News From Terre Haute, Indiana

College

April 14, 2007

Given to Fly: Near end of her senior year, Maenpaa a big reason for ISU’s play

TERRE HAUTE — The mutual respect between Coach Jim Wiedie and his only senior women’s basketball player was what gleamed through more than any of the bright basketball plays made by the Sycamores on Sunday in Hulman Center.

Following ISU’s 86-50 trouncing of Bradley, Wiedie, Rachel Maenpaa and four-year manager Ashley Layman spoke to the crowd of 4,265 fans in Hulman Center. Maenpaa had 11 points and eight rebounds, while junior Laura Rudolphi led four players in double figures with 19 points and eight rebounds.

Maenpaa thanked Wiedie for yelling at her and pushing her to her potential. Wiedie acknowledged that he’s been pretty tough on her.

“I get on Ra and yell at her a lot,” Wiedie said. “The thing is she never loses eye contact. The kid will look you dead in the eye.”

Wiedie and Maenpaa’s relationship didn’t get off to the greatest of starts back when the ISU coach began recruiting her. Wiedie said he shared e-mails with Tom Maenpaa, Rachel’s father, and thought things were going well.

Then he went to make the first phone call to Rachel.

“She said ‘coach I’ve narrowed my list and you’re not on it,’” Wiedie recalled. And that was that. The following summer, Wiedie got a call from Tom Maenpaa asking if they could get back into the mix.

“That’s one of the best calls I’ve ever received,” Wiedie said.

Maenpaa knew she was going to play Division I basketball in the sixth grade, her father said Sunday. He remembered a note Rachel brought home from a University of Wisconsin camp from the coach at Western Illinois that read “Rachel possesses the ability, the talent and determination to play Division I ball.”

Tom Maenpaa coached his daughter from fourth grade up until her freshman year. Then Rachel became a varsity starter at Lakeside Lutheran in Watertown, Wis. She led Lutheran to a state title her sophomore year, scoring 22 points and grabbing 15 rebounds in the state championship game.

Maenpaa’s confidence was sky high as she was offered scholarships to a number of schools. She wanted to play for the Wisconsin Badgers, but she wasn’t a priority for their coaching staff.

In a story naming her the Wisconsin State Journal Player of the Year, Maenpaa said “I’ve been calling myself ‘The Quiet Storm’ lately,” she said. “I’ve gotten a lot of exposure in the state of Wisconsin so far but at the national level I haven’t really blown up yet.”

Maenpaa hasn’t really blown up on the national women’s basketball scene this year — as Wiedie said she’s had an all-conference type of season — but if she’s able to play six more games she just might have that chance.

Six more games played will make Maenpaa the program’s all-time leader in games played, passing Melanie Boeglin. The sixth game would mean ISU is in postseason action, possibly even that elusive NCAA Tournament.

Maenpaa had a 23-point performance at No. 12 Vanderbilt earlier this season, and she ranks third in the Missouri Valley Conference in rebounding in conference games only.

But she’s had her share of struggles during this senior campaign.

At one point, Maenpaa said she was having string of bad practices that was starting to bother her and definitely bothering the coaching staff.

First-year assistant coach Nicole Motto offered some advice that touched home with Maenpaa.

“She told me my goal should be to love basketball more than I did as a kid by the end of my senior year,” Maenpaa said.

Motto, who just finished a successful playing career at Miami of Ohio, said she had a feeling the pressure of being the only senior was starting to wear Maenpaa down.

“As a senior you have the weight of the world on your shoulders,” said Motto, also referencing the fact that this year’s team was following up the most successful senior class in the program’s history.

“As a college athlete, you always go through your ups and downs,” Motto said. “You have to go back to those times as a kid, playing in the back yard or whatever.”

Maenpaa has bounced back after disappearing when ISU squeaked out a five-point win against first-place Southern Illinois with Maenpaa scoring just three points. Two nights later, the senior had four points and ISU lost to Evansville, drawing some criticism from Wiedie.

Since then, Maenpaa has scored 24, 18, 22 12, and 11 points.

Maenpaa’s biggest Achilles heel to her career has been getting into foul trouble. “She might hold the school record in fouls,” Wiedie bantered.

Maenpaa has seemed to cure that problem this season. Well, at least since the New Year. She hasn’t fouled out at all in 2007 after doing so three times during the first half of the season.

