Indiana Statesman

January 13th, 2007

GAMETIME! 1-13-07 women’s b-ball v. Wichita State final

By Ben Corn on January 13th, 2007

ISU won 96-63.

Check back later for more. I will post it after the press conference. Hopefully, I don’t miss too much of the Colts game.

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January 13th, 2007

GAMETIME! 1-13-07 women’s b-ball v. Wichita State halftime

By Ben Corn on January 13th, 2007

The score is 47-27, with the Sycamores holding the commanding lead.

It is nice to see that the team is bouncing back like this after Thursday’s disappointment.

Not to toot my own horn, but I called that the Sycamores would jump out to a good start and they did, going up 7-0 in the first three minutes of the game.

Sophomore guard Annie Bankhead has been making a lot of plays for the Sycamores, she has seven points, six rebounds and four assists. She has been all over the place making hustle plays as well.

Freshman guard Kelsey Luna has set the pace for the Sycamores with 12 points. She has made three of her four three-point attempts. She also has three steals.

The defense for the Sycamores has been effective and has forced 15 turnovers. The Sycamores have committed 12 of their own, so they have to cut that down to put the team away, which was something senior center Rachel Maenpaa said the team needed to do a better job of after Thursday’s loss.

Come back after the game for he score,
Ben Corn

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January 13th, 2007

GAMETIME! 1-13-07 women’s b-ball v. Wichita State pre-game

By Ben Corn on January 13th, 2007

This is a very busy day in ISU sports today since there is women’s b-ball, men’s b-ball, women’s tennis and indoor track and field all at home today.

The Sycamores are coming off a 76-83 loss Thursday to Missouri State, so I expect them to come out ready to play and should start the game on a quick run. It always takes teams a little while to adjust to the full court press the Sycamores employ, so that allows them to jump out quickly. Also, the Sycamores will want to protect its home court after losing Thursday at home.

Another thing I expect to happen this game is for the Wichita State Shockers to try to shut down the perimeter shooters for ISU since Missouri State was able to win Thursday by doing that, so I expect another big day out of junior center Laura Rudolphi and senior center Rachel Maenpaa.

Wichita State is 6-8 overall and 1-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference and are coming off a 73-87 loss to Illinois State on Thursday.

I’ll be here all day to give you your Sycamore hoops fix,
Ben Corn

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January 12th, 2007

The eSpot and FYI Links

By admin on January 12th, 2007

The Statesman staff of highly-trained blogger monkeys have been hard at work filing away the top stories in the blogosphere. Here are their favorite links.

Timberlake and Diaz = Over. Really. We Mean It. Defamer.com

Tigger Attacks! (Sadly, not a typo) Local6.com

Apple is taking over the world coming out with a phone Cult of Mac

Beach it like Beckham? Deadspin.com

So, that’s what the highly-trained monkeys came up with. Did they miss anything? Leave your suggestions in the comments.

Managing Editor Jessica Dyer put a few suggestions of quality blogs on Friday’s FYI page and here are those links.

My Old Kentucky Blog

Pop Candy

The Fame-o-Meter

Fresh Thoughts

Journal @ moby.com

Anything she’s left out? Any suggestions for what the Statesman staff should be reading? Just like you did for the monkeys, leave them in the comments or e-mail us at saseditr@isugw.indstate.edu

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January 11th, 2007

GAMETIME! 1-12-07 women’s b-ball v. Missouri State final

By Ben Corn on January 11th, 2007

The Sycamores lost 76-83. For more on the game, check out the Indiana Statesman tomorrow morning or www.indianastatesman.com

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January 11th, 2007

GAMETIME! 1-12-07 women’s b-ball v. Missouri State halftime

By Ben Corn on January 11th, 2007

Despite the last points of the half for the Sycamores being scored by with 4:03 left in the game, the Sycamores are up 40-37.

The most memorable and impressive thing of the game, though, was a half-court shot banked in by Mike (I’ll see if I can get that last name later) during a timeout with 7:13 left to play in the half. For the shot, he won a year’s supply of Pepsi. The place erupted after that.

Back to the game, the Sycamores should be up by more than this, but Missouri State freshman guard Roxy Stiles will not let the Bears get down by much. She has scored 16 points and is 4-5 from behind the three-point arc. It seems her shots always spark a run by the Bears.

The Sycamores have been playing excellent defense, they have shut down the Bears’ threats in the paint and are outscoring Missouri State 17-14 in the paint. The starting forward and center for the Bears have a combined zero points. The defense in the paint is the reason Stiles has had so many good lucks from deep.

Off turnovers, ISU is outscoring Missouri State 20-5.

Check back for the final score after the game is over,
Ben Corn

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January 11th, 2007

GAMETIME! 1-12-07 women’s b-ball v. Missouri State pregame

By Ben Corn on January 11th, 2007

It seems like a while since I’ve covered a women’s game. That probably is because it has; I have not covered one since before winter break.

Missouri State is struggling this year, especially in the Missouri Valley Conference. The team’s record is 9-6 overall and 0-3 in the conference.

The players to look out for from the Bears are junior forward Tiff Terwelp, who averages 13.1 points per game and 11.2 rebounds per game, and junior guard Tahnee Balerio, who averages 18.8 points per game.

Then again, ISU isn’t exactly coming off recent success. The Sycamores have lost their last two games, both on the road. They lost in overtime to Evansville on Jan. 4 and to Southern Illinois on Jan. 6.

ISU of recent has gotten good play out of senior center Rachel Maenpaa and junior center Laura Rudolphi. If those two get going and the shooting from the perimeter that has been lacking of late returns, then this team will be extremely potent.

