Hoosiers looks to improve on last year’s record

The IU women’s basketball team will have to overcome losing four players to graduation and a strong non-conference schedule to match its 21 wins from last season.

Despite the tough task, IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack is confident the team can do as well as last year if it doesn’t think too far into the future.

“We are going to take it one game at a time,” Legette-Jack said. “We are going to stay present in our progression, and we are not going to look beyond who we are, and I think we are ready to go.”   

The season begins Friday against the Tigers in Memphis, Tenn.

IU junior guard Whitney Lindsay said she thinks this game could be the key to the Hoosiers’ season.

“I am looking forward to playing there,” Lindsay said. “I think if we can get that game on the road, that will really put an emphasis on winning away games.”

After that, IU opens up a three-game home stand against in-state rival IU-Purdue University Indianapolis on Sunday.

The Hoosiers will then go on an exotic trip for the holidays as they head to the Bahamas for the Junkanoo Jam to face No. 14 Virginia on Thanksgiving Day. The second match of the two-day tournament will feature a game against either the Charlotte 49ers or the South Dakota State Jackrabbits the following day.

The team will then return to Bloomington on Dec. 3 to face the defending regular-season ACC Co-Champions and preseason No. 15 Florida State Seminoles in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at Assembly Hall.

IU closes out December with four more games before heading into consistent Big Ten play.

IU sophomore forward Sasha Chaplin said the preseason schedule in general should be a good test for the Hoosiers.

“Non-conference is tough,” Chaplin said. “We are working hard to get everything right and going hard every day, though.”

IU will dive head-first into the fire as it faces No. 10 Michigan State in the first Big Ten game on Dec. 6 in a match that will be sandwiched between several non-conference games.

The Hoosiers return to Big Ten play on New Year’s Eve with their one and only matchup of the regular season against rival Purdue  in West Lafayette.

Four days later, on Jan. 3, IU will face the Spartans once again at home.

Michigan State returns their top six scorers from last year’s 13-5 in-conference team, which finished as the No. 2 team during the Big Ten regular season.

Other notable conference matchups include Jan. 17 and 31 games against defending champion No. 3 Ohio State as well as a Feb. 28 senior day matchup against the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Legette-Jack said the Big Ten is always challenging, with many great teams at the top of the conference.

“We have two teams in the top-11,” she said. “Also, Minnesota is really good, and Purdue is always great, and Iowa is never a team you can take for granted.”