This Indiana State team is playing as well as anyone in the league and could head into the MVC Tournament in two weeks as the favorite.

Wiedie’s young team has got to that point by maturing as the season has progressed.

All the people Maenpaa has had support from — to Wiedie, associate head coach Megan Lanham, Motto, Ernie Thompson and her teammates — have made her the woman she is today, Maenpaa said. She added that she’ll be prepared for whatever life throws her way because of all those people.

Right now, that’s the leader of a pretty darn good basketball team.

“Confident and relaxed, right now that’s Rachel Maenpaa,” Lanham said. “She’s been using her strengths and playing more settled down.”

ISU has become a team that takes a lot of pride in its defense and its vast amount of options on offense.

Maenpaa credited all the different personalities on this year’s team for making it such a fun team. Maenpaa’s personality is larger-than-life.

“She’s the type of person that can make such a difference,” point guard Angela Phillips said. “She just loves everyone and makes everyone feel so important.”

Her counterpart in the post Rudolphi added: “Over the course of the year, she’s just been letting her game come to her. She’s really taken over a leadership role. We’ve had a great friendship ever since I came here. Her being a year older, I look up to her a lot. She’s really taught me a lot about the value of hard work.”

Maenpaa’s dad saw some of the same determination in Maenpaa as a fourth grader outside the house shooting and then making herself run line drills if she missed.

“Rachel’s a very determined, confident young lady,” her dad said. “As she said today in her speech, all the people who have touched her have helped build that confidence to another level.”

A confident Maenpaa means a confident, tough-to-beat ISU women’s team.



Layman to stay at ISU — ISU manager Ashley Layman spent four years as the manager for the Sycamores.The Terre Haute South graduate will finish her bachelor’s degree in May, and she plans to begin work in the summer on her Masters in Business Administration.

Layman was the manager for three years for coach Alan Maroska at Terre Haute South after playing junior varsity and freshman ball for one year.

Stiles Award delivered — The first Jackie Stiles Most Valuable Player Award that was earned by Melanie Boeglin was turned over to her parents Dave and Joyce Boeglin at halftime of Sunday’s game. Melanie Boeglin is finishing up her first season of professional basketball in Sweden.



Craig Pearson can be reached by email at craig.pearson@tribstar.com or by phone after 4 p.m. at (812) 231-4356.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
College
  • MVC’s worst a tantalizing option for ISU

    Even though the Indiana State men’s basketball team has played better of late, having won three of its last four games, there’s only one team with a worse record in the Missouri Valley Conference standings than the Sycamores.

    February 8, 2012

  • Sycamores can’t stop Stutz, Shockers

    All or nothing. It was that kind of game for Wichita State center Garrett Stutz. Unfortunately for Indiana State’s men’s basketball team, the “all” came in the second half.

    February 5, 2012

  • McWhorter’s fortunes rise with ISU’s

    More so than any other Sycamore, Steve McWhorter might embody the decline and the recent rise of the Indiana State men’s basketball team.

    February 4, 2012

  • Johnson dominates again for ISU track

    Felisha Johnson continued to dominate women’s weight throw while two Indiana State hurdlers moved into today’s finals after solid performances in the preliminaries Friday at the Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame.

    February 4, 2012

  • Indiana State women lose at Illinois State

    Playing short-handed again, Indiana State’s women suffered their sixth straight Missouri Valley Conference basketball loss Friday night, falling 78-67 to host Illinois State.

    February 4, 2012

  • Indiana, Purdue meet with both looking to regain momentum

    Indiana University’s stint in the Top 25 may be coming to an end. Purdue is just looking for a winning streak.

    February 4, 2012

  • SPT 102111 FRANKLIN DEFENS.jpg ISU women looking to end five-game losing streak at Illinois State

    Within a few points in the final minutes, Indiana State had chances to win women’s basketball games at Missouri State and Wichita State last weekend.
    But the Sycamores lost for the fourth and fifth straight games, also losing freshman Jessica Valley for the season at Wichita State. The promising backcourt player tore the ACL in her right knee and began strengthening exercises this week in order to make plans for surgery.

    February 3, 2012 1 Photo

  • ISU Senior Day game to be televised on ESPN

    The Missouri Valley Conference announced Thursday that Indiana State’s regular season finale against No. 12-ranked Creighton on Feb. 25 in Hulman Center has been chosen as the MVC’s “wild card” game that will be telecast on either ESPN or ESPN2.

