Looking to avenge the 58-69 loss Wisconsin handed the Hoosiers in Bloomington Jan. 24, the Indiana women’s basketball team (9-12, 2-9) will be traveling to the Kohl Center this Sunday with an eight game losing streak and a chip on their shoulder.
The Hoosiers will be without their starting point guard and backcourt leader, however, when they challenge the Badgers this weekend.
Freshman Kali Kullberg, a native of Orono, Minn., went down in practice Dec. 17 with a torn ACL and is out for the season.
Despite playing with two broken wrists during her junior season at Orono High School, Kullberg finished her prep career as the school’s all-time leading scorer and was emerging as Indiana’s go-to player before suffering the injury to her knee.
“Kali (Kullberg) is one of the toughest players around and she is a tremendous defensive player,” said IU head coach Kathi Bennett. “She has already played through some serious injuries, and she will be a leader by her work ethic.”
While Kullberg is leading by example through her rehabilitation efforts, Indiana has yet to find a guard to fulfill the leadership role she played while on the floor.
With Kullberg out of the lineup, Bennett has been faced with the daunting task of coaching with just one true point guard: senior Kristen Bodine.
Bodine, like Kullberg, missed a bulk of her inaugural season as a Hoosier due to a torn ACL. She is still not 100 percent healthy, and other than her 12-assist performance against Ball State, she has not been able to get the job done at the point.
On the year, she has shot just 35 percent from the floor, including a six game slump in which she hit only eight of her 41 attempts, and has committed more than 2.5 turnovers a game.
Despite her mediocre play, however, Kathi Bennett and the other members of the coaching staff continue to support Bodine and think she still has the ability to be a difference maker for Indiana this year.
“[Bodine] has had two years now without competing. She hates to lose and has the ability to lead,” said Bennett. “Once she gets her legs, there is nothing she can’t do offensively.”
Indiana’s inconsistent play in the backcourt is not the sole reason for their poor record, however.
The Hoosiers currently rank 11th in the Big Ten in free-throw percentage, shooting just 66.3 percent from the charity stripe as a team on the year.
Mathematically, their woes at the line have already cost them four victories, including a 51-53 loss to Purdue in which they made just 10 of their 23 free-throw attempts.
Indiana’s starting center, Angela Hawkins, in particular, has struggled with her free-throw stroke, as she is shooting a “Shaq-esque” 46 percent from the line on the year.
Another glaring reason for Indiana’s stretch of losses can be attributed to their lack of a defensive presence on the interior.
IU has blocked a meager 57 shots on the year and have but one intimidating post player.
The 6-foot-3 Hawkins has been prone to get into foul trouble, though, and with her on the sidelines, Emily Ashbaugh, along with the Gebisa sisters and the other UW post players, should have a field day Sunday.
Other than their Feb. 23 matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes, this Sunday’s game against Indiana will be Wisconsin’s last home contest of the season. If UW can get Angela Hawkins into some early foul trouble and keep the Hoosiers’ shooting characteristically poor, Wisconsin should come away with the win this weekend.
