IU splits weekend games

Junior guard Jenny DeMuth and sophomore guard Cyndi Valentin have been the keys to IU's success throughout the entire year, and Sunday's game against North Carolina State was no exception. DeMuth and Valentin finished the game with 45 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals. \nUnfortunately, the dynamic duo's heroics were not enough in Sunday's game against N.C. State as the Hoosiers dropped the hard-fought contest, 93-91. \n"Wow, what a game," N.C. State coach Kay Yow said in a statement. "It's been a while since we had a game like this in Reynolds Coliseum. It was great to see our players just battle like that and play a team that is very fundamentally sound and well-coached. It was a great win for us."\nN.C. State dominated the lane in the contest, nearly doubling IU's output with 50 points in the paint as opposed to IU's 26. Other than the large discrepancy in points around the bucket, the game was evenly matched with 10 ties and N.C. State narrowly winning the bench battle with its non-starters scoring 25 points compared to IU's 24. Both teams also displayed solid shooting with IU hitting 52.8 percent of its shots while N.C. State hit 58.3 percent.\nDeMuth turned in yet another impressive performance. The 5-foot-10-inch guard finished the contest with 25 points, 8 rebounds and three steals. Valentin followed DeMuth's performance closely with a 20-point, three-assist outing. Valentin was also deadly from behind the arc, hitting four of six from three-point land. IU, as a team, also showed its shooting prowess, connecting on eight three-pointers out of 13 attempts.\nFreshman guard Leah Enterline also proved to be an asset to IU's offense as she finished with 13 points and eight assists in 36 minutes of action. Enterline has been on a roll as of late, scoring double figures in each of the Hoosiers' last three games. \nPrior to the hard loss at the hands of N.C. State, IU continued its four game home win streak with a 67-58 win over the Maine Black Bears Friday. \n"I was very happy with our performance (Friday)," IU coach Kathi Bennett said. "Maine is a really good basketball team at every spot. I just felt like we played very well tonight. I am very happy to get the win."\nSophomore center Angela Hawkins took control early in the game, scoring six of IU's eight points in the first five minutes of the contest. From there on, it was DeMuth's game, as she had a double-double by halftime with 14 points and 11 rebounds, leading the Hoosiers in both categories. Such impressive play is nothing new for DeMuth, as she recorded another halftime double-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds against North Texas in the Indiana Classic championship game. \nDeMuth also controlled IU's offense against Maine, amassing four of the Hoosiers' five total assists at the half. Her stellar play continued after the break as DeMuth finished the contest with 22 points, four assists and a career-high 14 rebounds. \nDespite her own impressive performance, DeMuth attributed the win to the team's quickness advantage over the talented Black Bears squad.\n"I think we took advantage of their weaknesses," DeMuth said. "We knew we were quicker, and we wanted to exploit that weakness of theirs."\nThe DeMuth/Valentin duo continued its tear, as the two combined for 61 percent of IU's offense and over 50 percent of the Hoosiers' rebounds. All in all, Valentin finished with 19 points, three rebounds and one steal. \nEnterline also turned in another strong performance, as she notched 13 points and hit 11-of-15 free throws. Enterline started in the game for injured sophomore Kali Kullberg who is out with an injured knee.\nThe Black Bears proved to be a formidable opponent, closing IU's lead to within two points five times in the first half. While the Hoosiers led by as much as 14 in the second half, the Black Bears were able to claw back to a 55-52 deficit late in the game.\nWhile the home stand was short lived, the Hoosiers were happy to play in the familiar confines of Assembly Hall.\n"We have to defend our home court," Valentin said. "Maine was within four or five points there in the second half. The fact that we were playing at home motivated us."\n-- Contact staff writer Dan Patrick at djpatric@indiana.edu.