    February 3, 2012

  • Hoosiers load up on in-state players

    With a 1-11 record in his first season as IU football coach, Kevin Wilson knew there were a lot of holes to fill in terms of personnel.

    February 2, 2012

  • Wabash Valley verbal commitments

    February 2, 2012

  • It’s on: Sycamores, Bulldogs to play at Hinkle on Feb. 18

    How badly did Indiana State want to get Butler as its BracketBusters opponent?
     

    January 31, 2012

  • METRO ROUNDUP: Four from Rose receive weekly honors

    Four Rose-Hulman athletes earned Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference weekly honors, the HCAC announced Monday.
     

    January 31, 2012

  • Hoosiers reclaim needed offensive momentum

    Indiana hadn’t allowed an opponent to shoot better than 40 percent in three straight games heading into Sunday’s home game against Iowa.

    January 30, 2012

  • Sycamores will have to match Aces’ toughness

    Indiana State men’s basketball coach Greg Lansing has an enduring respect for the toughness Evansville coach Marty Simmons coaxes out of his Purple Aces.

    January 29, 2012

  • WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Rose, The Woods post weekend victories

    Rose-Hulman relied on a balanced scoring attack and a strong defensive effort to earn a 55-44 women’s basketball victory Saturday over Mount St. Joseph.

    January 29, 2012

  • ISU's Stacia Weatherford sets school record in 60-meter hurdles

    Indiana State junior Stacia Weatherford set the school record in the women’s 60-meter hurdles, while sophomore Greggmar Swift dominated the action in the men’s 60 hurdles during competition Saturday at the Indiana Relays.

    January 29, 2012

  • Rose takes first in Engineer Track and Field Invitational

    Rose-Hulman relied on nine event victories, 13 top-two finishes and three school records for a strong performance at the ninth annual Engineer Track and Field Invitational on Saturday.
    The men’s squad captured first place honors in a meet that featured two of the nation's top 20 NCAA Division III squads and 12 institutions from seven states.  The day’s competition also included 10 meet records.

    January 29, 2012

  • Mattox’s 31 not enough for ISU women

    Indiana State pulled within 63-57 with a 6-0 run with 8 minutes, 50 seconds remaining Friday night at JQH Arena, but the Sycamores lost 84-70 to host Missouri State in a Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball game.

    January 27, 2012

  • SPT 120611 MATTOX PLEA.jpg Mattox, Sycamores staying positive on road trip to Missouri State, Wichita State

    Indiana State seniors Brittany Schoen and Deja Mattox are within striking distance of passing 1,000 points in their women’s basketball careers, and they would join classmate Shannon Thomas in that club. Schoen needs just 16 points, while Mattox is 89 points away.
    But Mattox has been on a roll of late, scoring a team-high 15.1 points through ISU’s 4-3 start to Missouri Valley Conference play.

    January 27, 2012 4 Photos

  • IU triumphs

    When Indiana’s Will Sheehey left the floor after receiving his second technical foul, the Hoosier fans cheered.

    January 23, 2012

  • ISU women nipped at buzzer

    Creighton sophomore Carli Tritz — blanketed by Indiana State senior Brittany Schoen — had just two points at halftime Friday in Hulman Center.

    January 21, 2012

  • ISU needs to find chip on its shoulder

    When one looks back at the totality of Indiana State’s 2010-11 men’s basketball season, there’s a recurrent theme that tied together the high points in a 20-14 campaign. A recurrent theme that might give ISU a lifeline in what has been a disappointing 2012 season.

    January 21, 2012

  • ISU women look to reverse recent trend vs. Creighton

    The Creighton women’s basketball team has won three of their last four games in Hulman Center.  While the Bluejays have been one of the winningest programs in the Missouri Valley Conference — with at least 12 league wins in seven of the last nine seasons — the Bluejays’ success in Terre Haute would need to end if the Sycamores want to show that their 4-1 start to league play is not a fluke.

    January 20, 2012

  • SPT 011212 ZELLER BLOCK.jpg Hoosiers, Buckeyes meet after suffering upsets

    Ohio State standout Jared Sullinger blames himself for the fifth-ranked Buckeyes’ most recent loss.
    “There were times in the Illinois game where I just kind of took a break on the defensive end instead of the offensive end and it cost us,” Sullinger said, referring to a 79-74 setback on Tuesday.

