With LaMond Pope preparing for the men's basketball game at Northwestern, I swooped in to talk women's hoops today with coach Felisha Legette-Jack.

The Hoosiers play rival Purdue on Sunday in Bloomington.

Legette-Jack offered an update on Concordia freshman Andrea Newbauer, who helped the Cadets to a Class 3A state title last year.

Newbauer missed the first six-plus weeks of the preseason while dealing with what Legette-Jack called a back problem.

"She lost that time every freshman really deserves, so she's trying to get it on the back end," Legette-Jack said. "But I think she's a strong point guard. She's a very, very smart point guard. But she's just got to get her legs up under her.

"I think we made the right choice in signing her, and I think she's got a future that's absolutely bright for us."

• Six of IU's last seven games have been decided by six points or fewer. The Hoosiers are 3-3 in that stretch but have won the last two in that scenario, both Big Ten games.

  "We'd love to have a 12-, 13-point win in the game, so it won't be so stressful," Legette-Jack said with a laugh. "But we just keep fighting. We just fight and fight and fight, and I think they believe if they keep it close, they can have a chance, and in the game of basketball, all you want is an opportunity to have a chance."

• Georgie Jones, a 6-foot-2 transfer from Marquette, has been eligible since January. She's started all five games and is averaging 6.6 rebounds, a team-high.

  "That's what she did at Marquette and that's what we hope she continues to do for us," Legette-Jack said. "She's still trying to get her legs underneath her. In the year (off), she had knee surgery, so she's still not nearly as good as we want her to be or she wants to be. But every day, she's out there on the floor, it's just helping us get better and helping her feel more and more confident."