Indiana Women’s Basketball Opens With Columbia At Battle 4 Atlantis

The Lions were an at-large NCAA Tournament team last season. A potential match-up with Baylor looms in the second round.

Feb 22, 2024; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers guard Sydney Parrish (33) reacts to making a shot during the second half against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports / Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana’s women’s basketball team learned what path it will have to navigate to a Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis championship in November.

The multi-team exempt tournament revealed its draw on Thursday. Indiana will open with Columbia at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 23 at the Imperial Arena, a ballroom converted into a basketball venue at the Atlantis Paradise Island resort in Nassau, Bahamas.

The Battle 4 Atlantis women’s tournament begins four days before the men’s tournament – which Indiana is also participating in at the same venue.

The women’s Battle 4 Atlantis features a challenging set of opponents for the Hoosiers. Ball State, Baylor, North Carolina, Southern Mississippi, Texas A&M and Villanova comprise the rest of the field. All of the participants except Texas A&M won 20 games in 2024, though the Aggies were a NCAA Tournament team.

The official bracket for the 2024 @badboymowers Battle 4 Atlantis Women's Tournament is here!

Join us in November at @atlantisbahamas & on @flohoops & @espn as @BallStateWBB @BaylorWBB @CULionsWBB @IndianaWBB @uncwbb @SouthernMissWBB @AggieWBB & @novawbb compete in Paradise! pic.twitter.com/cofbtdjKEy

— Battle 4 Atlantis (@B4AOfficial) August 29, 2024

Indiana has to get past a solid Columbia team to set itself up for success in the Bahamas. The Lions were 23-7 and won the Ivy League regular season championship in 2024. Columbia earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, the first bid in school history. That put two Ivy League teams in the field for the first time since 2016.

Columbia lost 72-68 to Vanderbilt in the First Four, but the Lions return two of their top three double-digit scorers in guard Cecelia Collins (13.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.9 apg) and guard Kitty Henderson (12.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 4 apg).

Indiana could face one of the strongest teams in the second round. Baylor plays Southern Miss in the Battle 4 Atlantis opener at 11 a.m. on Nov. 23. The Indiana-Columbia and Baylor-Southern Miss winners and losers face each other on Nov. 24.

If Indiana meets Baylor, the challenge will be considerable. The Bears, winners of three national championships and a Sweet 16 team in 2024, return four of their top five scorers. Guard Sarah Andrews (11.4 ppg), guard-forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (10.5 ppg), guard Bella Fontleroy (9.6 ppg) and guard Jada Walker (8.4 ppg) form that core that finished 26-8.

Baylor also added 6-foot-3 center Aaronette Vonleh, a transfer from Colorado. Vonleh (14 ppg, 5.1 rpg) is the sister of former Indiana men’s basketball player Noah Vonleh. She was All-Pac-12 for the Buffaloes in 2024.

Indiana, 26-6 in 2024 and a Sweet 16 team that lost a narrow 79-75 decision against eventual national champion South Carolina, presents plenty of problems for its opponents. Starters Yarden Garzon (11.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg), Sydney Parrish (10.8 ppg, 6 rpg) and Chloe Moore-McNeil (10.2 ppg, 5 apg) all return for the Hoosiers.

Forward Lilly Meister (3.7 ppg) and guards Lexus Bargesser (4.3 ppg), Lenée Beaumont (3 ppg), Juli LaMendola (1.8 ppg) and Henna Sandvik (0.9 ppg) are all returning reserves from 2024 who could be playing regular minutes in the 2024-2025 season.

Indiana added Penn State guard Shay Ciezki (11.5 ppg) and Tennessee forward Karoline Striplin (7.2 ppg) from the transfer portal. Indiana signed Czech guard Valentyna Kadlecova last week.

The other side of the Battle 4 Atlantis bracket features North Carolina-Ball State at 4 p.m. and Texas A&M-Villanova at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 23.

All games apart from the championship game and the third-place game will be broadcast on streaming service FloHoops. The championship contest will be broadcast on ESPN2 at noon on Nov. 25. The third-place game will air on ESPNU at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 25.

Battle 4 Atlantis schedule

Saturday, Nov. 23

Game 1 – Baylor vs. Southern Mississippi, 11 a.m. (FloHoops).

Game 2 – Indiana vs. Columbia, 1:30 p.m. (FloHoops).

Game 3 – North Carolina vs. Ball State, 4 p.m. (FloHoops).

Game 4 – Texas A&M vs. Villanova, 6:30 p.m. (FloHoops).

Sunday, Nov. 24

Game 5 – Game 1 vs. Game 2 winners, 11 a.m. (FloHoops).

Game 6 – Game 3 vs. Game 4 winners, 1:30 p.m. (FloHoops).

Game 7 – Game 1 vs. Game 2 losers, 4 p.m. (FloHoops).

Game 8 – Game 3 vs. Game 4 losers, 6:30 p.m. (FloHoops).

Monday, Nov. 25

Game 9 – Championship game, Noon. (ESPN2).

Game 10 – 3rd place game, 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU).

Game 11 – 5th place game, 5 p.m. (FloHoops).

Game 12 – 7th place game, 7:30 p.m. (FloHoops).

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• HOOSIERS ADD KADLECOVA: Indiana added Czech player Valentyna Kadlecova to its 2024-25 roster. CLICK HERE.

• WHO COMPARES TO CHLOE MOORE-MCNEIL? A look at Indiana players of the past who were near her production level. CLICK HERE.

• STANFORD, BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS HIGHLIGHT NONCONFERENCE SCHEDULE: Indiana's nonconference schedule is revealed. CLICK HERE.