TERRE HAUTE — The 2008-009 season, ravaged by four ACL injuries, might as well be ancient history to senior guard Kelsey Luna, one of three starting guards to miss a combined 37 games due to the injury for the Indiana State women’s basketball team.
Sophomore Deja Mattox and Luna underwent surgery in early March, and both worked hard on campus during the summer with the ISU athletic training staff. Senior Laurence Rivest returned for two games late in the season after suffering her knee injury just days before the start of practice last fall.
“The end of the school year through mid-July, we were here doing rehab, exercises, all that good stuff,” Luna said after a recent team workout at the Terre Haute Boys and Girls Club. “Got to get home for about six weeks, but we’d do a lot of stuff on our own too. Deja’s doing really well, Lo’s [Laurence Rivest] doing really well … the summer paid off.”
Prior to Sept. 15, coach Jim Wiedie and his staff were able to work with no more than four players at a time, per NCAA rules, and “[Luna and Mattox] were cleared for full-go” at the end of August, Wiedie said.
Wiedie and Luna like the way this year’s team is shaping up, despite having 11 freshmen and sophomores on the roster.
While Bianca Jarrett was dismissed and Kayla Mullins transferred, the rest of last year’s freshman class picked up valuable minutes in the wake of the injuries. Guard Brittany Schoen capitalized on her increased minutes, while building court chemistry with fellow sophomores Shannon Thomas, Amanda Pedro and Megan Burton.
And the combination of junior Illinois transfer Chelsea Buher and five incoming freshmen has Luna excited about the team’s potential.
“The sophomore group, they got experience through the injuries,” Luna said. “I think everyone comes to workouts with a positive mindset and willing to work hard. We’re going to have some fierce competitors.”
And with 15 players on the roster, perhaps some fierce competition for playing time. With 6-foot-3 freshman forwards Moriah Hodge and Andrea Rademacher and the 6-0 Buher on the wing, Wiedie seems intrigued about the versatility this year’s team could possess.
“I think every single player can be in the mix. I know it’s early, and I don’t want to get too excited,” he said. “We have more length, taller than we’ve ever been — with size and speed. We have some versatility with Hodge, Deja and Buher. We have a lot of interchangeable pieces. I think we can go small, and I think we can big [with the lineups].”
Freshman guards Taylor Whitley, who led her Geneva, Ill., team to the Class 4A state finals, and Meaghan MacDougall figure to challenge for playing time, although MacDougall will miss the next 6 to 8 weeks due to a leg injury.
Whitley scored more than 2,000 points in a four-year career in which she led her team to a 104-14 record. Rademacher, a first-team Louisville Courier-Journal selection as a senior, adds size and athleticism.
Luna has been impressed by the newcomers, and she’s also been involved with getting them acclimated to what’s expected in Division I college basketball.
“It’s crucial for the veterans to take the freshmen under their wing,” Luna said. “We’re implementing things, and they’ve never been through it. It’s definitely crucial.
“There’s a lot of talent, a lot of versatility. I’m expecting some great things from them.”
Wiedie agreed. “I’ve watched [the freshmen] in high school, but there’s some areas they’ve surprised me. Their skill level is better than I expected in some areas.”
The Sycamores will be ready to hit the ground running when practice begins Oct. 16 with the season opener at Kansas State about a month later Nov. 14.
“We kind of spoon-feed them bits and pieces throughout the preseason,” Wiedie said.
“You have to incorporate some of the offensive and defensive stuff that you’re going to do once you get to practice to kind of get them jump-started on that.”
• Schedule complete — ISU’s 2009-10 schedule was solidified last month.
The Sycamores don’t open in Hulman Center until Nov. 24 against Southeast Missouri State. The team with 11 freshmen and sophomores travels to Kansas State, which is the middle of a 2-for-1 deal that means the Sycamores play in Manhattan, Kan., again in 2010.
ISU then visits South Carolina to play Furman and USC-Upstate before a three-game homestand which includes SEMO, Central Michigan and Detroit.
Butler comes to Terre Haute on Dec. 9, the Sycamores play at Eastern Illinois on Dec. 12, and finish the nonconference in the Bahamas to play Missouri-Kansas City and Southern Methodist.
“There are games on the schedule that, if we’re successful, will really help us,” Wiedie said, referring to his team’s potential standings in RPI and strength-of-schedule.
The conference schedule for ISU is “basically a mirror” of last year, Wiedie said, “which absolutely stinks.”
ISU went 7-2 in the first half of the MVC last year, and 3-6 in the second half.
