Freshmen gain experience in exhibition win

With only two juniors on the active roster, the one thing the IU women's basketball team lacks is experience. All five freshmen garnered substantial minutes in Friday's 73-62 win over the Reebok Lady Stars, gaining much-needed experience.\nFreshmen Jamey Chapman and Sarah McKay started the contest. All but one freshman played at least 10 minutes. Chapman turned in the most impressive performance of her class, finishing with 17 points and six boards and 2-for-2 from behind the arc. Chapman's point total was good for second on the team. \nSophomore guard Cyndi Valentin led the Hoosier offensive attack with 21 points, hitting 70 percent of her shots. IU also showed its shooting prowess with five players draining at least one three pointer. The Hoosiers hit seven of 11 from behind the arc and held the Reebok Lady Stars to a lackluster three of 14 performance from the 3-point line. \nDespite IU's impressive showing from behind the arc, the Hoosiers downplayed their shooting prowess as just another facet of IU's game.\n"I think we can do a lot more than just make 3-pointers," Chapman said. "We can drive really well. We can pull up and do a jump shot. We can pass it in, and our posts have the ability to score this year. I think we can do everything. We just need to show that a little bit more. The treys just happened to fall for us tonight."\nIU controlled the court throughout the entire contest as the Reebok Lady Stars were only able to knot the score at 2-2. In the first half, IU was able to do more than shoot the ball, holding the Reebok Lady Stars to only 18 points in the first half. While IU coach Kathi Bennett was happy with IU's defensive performance in the first half, she was unhappy with the team's performance in the second.\n"I thought we had some improvement tonight," Bennett said. "We took some steps, but I was disappointed after holding them to 18 points in the first half and then letting them have 44 in the second half."\nOne step IU did take was improving the performance of the players down low, and Bennett said that she was happy with their showing around the basket.\n"I thought the post players really showed great progress," Bennett said. "I thought Sarah McKay and (sophomore forward) April Williams were great. Also, for Jamey Chapman's first game, she did a really good job. She's really not 100 percent yet. I thought Sarah McKay showed huge strides, especially defensively, and showed she learned from practice and put it into play."\nSpeaking of post players, former Hoosier standout Jill Chapman-Daily also appeared in the contest after playing with the Detroit Shock last season. While at IU, Chapman-Daily finished in the top three all-time in career points, rebounds and double-doubles. \nWhile the team was generally happy with the win, IU still has its focus set squarely on the future and getting into the regular season.\n"It's always good to have a win, but we can't dwell on it," Valentin said. "We're just trying to improve every game to get ready for the season."\n-- Contact staff writer Dan Patrick at djpatric@indiana.edu.