The defense has not been very good of late either. The sycamores gave up 86 points to Southern Illinois and gave up 98 to Evansville with the extra period. Granted, they had to play more than normal, but that is a high total, all the same

Indiana State is 5-0 at home, so let’s hope the Hulman Center is once again kind to the Sycamores.

There will be more at halftime,
Ben Corn

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January 10th, 2007

GAMETIME! 1-10-07 ISU v. Wichita St. Final

By Ben Corn on January 10th, 2007

Junior guard Gabe Moore did what he does best in ISU’s 68-63 victory over Wichita State Wednesday — played good defense and drained key free throws when the outcome of the game was still in question.

ISU head coach Royce Waltman hit it right on the nail when he said Moore’s leadership was outstanding.

I was very impressed with the overall play of the Sycamores. When they hit a tough stretch during the game, they regrouped and drained key shots and made some stellar defensive stops when the situation called for it. Every player filled his role the way he should have.

This year’s team is looking much better than last year’s. I covered the men’s team all last season and they seemed to rely on just one player — David Moss. This year, it seems to be much more of a team effort between the players.

When the Shockers pounded the ball in the paint in the first half, ISU had no answer on defense. ISU’s second half defense was much improved, but the Shockers displayed great effort in keeping the game close. The Shockers still ended up dominating the paint, outscoring ISU 44-14.

There’s no question that the Sycamores are a shooting team. Thirty-three of the Sycamores’ 68 points came from three-point land. Even big men Jay Tunnell, Trent Wurtz, and Adam Arnold, who all get rare opportunities to shoot from beyond the arc combined to go 4-6. It’s a bit surprising when you look at the box score and see that the Sycamores hit 48 percent from three-point range and just 46 percent overall shooting. Nevertheless, a win is a win.

The only thing that bothers me about the team is its lack of an inside game. I think coach Waltman needs to try to install an offensive attack in the paint. The Missouri Valley is one of the toughest conferences in college basketball, and while ISU is very competitive, the outside shots aren’t always going to fall.

Freshman guard Marico Stinson really impressed me. As a freshman, it would be easy for him to lose some confidence after playing just nine minutes in the first half while recording zero points. Stinson recorded ISU’s first five points of the second half to jump start the Sycamores offensive attack.

ISU was impressive from the field in the second half, hitting 52 percent of its shots. After a cold shooting spell to end the first half, the Sycamores displayed much better shot selection in the second half.

I was also very impressed with the crowd. I’m sure the half-price tickets helped bring some fans to Hulman Center, but it was the students who really had the greatest impact in giving the Sycamores a home-court advantage. Waltman estimated there were over 1,000 students in attendance.

Rebounding was a problem for the Sycamores, as they allowed Wichita State to grab 16 offensive rebounds. Fortunately, WSU only converted those into 10 second-chance points.

On a lighter note, I despise Wichita State’s warm-ups. They look like children’s pajamas.

Well, that’s all for now.
- Matt Douthett

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January 10th, 2007

GAMETIME! 1-10-07 ISU v. Wichita St. Halftime

By Ben Corn on January 10th, 2007

The score at the half is 33-30 in favor of Indiana State.

At the beginning of the game, ISU and Wichita State traded baskets.

Then, ISU went on a 14-6 run to go out to a 19-12 lead, which got the larger-than-usual crowd on its feet. In the run, the Sycamores made all of their three-point attempts. Cole Holmstrom, who was awarded at the beginning of the game for being the 2006 Indiana Mr. Basketball, led the run with six points on two three-pointers.

Then, the Shockers started going into the paint and the Sycamores were helpless to stop the attack. The Shockers outscored ISU 18-2 in the paint.

The Sycamores ended the half by missing nine of their last 10 shots. If it weren’t for two back-to-back steals by junior guard Gabe Moore, Wichita State would probably be ahead.

Something that troubles me is that freshman guard Marico Stinson started the game, but has not come back in after playing nine minutes. He was 0-4, so that was probably the reason. I hope that is it and he did not suffer any kind of injury.

Holmstrom leads the Sycamores in scoring with 13 and sophomore center Jay Tunnell has put in 10.

There will be more after the game.

-Ben Corn

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January 10th, 2007

GAMETIME! 1-10-07 ISU v. Wichita St.

By Ben Corn on January 10th, 2007

Welcome,
This is the first live sports blog at the Indiana Statesman. I will be posting pre-game, halftime and post-game reports from most ISU basketball games for the remainder of the season.

Well, hopefully there is a sizeable crowd tonight after all the efforts by the media relations department by selling tickets for half price, by the Statesman for insisting upon people coming and all the work the people at the Tribune-Star did to boost attendance.

This is an interesting match up. On one hand, Wichita State (10-5) is struggling and has not done well in conference play. On the other hand, they are desperate for a good performance tonight.

As head coach Royce Waltman told me, they are a very competitive team, so he does not expect them to roll over and play dead, and neither do I.

I think home court is a big advantage this game, Wichita State lost its last game on the road against Southern Illinois. Also, Missouri Valley teams are very tough at home, especially the Sycamores, who are 8-0 at home.

The front court for the Shockers will be the key for a road win, but if the ISU big men can impose their will in the paint, it should come out as a victory for the Sycamores.

Wichita State started the season 9-0 with wins over George Mason, LSU and Syracuse on the road. The team got as high as No. 8 in the AP Poll. It all started going wrong when the Shockers lost to New Mexico on Dec. 22 by a score of 71-68.

These are two teams that are at different ends of the Valley right now. The Sycamores are on a five-game winning streak and are tied for second in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with Southern Illinois. Wichita State is currently eighth in the conference with an MVC record of 1-3.

See you at halftime,
Ben Corn

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