Season begins with loss to No. 8 Baylor

Halfway through the second half, the IU women's basketball team was in position to pull off an upset against No. 8 Baylor University, trailing only 39-34. Instead of making a run, the ice-cold shooting that had plagued IU all night continued, developing into a 60-47 loss to the Lady Bears.\nPlaying solid defense wasn't a problem for the Hoosiers (0-1), as they held the No. 8 Lady Bears (1-1) to 29 percent shooting -- getting the ball in the basket was, as IU was held to 27 percent shooting. \nThe Hoosiers had good looks throughout the game, but their inability to make baskets was a factor in the loss, said sophomore center Sarah McKay.\n"I think that if our shots had dropped, the game would have had a different outcome," McKay said. "Taking care of the ball is something we have to do in order to win games."\nIn addition to the bad shooting night, IU was plagued with turnover problems, committing 17.\nDespite the problems on offense, the defense kept the team in the game. The Hoosiers blocked 10 shots on the night, including five by McKay. IU had the deficit down to single digits throughout the second half but couldn't break through the Baylor defense.\nLeading the Hoosiers in scoring was junior guard Cyndi Valentin with 13 points. Valentin had to earn them, though, shooting only three of 15. Valentin made five free throws, extending her school-record streak to 47 consecutive makes.\nStopping the Lady Bears throughout the game was a problem for IU, as two big runs allowed Baylor to get the victory in their home opener.\nThe first came with the score tied at six. Behind eight points from freshman guard Angela Tisdale, the Lady Bears put together a 15-4 run to push the lead to 21-10.\nWith all the weapons Baylor had, it was tough to contain an unexpected one, senior forward Jamie Gathing said.\n"(Tisdale) came off the bench and knocked down some big shots," Gathing said. "We worked on stopping their two preseason All-Americans. She was a big help to them."\nThe final run that did IU in went 19-6 and pushed the lead to 58-40.\nDespite a disappointing loss to start the season, the Hoosiers have nothing to hang their heads about, said IU coach Kathi Bennett.\n"We competed tonight against one of the top teams in the country," Bennett said. "We played with some good intensity at times, and our post players really did a good job on their inside game."\nIU will play its home opener against Belmont at 4:30 p.m. Saturday as they play host to the Hampton Inn Classic. Depending upon the outcome of the first game, the Hoosiers will play either at 2 p.m. or 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon.\n-- Contact staff writer Dan Click at daaclick@indiana.edu.