On the road again

After claiming its first win of the season away from Assembly Hall Tuesday, the IU women's basketball team (2-3) will play two more road games this weekend versus Southern Illinois and Louisville.\nOn Tuesday night, the Hoosiers claimed their first road victory of the season at Belmont, winning 68-50. IU showed off a balanced scoring attack against the Bruins with four players in double-digits, led by senior guard Cyndi Valentin's 18 points.\nWhere IU really shined versus Belmont was on the defensive side. The Bruins shot 25.8 percent for the game and were just 8-of-36 from three-point range.\nBelmont freshman forward Alysha Clark came into the game averaging 31 points and 13.3 rebounds per game, but she was limited to seven shot attempts and finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.\nTonight's game versus Southern Illinois will be the second contest in IU's four-game road trip. The Hoosiers know how tough it is to win on the road.\n"It's always difficult playing on the road," sophomore guard Nikki Smith said. "It is definitely a better atmosphere here at IU."\nSmith had 15 points against Belmont, all of them coming from three-pointers.\nFriday and Sunday's games will be the sixth and seventh contests in the last two weeks for the Hoosiers. At this early point in the season, IU coach Sharon Versyp is concerned about fatigue taking its toll on her team.\n"We're already exhausted," Versyp said. "Our scheduling has been really tough on us."\nTuesday's road victory gave Versyp her 100th career coaching win at the collegiate level.\nComing off a win, the Hoosiers are not going to let fatigue or playing on the road slow them down.\n"Every opponent is just the same to us," junior forward Carrie Smith said. "Coach puts us through three hour practices on purpose so we're prepared for big road trips like this."\nSmith pulled down seven rebounds, all defensive, in the win against Belmont.\nThis weekend, IU will take on two 3-1 teams in Southern Illinois and Louisville. Both teams are coming off a loss.\nThe Hoosiers lead the all-time series with the Salukis of Southern Illinois, 10-3, although the teams have not played since 1989, a 58-44 IU victory.\nThe Cardinals feature a balanced scoring attack led by juniors Jazz Covington and Missy Taylor, who both average 11.5 points per game.\nIn the game last December between the two schools, IU won a close contest 61-57 behind 16 points from Valentin.\nTo be successful this weekend, the Hoosiers know they have to come out strong for 40 minutes.\n"When we see that we're getting close, we have to keep pulling together and working as a team instead of falling apart," Nikki Smith said. "As soon as it starts getting tough, we have to get together and make a run and make sure they don't keep scoring"