IU dominates inside and out in exhibition blowout

The IU women's basketball team did something Saturday night it has not done in three years when it eclipsed the century mark in a 114-45 victory against Brescia University.\nDuring their final exhibition game, the Hoosiers controlled the tempo from the tip-off and never looked back.\nSenior guard and team captain Cyndi Valentin started the offensive onslaught with a three-pointer in the game's first minute -- one of four during the night for the senior.\nThe Hoosiers unleashed a full-court man-to-man press that baffled the Lady Bearcats and led to 32 turnovers for the game.\n"We played full-court man-to-man, which the players haven't done much of, so I was really pleased with the first half," IU coach Sharon Versyp said. "The second half we played some zone, and obviously we need some work with that. Overall, I was about 75 percent pleased with our defense."\nIU began to pull away as the offense continued clicking, and the defense shut down Brescia shooters, holding them to just 5 of 17 shooting in the first half.\nWith Valentin controlling the wing, senior forward Angela Hawkins held down the middle for the Hoosiers. She scored six straight points during the first half to add to IU's lead.\nDuring the night, Hawkins posted a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds -- nine of them offensive -- taking advantage of Brescia's lack of height in the frontcourt.\n"There were a couple things I was trying to work on," Hawkins said. "But I was definitely trying to take advantage of the height advantage."\nThe cream and crimson ended the first half with a 66-24 lead.\nIU didn't slow down in the second half. The Hoosiers switched to a zone defense to disrupt the Brescia shooters.\nThe plan worked as the Lady Bearcats continued to struggle from the field, shooting 15 of 48 overall for a 31 percent shooting percentage.\nIU's offense kept up as well, drawing ever closer to the century mark with only a few minutes remaining. Valentin put the team over the top with her fourth 3-pointer of the night.\nThe scoring did not stop there as sophomore guard Nikki Smith hit three long-range bombs in the final five minutes. With Brescia going cold, IU went on to the 114-45 victory.\nIn the win, all five IU starters scored in double digits, led by Valentin's 27 on 8 of 12 shooting. Valentin expects the Hoosiers to have a team full of players who all have the ability to score.\n"We were trying to run in transition and get some easy buckets," Valentin said. "People were finishing well and moving the ball, so we're definitely looking for a balanced scoring attack"