Teri Moren's Tenure: Indiana Women's Basketball Journey to a Banner

Indiana women's basketball has had great success the past few seasons showcasing its talent in multiple NCAA Tournaments and in the regular season with excellent defense by powerful starters and a deep bench. All of the success is thanks to head coach Teri Moren who set out to build a cream and crimson team that would win its first NCAA banner.

© Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — When the arena lights go down and Indiana's starters are brought out one by one, Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall goes wild, but perhaps the loudest and longest cheer is for head coach Teri Moren.

You see her moving up and down the sidelines composed but tough, strong but comforting and most importantly — focused.

This season, the Hoosiers are off to their best start in Moren's nine-year tenure with a 12-0 record. Indiana will officially move into conference play on Dec. 29 when it visits East Lansing to take on the Michigan State Spartans.

At the beginning of the season, Moren spoke at Indiana Basketball Media Days with the men's five banners draped over the stage in the background. She looked up and said, "we want one of those." 

The Hoosiers have gotten as far as the Elite Eight in the 2020-21 season and made the Sweet 16 last year but haven't broken that Final Four mark yet. The Big Dance is inching its way closer, and Moren and her squad want it bad. 

Like all the great college basketball coaches, Moren didn't become the best of the best overnight. She first grew up in Seymour, Ind. where she played ball in the state's largest gym at Seymour High School under Indiana Hall of Fame Coach Donna Sullivan.

There, Moren won four sectional championships, two regional titles and appeared in the 1987 state basketball finals with the Owls. In her senior year, Moren balled her way to a school record 203-made field goals averaging 18.4 points per game.

The year of the state finals appearance, Moren was named a 1987 All-Star and the Columbus Republic Female Athlete of the Year as she totaled 1,138 career points in Seymour.

Teri Moren - Indiana All-Star / Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame

This is where it gets tricky for Hoosier fans as Moren committed to play ball at Purdue University under head coach Lin Dunn. Rivalry aside, Moren had great success as a Boilermaker and often talks about how Coach Dunn instilled a defensive mindset into her from the jump.

When asked about her present-day defense, Moren credits her former coach for teaching her that.

While in West Lafayette, Moren and company appeared in the NCAA tournament all four years with two second round and two Sweet 16 appearances and one Big Ten title to top it off. After graduation, Moren's love for the game turned into coaching as she served as an assistant for the Butler Bulldogs for six years plus two years at Northwestern.

In 2000, Moren began her head coaching career with the University of Indianapolis Greyhounds in Division II. In just her third season, her Hounds finished with a 29-3 overall record and reached the NCAA DII Second Round in the tournament.

Teri Moren resigns from UIndy to take the position at Georgia Tech / UIndy Athletics

After seven seasons and a 130-73 overall record, Moren took off to Georgia Tech to serve as associate head coach before coming back to Indiana and coaching the Indiana State Sycamores for four seasons.

In her first 2010-11 season with the Sycamores, Moren won 16 games, the most of any first year coach in program history. She helped her team to its first (shared) MVC championship since 2006, two postseason runs in the WNIT and coached six All-MVC players.

Teri Moren resigns from Indiana State to take the head coaching position at Indiana University / ISU Athletics

Moren officially became a Hoosier on August 9, 2014. I'll break it down for you season by season to accurately show how the quest for a banner continues to grow.

2014-15

Overall record: 15-16

Conference record: 4-14

Standing: 12th

Postseason: N/A

Any coach's first year comes with a learning curve, but Moren got to work quickly as she led the team to its best scoring average with 71.9 points per game since the 1995-96 season, the best free-throw percentage at 74.3 percent since 2003-04 and the most steals with 284 since 2010-11. Plus, the Hoosiers hit 236 triples for the second best total in school history. Side note: This was Indiana star guard Tyra Buss's freshman season.

2015-16

Overall record: 21-12

Conference record: 12-6

Standing: 4th

Postseason: NCAA Second Round

Yes, Moren went from a losing first season to the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance in 14 years while leading the Hoosiers to the most regular season wins with 20 victories in program history. Indiana had the school's second most Big Ten wins with 12 while Moren earned herself Big Ten Coach of the Year, the second coach to do so.

