Rice University
Indiana
Hoosiers End Owls' WNIT Run
3/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 18, 2006
Bloomington, Ind. -
Cyndi Valentin and Jenny DeMuth combined for 46 points and Indiana forced 19 Rice turnovers as the Hoosiers defeated the Owls 67-57 in first-round action in the Women's National Invitation Tournament at Assembly Hall Saturday. Indiana (18-13) advances to the second round and will face Indiana State, while Rice finishes the season at 18-14.
"Our slow start really hurt us," said Rice head coach Greg Williams. "Against a Big Ten team like Indiana, you have to come out firing on all cylinders and be ready for the defenses they throw at you. This Rice team really showed a lot of heart though, coming back from such a large deficit, and this is a team that has fought hard all year through a lot of adversity. When we were 6-11 back in January, who would have thought we would be in this position today?"
Sophomore center Valeriya Berezhynska was a bright spot for the Owls, matching her career-high with 18 points, but Indiana's zone defense kept Lauren Neaves in check, limiting the Owls' leading scorer to only four points and six rebounds.
Indiana, playing its first game in 13 days, took advantage of 12 Rice miscues to open up a 15-point lead with 6:12 left in the first half, and the Hoosiers also enjoyed a huge edge at the foul line, shooting 29 free throws to Rice's 11.
After a DeMuth lay-up to start the game, Kadie Riverin scored on a jumper with 18:02 to tie the game, but that was as close as the Owls would ever get as the hosts got two more buckets and a pair of free throws from DeMuth to stretch the lead to seven at 9-2 with 15:07 to go. Jumpers by Berezhynska and Tiffany Loggins brought Rice back within three, but a 9-0 run soon after by the Hoosiers gave them a 23-9 edge with 7:38 remaining in the first half.
Tiondra Wright hit a jumper with 3:09 to go to cut Indiana's lead to 30-20, and after another Valentin basket, Riverin knocked down a trey 30 seconds later to make it 32-23. Senior Amber Cunningham, who had nine points in her final game for the Owls, sank a three-pointer at the 1:50 mark to cut the lead to eight, but DeMuth canned a pair of charity shots and Valentin nailed a buzzer-beater from the field to give the Hoosiers a 38-28 lead at the half.
The Owls whittled away at the deficit to open the second half, with Berezhynska hitting a jumper, a lay-up and a pair of free throws to get Rice within six at 40-34 with 17:43 left. Indiana went on a 6-0 run to put the lead back in double figures, but a trey by senior guard Latrice Elder cut it to eight at 51-43 with 10:20 to go.
Another 6-0 spurt by the Hoosiers over the next three minutes gave them a 57-43 lead at the 7:18 mark, before Neaves scored and Cunningham hit another three to make it 57-48. Berezhynska's bucket and trey pulled Rice within eight again at 61-53 with just over four minutes remaining, but DeMuth converted a pair of free throws and Valentin scored on a lay-up to put the Hoosiers back up by 12 at 65-53 with 2:44 to go.
The Owls made one final run at it, using a Cunningham three and an Elder free throw to get within eight at 65-57, but Kim Roberson hit two free throws down the stretch to bring Rice's season to an end.
Rice outshot Indiana 40.7 percent to 39 percent from the field, but the Hoosiers won the battle of the boards 40-35.
Valentin finished with a game-high 26 points, while DeMuth tallied 20. Whitney Thomas and Angela Hawkins shared rebounding honors with 10 each for Indiana.
Berezhynska was the only Rice player to score in double figures, and she tied Neaves with a team-high six boards.
