Hoosiers split road contests

The IU women's basketball team fell just short of accomplishing something it had not done since the 2000-01 season this weekend. After beating Belmont Tuesday and Southern Illinois Friday, the Hoosiers (3-4) were poised to win three straight road games for the first time in five seasons.\nOn Sunday, Louisville refused to cooperate, beating the Hoosiers 72-67 at Freedom Hall. \nIU set up the potential milestone by defeating Southern Illinois 64-59 Friday night in Carbondale, Ill.\nSenior forward Jenny DeMuth and senior guard Cyndi Valentin led the Hoosiers with 13 and 19 points, respectively, in the IU win. DeMuth also grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. \nDespite controlling much of the game, IU could never completely put the Salukis away. The Hoosiers led by double digits several times, but a determined Southern Illinois squad repeatedly fought back.\nIU head coach Sharon Versyp said she was proud of the way her team withstood the comeback attempts.\n"I am really proud of this crew," Versyp said. "We did what we needed to do to win. We are starting to recognize some really good things on the court and really executed plays coming out of the timeouts. I am glad we had a close game." \nAgainst Louisville, the Hoosiers had another close game. While IU led for much of the first half, neither team dominated. The largest lead of the half was a six-point IU advantage, and the teams entered halftime with Louisville leading by three.\nLouisville led throughout the second half, but the Hoosiers stayed close until just under the eight-minute mark when the Cardinals went on a 17-6 run that lasted seven minutes. IU made four three-pointers in the final minute to narrow the gap, but it was not enough to overcome the Cardinals.\nValentin, who led all scorers with a season-high 26 points, attributed the loss to fatigue and sloppy play. The Hoosiers turned the ball over 19 times leading to 23 Louisville points.\n"The difference in the game was the turnovers we made in the second half," Valentin said. "We got fatigued down the stretch, but I thought we played really aggressive today."\nLouisville head coach Tom Collen credited his team's strong second half for beating what he considered to be a formidable IU team.\n"One positive was we got ourselves into a game that was very competitive deep into the second half," Collen said at a press conference. "We had enough confidence and poise to step up and make enough plays to pull away and beat a pretty formidable opponent. I think Indiana will do well in the Big Ten this year."\nDespite the loss to Louisville, Versyp was pleased with the way the team performed and is confident about the team's potential for the remainder of the season.\n"It was still a win for us," she said. "We had a couple relapses but we fought back. Not many teams can do what we've done in the last few days. We're beginning to show signs of a really good team. I couldn't be more proud of them"