IU seeks top-5 conference finish

Coming off an overtime thriller against nationally ranked Purdue last weekend, the IU women's basketball team will take the court tonight versus No. 22 Minnesota with hopes of claiming a top-five spot in the Big Ten.\nThe Hoosiers (15-10 overall, 9-5 in conference) traveled to West Lafayette for Sunday's conference matchup with their in-state rivals. A deep Cyndi Valentin 3-pointer sent the game into overtime, where the senior guard hit two free throws with seconds remaining to ice the victory for IU.\n"She just didn't want to be denied at that point," IU coach Sharon Versyp said. "We had a great opportunity and Cyndi saw that and it went in, which was huge. She's the one you want on the foul line at the end of the game."\nPrior to Sunday's victory, the Hoosiers had yet to win a game versus a ranked opponent this season.\n"We just want to continue to play hard and play extremely well on the road," Versyp said. "Wins and losses, you never know what's going to (be) happening, but I'm very pleased with where we're at."\nHeading into tonight's contest, IU is currently tied for fourth place in the Big Ten with the Golden Gophers. Not far behind in fifth place are the Iowa Hawkeyes, IU's opponent on the road Sunday.\nWith the Big Ten tournament a week away, the two road games could have huge ramifications for IU's seeding. On the tourney's first day, the top five teams in the conference receive byes and an extra day's rest.\nIn last season's tournament, all three teams that won on the first day of action went on to lose in the next day's contests.\n"We definitely want to go into the tournament in the top five," junior forward Carrie Smith said. "No matter what happens, we're going to fight and give our best effort."\nTonight's game with \nMinnesota will give IU the chance to exact revenge on the Golden Gophers. On Jan. 9, Minnesota defeated the Hoosiers 69-64. The loss dropped IU to 8-7 on the season.\nSince that loss, the Hoosiers have looked like a different team, going 7-3 in their last 10 games including a current three-game winning streak.\n"We've come together a lot since the last time we've played them," junior guard Leah Enterline said. "Hopefully, we can go in and play hard."\nBecause of her hard play over the weekend, Valentin received her second straight Big Ten Player of the Week award, sharing the honor with Ohio State guard Marscilla Packer. Valentin is the first Hoosier to receive the award in two \nconsecutive weeks.