Big Sash’s injury creates big hole for women’s basketball

Freshman forward Sasha Chaplin has been riding the stationary bike for a while now.
A white towel draped around her shoulders, she grimaces in pain as she pedals.

Her left leg, covered in a gray medical boot up to her knee, pushes down. She winces.

That wince tells the story of the women’s basketball team’s pains since Chaplin injured her left foot during a period IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said was critical to the Hoosiers’ conference success.

“You have to find a way to be successful early,” Legette-Jack said. “It’s very difficult late in the season to try to make leeway.”

After a women’s National Invitational Tournament appearance last season that culminated in a quarterfinal loss to Illinois State and a 21-win campaign, IU is facing pressure to perform and make it to the big stage in the NCAAs this year, or at least place itself in a position to do so once again.

Every game counts. Every possession counts. And that’s why Chaplin’s injury spells trouble for the Hoosiers.

A six-foot-three-inch forward, Chaplin leads IU in rebounding, field goal percentage and blocks, along with her average of nearly 10 points per game.

It will be difficult for any Hoosier to fill the shoes of the tallest member of this squad – something that has fallen to sophomore forward Danilsa Andujar. Chaplin has offered her encouragement to Andujar. As a roommate, player and friend, Andujar is thankful for the help.

“She talks to me at home about what I’ve done,” she said. “In practice, she keeps my head on when I make mistakes ... She helps me out a lot. I really appreciate the help she’s given me.”

Big Sash, as her teammates call her, is more than just an on-the-court presence, however. She is a vocal leader and a mentor to many members of the team, including junior forward Hope Elam. Chaplin is Elam’s “Hoosier Sister,” a program set up to guide new members of the team.

“After our tough loss on Sunday against Penn State, she and I had a talk about how I need to step up, how the other players need to step up, since she’s missing,” Elam, a junior college transfer, said. “She’s basically just motivated us to get better.”

As she slides off the bike, finding it hard to balance, it is clear Chaplin will probably not be playing for at least the next few games, including Thursday’s matchup against Michigan and a critical contest against No. 5 Ohio State on Sunday. She takes some sips from a green plastic Gatorade bottle and heads down the court to shoot free throws.

At first, she seems tentative. That might be because she has known this feeling before, having redshirted after a season-ending injury last year.
She misses the first foul shot, but cannot chase after the ball. She stands and waits as a manager runs it down for her. He passes it to her. She shoots again.
And so it goes. It’s about all she can do during practice – shoot free throws, ride the bike and watch her teammates try to play without her. And, of course, she can show her support.

It comes time for Chaplin’s “Hoosier Sister” to shoot in front of the team, taking 3-pointers as the group cheers her on. Chaplin cracks a smile, begins to clap and chuckles as she watches her friend and sister drain shot after shot, basket after basket.

Maybe it isn’t so bad after all. The team, it seems, is in good hands.

Junior captain Jori Davis said every team member has stepped up to fill her shoes.

“You can’t really worry about that,” she said of Chaplin’s injury. “You just have to keep playing and keep working hard as a team and hope that she gets back sooner or later to help us out in the Big Ten conference.”

As her teammates run the floor in the final minutes of practice, Chaplin takes to the side court to shoot more free throws. The ball spins slowly, making a low arc toward the net.

As her teammates hurtle down the main court of Assembly Hall, yelling out plays and shouting to other players, you can hear the quiet tickling of the twine as her foul shots fall.

Again, she misses. She tries to chase it down, but stops. She smiles. Not quite yet.
But she knows it will be OK. She might be Big Sash, but each of her teammates is just as big in heart and desire to win.

That, it seems, will propel these Hoosiers through the conference season – with or without the long arms and legs of their premier forward.

And for Chaplin, that’s nothing to wince about.