Women start Hoosier Hysteria with a punch

With the lights turned down and music blaring, several figures in white robes and two with red boxing gloves emerged from the tunnel. 

These fighters were not your average boxers, but instead the coaching staff for the women’s basketball team.

“It’s kind of who we are right now,” said IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack. “I think it’s our time. We’re going after some things this year and in order to be a good defensive team, we have to knock some people out.”

    SLIDESHOW: Hoosier Hysteria

The scene set the tone in front of a crowd of more than 8,000 people for Friday night’s Hoosier Hysteria in Assembly Hall.

After team introductions, warm-ups and defensive drills, two of the team’s top 3-point shooters, sophomore Haylie Linn and junior Jamie Braun challenged the B97 morning crew from Alex’s Playhouse, Alex and Josh, to a 3-point competition.

The DJs didn’t stand a chance as Linn and Braun faced off in the final, with Braun being crowned the 3-point champion. 

The team’s four freshmen experienced Hoosier Hysteria as players for the first time. 

One of those freshmen, Lindsay Enterline, had experienced the event before, because her older sister Leah played for the Hoosiers from 2003-2007. Enterline, who has now watched and played at Hoosier Hysteria, said watching is the easier of the two.

“Watching is a lot easier, just because when you’re out there, the spotlight is on you and the adrenaline is going,” she said. “It’s much more exciting.”

Enterline added that she has watched many games, but now feels more a part of the team. 

“It’s totally different watching than playing, so it’s been a really good experience getting to know everybody,” she said. “They’re more like sisters now than just watching them.”

Enterline and the freshmen have been guided by the experience of the Hoosiers’ four seniors: Amber Jackson, Kim Roberson, Lydia Serfling and Whitney Thomas. 

Thomas, a Bloomington native who was recruited out of Bloomington High School North, received a large welcoming reception from the crowd. She said her last Hoosier Hysteria represented a special time for her. 

“It’s a great feeling,” she said. “We get to start our season, and we finally get to start playing basketball. It’s my last year, last time I get to do that, so it’s a great time.”

The women’s basketball team ended its portion of Hoosier Hysteria with a scrimmage, the first time in three years they have done so. In years past, they did not have enough players. 

The Hoosiers get their season underway with an exhibition game against Southern Indiana on Nov. 1. Legette-Jack said she hopes the Hoosier faithful will come out and support her team in what she thinks will be a special year.  

“It’s a different mindset with my young ladies this year,” she said. “They’re intense, they’re focused, they’re ready to go after something bigger than themselves. I’m really proud to be a part of what’s going to happen next.”