The Sycamores open with Creighton, Drake and Illinois State, but — like traveling partner Illinois State — they finish the season at Creighton and Drake.
“It’s the third straight year to finish at Drake-Creighton. I don’t think that’s fair to us and Illinois State,” Wiedie said. “Hopefully we have the same start as last year.”
• Back to the Big Ten — The Sycamores won’t play a Big Ten team for the second straight season after playing one in each of the previous four years. Two of those games were in the WNIT against Indiana and Illinois, and the last two seasons were losses to Michigan State.
But Wiedie said ISU will play be host to Michigan in 2010-11 in exchange for a return trip to Ann Arbor in 2011-12. Michigan is coached by Kevin Borseth, against whom Wiedie is 1-1 when Borseth was coach of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
Indiana State University
ISU women’s basketball excited about team’s potential
- Indiana State University
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Indiana State connects on all 12 of its 3-point shots vs. SIU and sets three NCAA records in process
When you’re a shooter and you’re in a slump, the boilerplate cure is to summon amnesia, forget about your struggles and keep on shooting.
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Perfect game: ISU shoots NCAA record 12-for-12 from 3-point range in win over SIU
Indiana State set an NCAA record for 3-point percentage and consecutive 3-pointers made Saturday afternoon in Hulman Center, connecting on all 12 attempts during a 78-68 win over Southern Illinois.
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‘Frustrated’ Sycamores regroup to face Southern Illinois
Indiana State’s men’s basketball struggles have hit one Sycamore senior hard.
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Thomas nets double-double as ISU women end losing streak
The halftime speech is one of the most time-worn clichés in sports, but once in a while, it’s meaningful. It certainly was for the Indiana State women’s basketball team on Friday against Bradley.
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Freezing in Peoria: Sycamores fall at last-place Bradley
When Indiana State’s men’s basketball team has excelled, it has done so via effort, concentration and grit as much as raw talent.
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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.
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Sycamores can’t slow down Stutz, Wichita State
All or nothing.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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ISU grinds out win
Drake’s men’s basketball played three overtimes on Saturday; Indiana State played two on Sunday.
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Christmas came a bit late, or quite early, depending on your point of reference, but 27 recruits were welcomed to the Indiana State football program on National Signing Day at Hulman Center on Wednesday.
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After 2 wins, Indiana State isn’t rolling quite yet
With a modest winning streak — two in a row would certainly qualify as modest — the Indiana State men’s basketball team would like to move on to momentum.
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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?
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Sycamores need 2 overtimes to claim win at Evansville
Indiana State men’s basketball coach Greg Lansing constantly talks about how the Sycamores need to match Evansville’s toughness.
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Schoen scores 1,000th point in ISU loss
Brittany Schoen scored a game-high 20 points Sunday, becoming the 24th Indiana State women’s basketball player to reach the 1,000-point career mark, but host Wichita State pulled away in the final minutes for a 74-63 win over the Sycamores in Koch Arena.
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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.
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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.
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VICTORY! Sycamores shake losing streak against UNI
With 4 minutes, 20 seconds to go, Indiana State’s men’s basketball led by 10 points and seemed to be on their way to a comfortable victory over Northern Iowa.
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ISU not without options at quarterback
With the graduation of Ronnie Fouch, Indiana State coach Trent Miles has a big hole to fill at quarterback for the 2012 season.
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MVC play-in round a stronger possibility for ISU
If you’re familiar with the Beetle Bailey comic strip, a classic scene depicts Sarge hanging from a branch growing out of the side of a cliff with Beetle looking down from above.
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TILL IT'S OVER: Mahan’s emergence comes at a good time
In the preseason of her second year, Indiana State women’s basketball coach Teri Moren spoke with excitement about having more “pieces” to fit together for a winning puzzle.
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Halfway to ninth: No. 18 Creighton blows out ISU
The defensive job the Indiana State men’s basketball team did on Creighton super sophomore Doug McDermott might be the envy of the Missouri Valley Conference.
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TODD GOLDEN: Indiana State men caught between expectation, reality
The Missouri Valley Conference is hush-hush on how it puts together its matchups for the annual conference schedule.
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ISU women focusing on turnovers today
The ISU women will be concentrating on hanging on to the ball today against Drake in Hulman Center.
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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.
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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.
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Sycamores suffer MVC loss again
One percenters? Ninety-nine percenters? Indiana State’s men's basketball team finds itself in a different and unwelcome numerical category.
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ISU men on the defensive
Indiana State has not been the same defensive team it was last season when the Sycamores led the Missouri Valley Conference in field-goal percentage defense.
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