Back on Nov. 28, 2006, the Indiana State women’s basketball team allowed a Loyola (Ill.) team to come into Hulman Center, shoot 50.9 percent from the field and score 71 points.
Uninspiring defensive efforts were commonplace back then, but coach Kelvin Sampson of Indiana — referring to a Purdue men’s team that has steadily improved this season — said a team’s true identity is shown in February, not in November.
While the Sycamores surpassed 100 points for the third time of the season in that Loyola win, the defense was awful. Drastic changes were made at halftime of an 89-81 loss to the same Illinois State Redbirds whom Indiana State stifled into 30-percent shooting Sunday at Redbird Arena.
Since that loss to the Rebirds, ISU has held its last seven opponents to a combined 36-percent shooting from the field. Not only do the Sycamores have the best offense in the league, they’ve earned an identity as a defensive stopper.
The turnaround is downright amazing.
“Early in the year we were probably one of the softest teams in the conference,” coach Jim Wiedie said. “I thought we were soft all the way around — soft inside, soft on the perimeter. Mentally soft.
“But I think we’ve matured as the season goes along and you get more comfortable with what you’re doing. You can just see the demeanor start to change. Are we the toughest team in the league physically? No, not yet, but we’re getting a little bit better. Rebounding and defense are a good indicator of that.”
With a young team full of newcomers, Wiedie’s Sycamores are a team that has as good a shot as anyone at a third-place finish in the regular season. A month ago that seemed unlikely, with teams like last-place Missouri State able to win in Hulman Center.
Wiedie, the 2006 MVC Coach of the Year, deserves consideration for that honor again, although it’s a given that Southern Illinois’ Dana Eikenberg deserves the award if her Salukis win the regular-season league title.
“Indiana State’s a very good team and you’ve got to give Jim a ton of credit,” said Illinois State coach Robin Pingeton on Sunday. “To lose so many kids last year and to still be at the level they’re at without one of their best players [Annie Bankhead] I think speaks volumes about him.”
Sunday’s win was ISU’s most impressive of the season, but that doesn’t make it the most important. Winning at Missouri State was the biggest step forward for the program. Most of the current Sycamores were barely born when ISU last won there in 1989, and only Rachel Maenpaa, Laura Rudolphi and Leah Phillips were key components of last year’s team that had its heart broken in that building in Springfield, Mo.
Accomplishing something that Melanie Boeglin-led teams were unable to do — even if this year’s Missouri State team is nowhere close to those of years past — raised the confidence of this team.
“We just have a whole another level of confidence in the post,” Rachel Maenpaa said after a big hug from her dad Sunday on the court in Redbird Arena. “This is just great. Our team is really coming together. Our team is having fun on and off the court together ... playing good and having fun.”
So Illinois State isn’t playing the way it was on Jan. 19 when it won at Hulman Center. So it’s without standout freshman Kenyatta Shelton. ISU was without one of its best defenders and best passers in Bankhead, out for the last of a three-game suspension for a team-rule violation. Leah Phillips wasn’t 100 percent Sunday either.
ISU’s potential ability to easily go 11 players deep is now becoming reality. Bankhead will fit right back in, and Sarah Paul will still get plenty of minutes the way she’s defending and rebounding.
Sunday’s win may have been the most impressive so far, but the best may be yet to come.
Craig Pearson can be reached by email at craig.pearson@tribstar.com or after 4 p.m. by phone at (812) 231-4356.
Given to Fly
February 18, 2007
Given to Fly: Sycamores doing it with more than just offense
- Given to Fly
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GIVEN TO FLY: Come to expect new standards of excellence
Records are definitely meant to be broken; athletes today are faster and stronger than those in the past in many endeavors in athletics.
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GIVEN TO FLY: ISU women have solid recruiting class
The caliber of athletes that the Indiana State women’s basketball coaching staff is bringing in is on an upswing.
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GIVEN TO FLY: Major leaguers John, Dorsett meet up at tonight’s game
Terre Haute’s only two big leaguers of the last 50 years — Tommy John and Brian Dorsett — will catch up with one another today.
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FOOT NOTES: Valley natives perform well on national stage
Several Wabash Valley natives continue to shine on the national track and field scene.
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'Til It's Over: Sycamores ‘in a good place,’ but searching for more in MVC
Can Teri Moren lift Indiana State, last year’s seventh-place team in the Missouri Valley Conference, to one of the league’s contenders in her first year on campus?
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'Til It's Over: Two sets of identical twins should keep North Central baseball a contender
The last high school baseball team standing in the Wabash Valley was the North Central, the Thunderbirds falling short 4-3 in the Class A Semistate on Saturday just one game shy of Victory Field.
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'Til It's Over: Jarvis, Anderson confident Olney, hard work leads to Division I dream
Olney, Ill., population 8,000-plus and known for its population of white squirrels, might not be the dream destination for high school basketball players in Indiana.
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'Til It's Over: Robinson 7-footer more focused in postseason; 6-foot Jones keeps producing
Robinson 7-footer Meyers Leonard is not going to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA some day, but his odds of reaching the league are pretty solid if his game continues to evolve as it has during high school.
