the Hoosiers in the Big Ten Tournament.\n"She has battled and ought to get back," Bennett said. "She's done an incredible job of recovering, and if we need her for a minute in the game, that's a big possibility."\nKullberg said she's excited to get back and play with the team again and contribute as much as she can. If anything Kullberg said she brings energy to the team. She also said she has seen the excitement in her teammates going into the tournament.\n"We're ready. We're really really ready," Kullberg said. "We've felt hungry all year, and it's just been a little step short, and right now we're feeling this is the time, right now in the tournament."\nThere's not a doubt in Kullberg's mind that the team will beat Wisconsin and have to face a first seeded Penn State. \n"The Penn State game was a really tough game to sit out and watch from the sidelines," Kullberg said. "But who else would you rather play than the top seeded team? To win it all you have to play the best, and we might as well do it early."\nBranson said if they do beat the massive-sized Wisconsin that Penn State would be quite the challenge for the team.\n"We got beat pretty bad there," Branson said. "But it's a whole new game in the tournament."\nThe Hoosiers look forward to the return of Branson and Kullberg but also have their fingers crossed as far as senior guard Kristen Bodine goes. She sat out of Wednesday's practice because of strep throat.\nThe women's basketball team has seen it's share of struggles this year with injured players and games slipping away, but the Big Ten Tournament is an entire different ballgame. Bennett said she looks forward to having the tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse again, and that it gives them a bit of an advantage.\n"We're closer, we'll have more fans," Bennett said. "It's such a classy place, and they treat you like you're a pro. I wouldn't want it anywhere else."\nIt will be the third time this season that IU and Wisconsin have met, but it could be the first time Wisconsin gets a taste of Kullberg's abilities on the court. Bennett said the team is ready and has learned from their mistakes in the past. \nTo defend their Big Ten Championship from last year is what Kullberg said she wants to do.\n"They (Wisconsin) have their strengths," Kullberg said. "But they are really vulnerable. I feel we will be playing Penn State on Friday"