IU womens basketball opens season with exhibition win

The IU women’s basketball team began the first exhibition game of the new season on a 17-0 run and never looked back, defeating the Hoosier Lady Stars 77-49 Saturday night at Assembly Hall. The visitors didn’t score until five minutes into the game. \nLeading the way for the Hoosiers was sophomore guard Jamie Braun with 17 points and three assists. The Hoosier Lady Stars, a traveling team made up of former college players, were led by Kia Hayes, formerly of IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, who scored 16 points on 5-13 shooting.\nThe Hoosiers deployed a three-guard lineup to begin the game, with senior Nikki Smith, junior Kim Roberson and Braun at the guard spots. Juniors Whitney Thomas and Amber Jackson started at the two forward positions. \nIU sprang to an early lead off seven quick points from Smith, who finished the game with 13. Smith took a hard fall on a charging call late in the game and did not return, but didn’t seem worried after the game. \n“You have to go full tilt the whole entire time and (you get) just the little bumps and bruises here and there,” Smith said. \nThe exhibition was also a debut for eight Hoosiers, including six freshmen and junior walk-on Lydia Serfling. All eight – Amber Jackson transferred from San Jose State – saw playing time during the game, and Smith said she liked what she saw, especially from the freshmen. \n“I thought they handled themselves really well for this being their first game,” Smith said. “They’ve been ready since June.”\nIU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said she was happy with her freshmen class’ performance, joking that they aren’t afraid to shoot the ball. \n“I think one time, one of the freshmen was taking the ball out of bounds and looking at the rim to see if she can shoot it,” she said. \nLegette-Jack said she saw some things she liked out of her young squad. \n“I thought our kids played youthful,” Legette-Jack said. “And what I mean by that I think they played just free. And if we can keep them continuing to play free throughout the season, we’re going to have an exciting team to watch.”\nThe Hoosier Lady Stars certainly didn’t leave IU guessing – they lived from behind the 3-point line all night. The visitors shot 36 3-pointers for the game, making 12. Every point the Lady Stars scored in the first half came from behind the arc, as they shot 8-20 from 3-point range. They cooled in the second half, however, shooting only 4-16. \nPlay got sloppy at times for the Hoosiers, but two key runs – the first to open the game and then a 13-0 run late in the second half – iced the contest after the Lady Stars pulled within 14 at the 7:38 mark. \nBraun said she felt comfortable settling into her role as point guard, and her play suggested as much. She attacked the basket numerous times in the first half, and ended the game 6-9 from the field, including 2-4 from beyond the arc. \n“I thought things went pretty smooth for the first game,” Braun said. \nFreshman guard Jori Davis, who finished with eight points and seven rebounds, called her first collegiate game “exciting.” She said the time the freshman class spent in Bloomington over the summer prepared them well for Saturday.\n“This is what we came here for,” Davis said. “This is Division I basketball. It’s what we came to play, and we love the game.”