That season, Buss was named First Team All-Big Ten, and Amanda Cahill earned Second Team as the duo became the first to earn all-conference recognition in the same season since 2010.

2016-17

Overall record: 23-11

Conference record: 10-6

Standing: 4th

Postseason: WNIT quarterfinals 

The Hoosiers didn't make it back to the NCAA tournament but did produce the program's first All-American in 31 years as then-junior Buss was named a WBCA All-American Honorable Mention. The team also set a new record in points with 2,547 for an average 74.9 points per game. 

2017-18

Overall record: 23-14

Conference record: 9-7

Standing: T-7th

Postseason: WNIT champions

Here comes one banner! With success on the court thanks to All-Big Ten selections Buss and Cahill, the Hoosiers defeated Virginia Tech 65-57 in front of a record-breaking 13,007-person crowd at the Hall.

Buss left the program as a repeat All-American, the WNIT MVP and the program's leading scorer (2,364 points), assists leader (574) and steals leader (293). 

Mar 2, 2018; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Hoosiers guard Tyra Buss (3) winds up to pass the ball around some Maryland Terrapins in the first period during the third round of the Big Ten Conference Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse / © Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

2018-19

Overall record: 21-13

Conference record: 8-10

Standing: T-10th

Postseason: NCAA Second Round

Moren led her Hoosiers to their fourth straight postseason appearance with an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and a first-round win over Texas. This would be the Hoosiers' fourth straight 20th-win season as Ali Patberg, Brenna Wise and Jaelynn Penn earned All-Big Ten honors. 

Brenna Wise of the Indiana Hoosiers scoops up a loose ball, Indiana vs. Iowa, Women's Big Ten Tournament, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Friday, March 8, 2019. Iowa won 70-61 :: © Robert Scheer/IndyStar

2019-20

Overall record: 24-8

Conference record: 13-5

Standing: 4th

Postseason: Canceled due to COVID-19

Everything was looking good for the Hoosiers as they were ranked in both national polls for the majority of the season and made history by knocking off No. 5 South Carolina in the Paradise Jam for the program's first top-5 non-conference victory in school history.

Then, COVID-19 hit, and you know the rest. Players were granted an extra year of eligibility if they wanted it to make up for lost tournament runs and a season that looked real good.

Indiana head coach Teri Moren and Indiana guard Jaelynn Penn (13) talk during the first quarter of a NCAA women's basketball game, Monday, Feb. 3, 2020 at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette / © Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier, Lafayette Journal & Courier via Imagn Content Services, LLC

2020-21

Overall record: 21-6

Conference record: 16-2

Standing: 2nd

Postseason: NCAA Elite Eight

If you judge seasons by the NCAA Tournament finish, then this one is indeed the best as Indiana set a program record with 16 Big Ten wins in the regular season after going on a nine-game winning streak to top it off. 

In the Sweet 16, Indiana sent home the top-seeded NC State to face Arizona in the Elite Eight, losing by 13 points. 

Mar 27, 2021; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Indiana Hoosiers guard Nicole Cardaño-Hillary (4) and forward Aleksa Gulbe (10) battle for the ball against NC State Wolfpack guard Raina Perez (2) in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2021 Women's NCAA Tournament at Alamodome / © Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

2021-22

Overall record: 24-9

Conference record: 11-5

Standing: 5th

Postseason: NCAA Sweet 16

You're all caught up to another great season as the Hoosiers earned the program's highest tournament seed at No. 3 granting them the right to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament where they knocked out Charlotte and Princeton.

Indiana fell to UConn in the Sweet 16 round hosted in Bridgeport, Conn. but still had another proud year. To propel them into the NCAA tournament, the Hoosiers reached the Big Ten Tournament championship game for the first time in 20 years. Iowa got it done, but the Hoosiers still left the season with all five starters earning All-Big Ten honors and Moren's 100th win in the Hall.

You can see the accumulation of awards, honors, strong records and a team that doesn't quit until the final buzzer. Even after the buzzer, it's work, work, work. Now with a 12-0 record, Indiana will look to take its season to a level the program's never seen before all thanks to Moren and her tenacious tenure.

Indiana's Ali Patberg (14) and Grace Berger (34) during the National Anthem before the first half of the Indiana versus Charlotte women's NCAA First Round game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Saturday, March 19, 2022 :: © Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

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