Looking Ahead In Titan Hoops: Just two days after knocking off cross-town rivals and NAIA D2 #8 Bethel, IU South Bend returns to the hardwood to close out their season-opening four-game homestand by hosting the Wolves of UM-Dearborn. The Wolves come in at 1-2 after a season-opening win over Mary-grove and back-to-back losses to Robert Morris and Purdue-Calumet - two squads the Titans will face off with a pair of times this season.

Looking Back At Bethel: Four Titans dropped in double-figures, led by Katie Hacker and Betsy Grogan who each scored 15, as they knocked off the eighth-ranked Pilots. Tiffanie Graham added 14 more points for IU South Bend, while Ashley Hummer chipped in with 13. The two teams played relatively even for the first ten minutes of the contest, but the Titans began to pull away late in the opening half - eventually holding Bethel to just three points over the final five minutes en route to a 41-25 halftime lead. The Pilots were down by as many as 21 in the second half and were able to get the lead down to just six, but a Hummer triple pushed the lead back to nine and the Titans held on for an 81-72 win.

Scouting UM-Dearborn: After a 25-point win over Marygrove to open the 2009-2010 campaign, the Wolves have fallen in their last two contests - each against a team the Titans will square off with twice this season. The Wolves dropped a 78-62 contest to Purdue-Calumet on Nov. 5, and fell 67-65 at the hands of Robert Morris the following day. Four players average double figure scoring for UM-Dearborn, led by Kim Lackowski's 16.0 PPG mark.

Veterans Step Up: In arguably the biggest game of the season to this point for the Titans, the only two players appearing in their third season of play in an IU South Bend uniform stepped up. Katie Hacker and Betsy Grogan led the way with 15 points apiece in the Titans upset victory.

"Newcomers" Leading The Way: In the first two games, no player that appeared in the second half of last season for the Titans has led the team in scoring. In the season opener against Wilberforce, Tiffanie Graham - who missed the latter portion of 2008-2009 - led the way with 17 points, while it was Ashley Hummer - who sat out the entire year - taking top honors against Goshen by dropping in 16.

Stapke Shoots...: Sophomore sharpshooter Lizzie Stapke added three more triples to her career tally Tuesday against Bethel, bringing her total to 86 in her first two seasons. That number puts her just three three-pointers outside the top ten for a career as a member of the Titans.

Home Sweet Home: After putting up a 10-6 mark at the Student Activities Center last year, the Titans got out of the gate early in 2009-2010 by winning their first three home contests of the season. IU South Bend has one more con-secutive home games to close out their season-opening four-contest home stand, then will hit the road for seven consecutive games through the balance of November and the first week of December.

Nationally Noted: For the first time during the tenure of head coach Steve Bruce, the Titans were mentioned in the NAIA D1 Ratings. In the preseason balloting, IU South Bend is listed as Receiving Votes. The poll was taken prior to the start of the season, and the second edition is set to be selected on December 7.

Picked Third: A season after finishing third in the CCAC with a 6-4 record, the conference coaches picked the Titans to finish in that same position this season, as they garnered 24 points in the voting. In preseason voting, St. Xavier was chosen first, receiving all six first place tallies, while St. Francis edged out the Titans with 26 markers. Robert Morris came home fourth with 18, while Olivet Nazarene (17) and first-year member Holy Cross rounded out the voting. Due to the late entry of Holy Cross, they were forced to schedule conference games early in the season, so conference play kicks off on November 11 when the Saints travel to Chicago to take on St. Xavier.

Titans Add Three For 2010-2011: Head coach Steve Bruce has already signed three players for the 2010-2011 freshman class, each a highly-touted prospect from Northwest Indiana. Lauren Hansen is a 5'7" point guard from Griffith, IN, who averaged 7.3 points, 3.8 assists and 2.3 points as a junior for the Panthers, who took home their sectional crown. Brandee Hudspeth, another 5'7" guard from Kankakee Valley, will also join the Titans - likely coming to IU South Bend as the owner of the majority of the school records for the Kougars. The final signee, Emily Strilich, is the only post player of the group. At 6'1", Strilich boasts Porter County Conference Player of the Year honors as a junior, while helping lead her Boone Grove Squad to a share of the PCC title.