News From Terre Haute, Indiana

Given to Fly

December 22, 2006

Given to Fly: ISU women end non-conference play on strong note

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Indiana State’s experience at the Vanderbilt Holiday Tournament ended up being a positive one despite playing to the level of its opponent in the opener against Longwood.

The Sycamores fought Vanderbilt tooth-and-nail until the final buzzer. Coach Jim Wiedie’s squad’s 89-75 loss also concluded the toughest non-conference schedule under his tenure in a satisfactory manner. A five-point loss against an Iowa team that is not as strong as originally thought could have turned in ISU’s favor had it not been the team’s first game. That Hawkeyes’ team is reeling after a 24-point loss to the Missouri Valley Conference’s Northern Iowa.

ISU struggled at Michigan State and against Wisconsin-Green Bay, who is now No. 14 in the collegerpi.com rankings with the fourth-toughest schedule in the country. The Phoenix deserve some national recognition in the polls.

Vanderbilt’s post players were more athletic, skilled and experienced than those of Iowa or Michigan State.

The Commodores’ point guard is no Ivory Latta — the favorite for Player of the Year for Duke — but Dee Davis is the best point in the Southeastern Conference. The Commodores’ senior had six points, 10 assists and seven rebounds against ISU on Thursday.

Davis said she was impressed by ISU’s offensive prowess.

“They could definitely shoot,” Davis said. “They had a lot of talent on the floor. Everybody was an offensive threat and they hurt us in spurts. We take a lot of pride in our defense. I thought we picked it up in the second half.”

Angela Phillips has fallen into a 4 for 29 shooting slump beyond the 3-point line during the past four games, but she is a smart player that will bust out of the slump and continue providing leadership.

The ISU backcourt will continue to thrive behind both Phillips, Annie Bankhead and Kelsey Luna, but Thursday reiterated the fact that this team’s co-captains are the key to championship-level success. Rachel Maenpaa and Laura Rudolphi have to provide steady play at both ends.

“Those two need to be the pillars for us inside — offensively, defensively and on the boards,” Wiedie said. “The rookies, the new ones, they’re gonna improve, they’re going to get better.”

Maenpaa never lacks confidence or aggressiveness at the offensive end and her rebounding has been improved at times. With three double-doubles after 11 games, Rudolphi has proven she is capable of better rebounding.

Those two have to be better guarding the basket and corralling missed shots, Wiedie said.

“There are times we aren’t even in position,” Wiedie said. “Rudy can defend much better than what she’s doing and she can do better rebounding than what she’s doing. She’s too talented a player to give up stuff on the defensive end.”

Wiedie’s reason for going back to a 2-3 matchup zone is to give Rudolphi and Maenpaa less responsibility. Players wide open at point-blank range is inexcusable. It doesn’t matter how big or strong they are and believe me ISU won’t be seeing anything like Liz or Carla Thomas during the Missouri Valley Conference season, which begins next Friday in Hulman Center against Drake.

“They’re vital,” Wiedie said of Maenpaa and Rudolphi. “They’ve got to not only score for us inside to take the pressure off the guards, but they’ve got to be able to contain people. And right now, it’s not where it needs to be.”

Maenpaa’s scoring night made for one of her best games. Her shooting touch at mid-range is a lost art on many.

“I don’t know if it’s the best game I’ve seen her play but under the circumstances against the competition, yeah,” Wiedie said.

Maenpaa and Rudolphi are still learning to be leaders on a team that graduated its most successful senior class after the program’s best season.

Wiedie expected his team to be 7-4 or 8-3 “if things went well” at this point in the season.

Several teams are playing well in the MVC, though. Northern Iowa, Drake and Illinois State are the top contenders in Wiedie’s mind.

“Illinois State may be better than anybody in the league,” Wiedie said. “Drake’s still playing well [despite key injuries] and that’s a credit to [coach] Amy [Stephens] … I don’t know if we’re necessarily playing that great.”

Vanderbilt coach Melanie Balcomb said she’s known Wiedie for a long time and she predicts good things.

“I’ve known Jim for a long time. I think he’s an excellent coach,” Balcomb said. “They’re very young, and I think they’re going to be very good. We knew not to take them lightly. He’s got a good system there.”

Wiedie did leave Nashville having seen his team do some positive things against the No. 12 team in the country.

“Our energy level was much higher [than Wednesday],” he said. “If we play that way, then there’s no reason why we can’t compete for a championship.”



Craig Pearson can be reached by e-mail at craig.pearson@tribstar.com.

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