Indiana women's basketball coach Kathi Bennett comes from an impressive collegiate coaching lineage.

Her father, Dick Bennett, led Wisconsin to the 2000 Men's Final Four and consistently placed his team in the upper echelons of Big Ten play before resigning his position earlier this season.

Kathi looks to add her own mark on collegiate coaching in the Big Ten by turning a Hoosiers' team that has finished towards the bottom of the conference the past two seasons into a nationally respected force, and the results of her instruction are already being experienced in Bloomington, Ind.

Bennett leads Indiana (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten) into the Bryce Jordan Center Sunday for a battle versus No. 12 Penn State (11-4, 3-1) that could lead to a shakeup in the Big Ten standings.

Last season, Indiana finished with a 10-18 mark and an eighth-place finish in Big Ten play. However, the experienced Hoosier squad has already surpassed last season's totals, and Bennett has played no small part in the turnaround.

"She (Bennett) has done a tremendous job for Indiana this season," Penn State coach Rene Portland said. "Her players are really fired up. I'm sure they're thrilled to have someone on the same page as them."

Bennett began her coaching career at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, leading the Titans to the Div. III National Championship in 1996. From there she went to the University of Evansville taking over a team that won only nine games in the three previous seasons. In only four years, Bennett turned the program around, leading the Aces to a birth in the 1999 NCAA Tournament.

In March of 2000, Bennett took the Indiana coaching job with a wealth of experienced talent on the team. The Hoosiers returned nine letter winners including 6-5 center Jill Chapman, Indiana's leading scorer with 13.9 points a game this season.

Bennett will make her first trip to Happy Valley with second place in the conference on the line.

"I've heard Penn State is an incredible place to play with incredible fans," Bennett said. "I just hope we go in having a lot of confidence."