- 'Til It's Over: ‘Stepping stone’ game points Sycamores in right direction Whether the win comes against a top-25 team or a conference pushover, ending a four-game losing streak is always a relief.
- 'Til It's Over: Indianapolis ISU recruit rolling along in senior season As Indiana State recruit Anna Munn approached Christmas with the Decatur Central basketball team, the senior guard didn’t seem to need much of a wishlist.
- 'Til It's Over: Magic’s still there for '79 Sycamores For the former Indiana State players who visited the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in late November, the weekend was a chance to relive memories with teammates and see Larry Bird’s career with the Sycamores celebrated again.
- CRAIG PEARSON: North has strong history in cross country state finals Vigo County is home to just four IHSAA state championships in team sports. Most recently, Terre Haute South won girls titles in basketball (2002) and tennis (2001).
- 'Till It's Over: It’s been rough year but no need to break up Cubs' core Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry is only in the first year of a three-year contract, and aren’t back-to-back division championships enough to keep him around despite this year’s season filled with bad luck?
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'Til It's Over: Hansbrough, Hibbert give Pacers glimpse of future
You might have heard of the Indiana Pacers’ 2009 first-round draft pick. He was on the television once in a while during his four-year career at North Carolina.
- 'Til It's Over: Bertoli, Moore put on show in abundance of events “Anthony and Erica” may not have the marketing capability of “Dan and Dave,” but neither of Indiana State’s outstanding multi-event participants had let-down performances this weekend in the Missouri Valley Conference Championships.
- ‘Walking wounded’: ISU seniors return to provide spark All three ISU seniors will graduate in May, and all three will be in uniform today as Indiana State battles Bradley in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament quarterfinals.
- Given to Fly: Northview standout runner Thacker coming to ISU Doc Brown told an old-timer in a saloon in “Back to the Future III” that despite having automobiles in the future people run for recreation.
- Given to Fly: Schilli’s Rodman-like performance aids ISU With Indiana State’s women’s basketball team ranking eighth in the Missouri Valley Conference in field-goal percentage (36.5), the Sycamores need as many shot attempts as possible to maintain their standing on top of the league.
- Given to Fly: A classic in every sense of the word What tournament director and co-founder Gary Fears had in mind when creating the tournament came to fruition Tuesday. Marshall, with an enrollment of 438 students, became the smallest school to win the Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic in the ninth season of the tourney.
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Given to Fly: ISU women should build confidence off strong outing
Indiana State did not pull off the monumental upset Saturday against No. 23 Kansas State, but the Wildcats are —aside from Connecticut in 2005 — the best team the Sycamores have played in the Jim Wiedie era.
- Given to Fly: ISU women's hoops team slides onto commercial radio Coach Jim Wiedie expects the Indiana State women’s basketball team to have a bit of a retro feel this season, meaning the Sycamores have the potential to get back to creating havoc with their full-court press.
- Given to Fly: ISU vets hope to prove pundits wrong Indiana State’s only two seniors were surprised to see they were picked ahead of just three Missouri Valley Conference women’s basketball teams Tuesday morning.
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Footnotes: In first marathon, former Sycamore comes out a winner
Indiana State graduate Dani Prince made her debut in the event with a victory in the Columbus Marathon on Sunday.
Prince’s goal was a time under 2 hours and 50 minutes, and she ran a 2:48.56. -
Given To Fly: ISU volleyball turning things around
It was an extremely busy weekend for Indiana State athletics this weekend.
- Footnotes: Here’s hoping perfect weather is still around for Nationals in November The weather made for a perfect fall afternoon Saturday at LaVern Gibson Championship Course. For what it’s worth, the Farmer’s Almanac calls for more sunny conditions from Nov. 20-24, with the NCAA Championships falling on the 24th this year.
- Terre Haute natives cherish memories of ‘House that Ruth Built’ Yankee Stadium was packed as usual on Easter Sunday in 1979. George Steinbrenner’s Yankees were one loss away from being swept by the Milwaukee Brewers to start the season. That was no way for the two-time defending World Series champions to perform, so the boss had a conversation with his new veteran left-handed starting pitcher prior to the game.
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Footnotes: Oregon men and women have strangehold on preseason NCAA cross countryrankings
The Oregon men and women were almost both unanimous picks as the No. 1 teams in the nation in the preseason cross country national rankings released recently.
- Given to Fly: Bronze medalist has strong ISU ties One of the remarkable American medalists of this 2008 Olympics thus far also provided one of the most sparkling stories in the brief history of the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course here in Terre Haute.
- Former ISU QB gets back to Amarillo This week, Indiana State signed its most highly-touted football prospect in years, and former quarterback Julian Reese is ripping it up for the Amarillo Dusters of Arena2.
- Indiana State track sending strong group to NCAA regional Three sophomore women and three senior men lead a large Indiana State contingent of track and field athletes into the NCAA Mideast Regional this weekend at Fayetteville, Ark.
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