    January 15, 2012 4 Photos

  • Rose drops pair to Transylvania

    Transylvania withstood a second half charge by Rose-Hulman to earn a 60-46 men’s basketball victory in a battle of Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference co-leaders Saturday.

    January 15, 2012

  • Bradley shoots down ISU women

    The Indiana State women’s basketball team ran into a hot-shooting Bradley team on Saturday afternoon, as the Sycamores dropped a road contest 79-58 inside the Renaissance Coliseum.

    January 15, 2012

  • Defense fails ISU again in loss at Southern Illinois

    Defense wins championships. So what does lack of defense do?

    January 14, 2012

  • SPT010612ISUWBBthomas2.jpg ISU women pick up big road win against defending champion Northern Iowa

    Brittany Schoen hit a 3-pointer to begin the second half that put Indiana State ahead 36-25. The senior’s shot and ISU’s stingy defense helped the Sycamores pull ahead by as many as 16 in the second half on the way to a 68-62 triumph at Northern Iowa.
    Indiana State moved into a tie for first place with a 4-0 record.

    January 13, 2012 1 Photo

  • Grueling stretch of MVC schedule continues at SIU

    It’s a stretch of the Missouri Valley Conference schedule Allen Iverson would love.
    Indiana State’s men’s basketball team travels to Southern Illinois tonight for a rare Friday night game. It is the second of three games ISU — and the rest of the MVC teams — will play in a six-day span.
    Included is a Friday-Sunday swing for each league school. All teams will play one home and one road game in those three days.

    January 13, 2012

  • IU suffers first loss this season in Assembly Hall

    So much for Indiana’s perfect record at Assembly Hall.
    Minnesota held off a late rally by the seventh-ranked Hoosiers to win 77-74 on Thursday night, the Golden Gophers’ first win in the Big Ten this season and the first time since 1985 that Minnesota defeated a ranked college basketball team on the road.

    January 13, 2012

Latest News
Multimedia

Like us on Facebook!
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
TribStar.com Poll
Join the Conversation
Helium
Front page
AP Video
Former Komen Exec Defends Funding Cut Worker Tells 911: Powell 'exploded the House' Triple Win: Santorum Takes Minn., Mo., Colo. Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix No Rape Charges Against Son of NYPD Commissioner Injured Marine Inspired by Homecoming Jury Selection for Ex-UVa Athlete Enters 2nd Day Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional Romney Congratulates Santorum, Focuses on Obama Eastwood in Super Bowl Ad 'Compassionate' Greek Leaders Seek Deal As Bankruptcy Looms Raw Video: Giants Celebrate Another Super Bowl Cab Driver Helps Wis. Family Escape House Fire Egypt's Ruling Generals Play Risky Game With US And the Winner for Best Super Bowl Ad Is... Bernanke: Recovery Depends on Consumer Spending Stranded Fishermen Rescued From Bay of Green Bay Paul Says Results Help Him Rack Up Delegates Foreclosures Down 34 Percent in 2011 Eastwood in Super Bowl Ad 'Compassionate'
NDN Video
The NY Giants Defend Gisele Mo. Teen Gets Life Sentence for Killing Girl, 9 Beyonce Is Sexy in Sequins Helmet Camera Captures Calif. Fire Rescue Model's Shocking 20-Inch Waist Triple Win: Santorum Takes Minn., Mo., Colo. Better than Tebowing, it's Bradying - 2/7 Maria Menounos in Giants Bikini After Losing Bet Zip-Lining Man Slams Into Tree TLC's 'Strangest Addictions Yet'? Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water Snooki Admits She's Bisexual No Rape Charges Against Son of NYPD Commissioner Katharine McPhee Strips Down Raw Video: 15 Lb. Baby Born in China Ellen DeGeneres Slams One Million Moms Vending Machine Dispenses 'Morning-After' Pill Rihanna in Super Sheer Bodysuit Entire staff removed at L.A. elementary school Exclusive: Giants Players Talk About Excitement Around 2012 Super Bowl Victory Parade
Parade
Magazine

Click HERE to read all your Parade favorites including Hollywood Wire, Celebrity interviews and photo galleries, Food recipes and cooking tips, Games and lots more.
  • -

    March 12, 2010

activity
Real Estate News