Team hungry for win vs. Lions four games

After suffering three straight losses at the hands of Big Ten opponents, the IU women's basketball team said they are hungry -- hungry for lion. The No. 5 Penn State Lady Lions will prowl into Assembly Hall to take on the Hoosiers at 8 p.m. tonight.\nThe Lady Lions come into the game with an undefeated 9-0 conference record and a 17-3 overall record while the Hoosiers stand at 3-6 in the conference and 10-10 overall. \nPSU is led by senior Kelly Mazzante, who comes into the game at second in the Big Ten in scoring with a 21.5 average. Mazzante also adds 4.1 rebounds per game and shoots at a .415 clip despite taking 175 shots from behind the arc. \nHoosier guard LeeAnn Stephenson said IU's goal is to slow down Mazzante's performance and limit her shot selection.\n"We're going to follow her wherever she goes on the court," Stephenson said. "We're going to stay tight on her, we're going to gap off players that we can gap off and we're going to try to shut her down."\nMazzante isn't the only Lady Lion who packs a bite as Tanisha Wright and Jess Strom average 14.6 and 10.8 ppg respectively. Wright and Strom are also adept at handing the ball out with 202 assists to their credit, thus far -- good for the total amount of assists for the entire IU women's basketball team. \nWith players like Wright and Strom, IU coach Kathi Bennett said the Lady Lions are certainly not a one-weapon team and Mazzante isn't the only player in the blue and white the Hoosiers need to worry about. \n"We want to shut their team down, I don't think you stop a great player like Kelly Mazzante," Bennett said. "I think your system wins out over another system. I feel like we need to be ready to play great defense, we have to have great pressure on the ball so they can't run their sets." \nThe Hoosier's share of IU's scoring duties have been relegated to junior Jenny DeMuth and sophomore Cyndi Valentin, who average 19.1 and 15.2 ppg, respectively. DeMuth also brings a complete package to IU's table, with the 5-foot-10 guard hauling in 7.7 rpg and has proved her worth as a pick-pocket with a 2.75 steals per game average. \nSix-foot-seven-inch freshman Sarah McKay has emerged as IU's much-needed third weapon with 6.2 ppg and 6.0 rpg averages. McKay also leads the team in blocks with 36 facials served to opponents, thus far. \nWhile IU's 3-6 Big Ten record looks lackluster at best, the Hoosiers would be at an even 3-3 if it wasn't for IU's recent three game slide. While a losing streak is tough on any team, the Hoosiers said they aren't going to dwell upon the losses.\n"We're using (the three losses) more as motivation than anything," McKay said. "Instead of thinking, 'Oh man, we've lost three in a row,' we're thinking it's time to end this streak and start winning some games."\nValentin, who is one of the more battle-tested of the Hoosiers at a ripe 19 years old, said such a losing streak can be extremely difficult upon a young team like the Hoosiers.\n"It's hard coming off of three losses, it's especially hard because we've got so many young players," Valentin said. "A lot of heads might be down but we're looking to get a win here at home and defend our home court"