Hoosiers look to extend winning streak to 6 games

After beating IU-Purdue Fort Wayne on Monday, the IU women’s basketball team faced a short turnaround with one day of preparation for its game against Clemson at 7 p.m. today.

The Hoosiers (5-1) look for their sixth straight win and hope to match the 2006-07 team, which started 6-1 through seven games.

IU will also look to stay undefeated at home (3-0) as it welcomes the Tigers (0-5) to Assembly Hall for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in the third of a five-game home stand.

“It’s awesome,” senior forward Aulani Sinclair said. “I love seeing all of our fans after the game. Just having that home atmosphere — we just have to protect home court. I wouldn’t ask for anywhere else to play besides Assembly Hall.”

While IU has rolled through lesser competition in recent games, it now faces a tougher test from a Division I power conference team.

“Despite Clemson’s record, these are the athletes,” IU Coach Curt Miller said. “These are the recruited, nationally ranked kids in the recruiting services that you play against night in and night out in the Big Ten. Despite their youth, this is going to be the first test against a Big Ten-looking team.”

Miller said Clemon’s Achilles heel is its youth. So far, it’s been a pair of freshmen
leading the way for the Tigers.

Danaejah Grant, a 5-foot-10-inch wing, leads the Tigers in scoring with 14 points per game and 34.7 percent shooting. She is complemented by 6-foot-3-inch Jonquel Jones, who averages a team-high nine rebounds to go along with 7.8 points per game.

“For us, it’s a huge challenge because we’re playing against length we haven’t played against,” Miller said. “We’re playing against athleticism. They’re going to be the best penetrating team we’ve played so far. We certainly have our work cut out.

“But those freshmen are still freshmen in their first month on the job. They’re starting a lot of young kids.”

Clemson struggles to shoot as a team, posting a 32.4 percent mark from the field and 17.2 percent from beyond the arc.

Miller figures to stick with the same starting lineup he has used the last four games, which features less size in the post. Miller said 6-foot-3-inch senior forward Linda Rubene and 6-foot junior forward Milika Taufa have worked well together and given him the energy he wants right out of the gate.

“Me and Linda, since we’re roommates, we got a lot of connection,” Taufa said. “She knows where I am on the floor, so I know if I pass it in, I know she’s drifting down, so I pass to her. We just work hard.”

Against IPFW, Miller went only 10 players deep to counter the Mastodons’
unconventional four-guard system.

Post players senior Sasha Chaplin, who played 12 minutes; sophomore Quaneisha McCurty, who played two; and junior Simone Deloach, who played one, all saw limited action against the 3-point-happy Mastodons.

But Miller said all three must be ready to go against the Tigers.

“It’s always hard for 18- to 22-year-olds to have their roles changed, and how they handle that ultimately will be a story in the Clemson game,” he said. “If they’re still disappointed about IPFW and haven’t put it behind them, then they won’t be ready to contribute when we need them against Clemson. That’s where you hope the team learns that it’s bigger than them.

“Some nights coaches don’t call your number, and the next night they do, and you always have to be ready.”