Young Hoosiers take to the road

The IU women’s basketball team is traveling to Ann Arbor, Mich., on Sunday to take on the Wolverines at the Crisler Center. The battle is set to begin at 2 p.m.

This will be the first of three road trips for the Hoosiers in their next four matchups before playing at home four times in their final six games.

An overall record of 5-14 and conference record of 0-6 puts the Hoosiers at the bottom of the Big Ten, but they said they hope to overcome early season woes and start climbing up the conference ladder with some wins.

“We just want to get a win,” IU Coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “We’re practicing hard. We’ve got focused players. We’re passionate about what we’re trying to do, and we want to see that success come our way as well.”

Michigan currently sits in the middle of the Big Ten with a 4-2 conference record. They are 15-4 overall.

Although the Wolverines have not been ranked in the top 25 all year, they have received votes for the rankings in at least one of the polls for nine straight weeks.

IU will focus most of its defensive attention on Michigan’s senior guard Courtney Boylan. She leads the team with 13.1 points per game while shooting 48.4 percent from the floor and 82.5 percent from the free throw line. She also won the Big Ten Player of the Week award after week one of this season.

“We know that somebody of her caliber is going to get hers, if you will,” Legette-Jack said. “Our hope is to contain her but also try to stop the other four.”

IU’s leading scorer so far this year is junior guard Jasmine McGhee. She is also scoring 13.1 points per contest but at a lower shooting rate: 35.7 percent from the floor and 67.2 percent from the charity stripe.

With such a young and inexperienced team, the Hoosiers are still looking for a consistent lineup to use for the remainder of the season. Because of injuries and inconsistent play, IU has now used nine different starting lineups. Their most frequently employed one has only been used four times.

“We’re a young team. You don’t know what to expect,” Legette-Jack said.
Sunday’s lineup will consist of Aulani Sinclair, Jasmine McGhee, Andrea Newbauer, Sasha Chaplain and Danilsa Andujar, Legette-Jack said.

“We think that’s a pretty good lineup — a lot more seasoned lineup — although Jasmine hasn’t been here getting a lot of playing time,” she said, “and Sasha obviously didn’t play at all last year, but that’s a more veteran group for us.”

“We’re going to do what we do. I’m going to play my kids,” she said. “They’re going to play theirs. We’re not changing our lineups because of anything the other team brings us. We’re changing our lineups to see what works
for us.”

Although her young team is going through growing pains, Legette-Jack let it be known they aren’t backing down from any challenge that might present itself.

“We’re going to respect everybody, and we’re going to fear no one.”