Indiana Defense Forces Stanford Into Season-Low Offensive Numbers

Stanford entered Sunday's game at Indiana leading the nation in 3-point shooting percentage while attempting 24.5 3-pointers per game. But against Indiana's physical defense, the Cardinal finished 2-for-11 from beyond the arc and scored a season-low 66 points.

Indiana's Sydney Parrish (33) defends Stanford's Brooke Demetre (21) at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – After a 56-46 loss at Butler on Wednesday, Indiana coach Teri Moren spoke of her team’s inability to handle Butler’s perimeter defensive pressure. 

That played a big role in the Hoosiers’ committing 16 turnovers and scoring fewer than 50 points for just the fourth time in Moren’s tenure. 

“We just talked to the kids about it, and that is so bothersome to our staff and I know our players. You could use the term soft. You could use it,” Moren said Wednesday. “That’s part of the game plan for Indiana, is to be super physical with our guards. They don’t like that. But we have to recognize that, and we gotta bow up and be better. We just gotta be tougher. We gotta be more physical, embrace it, and realize that’s what teams are doing to us. They really try to be physical, especially in the first couple minutes of the game, and it’s really stifling. They stifled us. So yeah, it’s a problem.”

Following that loss, Indiana returned to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for a Sunday afternoon matchup against a 4-0 Stanford team, ranked No. 24 in the country. Leading up to the game, Moren challenged her team to be the enforcers this time around. And in a way, Indiana flipped the script from Wednesday’s loss by imposing their physicality on the defensive end. 

Stanford entered the game with a prolific offense, ranked No. 1 nationally with a 51% 3-point percentage and second with 12.5 3-pointers made per game. Altogether, that led to 89.8 points per game across its first four contests, good for 23rd in the country.

Though Indiana finished with a season-high 22 fouls, they were spread throughout the roster and lineup rotations weren’t heavily affected by foul trouble. As a result, Stanford had its worst statistical game offensively this season by a wide margin.

In a 79-66 loss, Stanford finished with a season-low in points, as well as 3-point attempts and makes. The Cardinal shot 2-for-11 from 3-point range, good for 18.2%, and 26-for-65 from the field, or 40%, both season-worst figures.

Moren named Jules LaMendola the defensive MVP of Sunday’s game, part of an all-around strong defensive performance from the Hoosiers. 

“Stanford is a very skilled team, and we wanted them to feel us, without fouling,” Moren said. “But we wanted them to feel our presence in how tight we were gonna be when they were coming off staggers in their split action when they wanted to face cut, and we were there to stand them up. So that was part of our plan, just to be the more physical team, and our kids delivered on that.”

Moren thought Indiana put together good days of practice prior to facing Stanford, and it led to a bounce-back win the team needed – both from a win-loss standpoint and for its confidence. She credited her team for being resilient postgame, though she never doubted that they would. 

With this win, Indiana improves to 2-2 ahead of its trip to the Bahamas for three games in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, where Moren will look for performances like Sunday’s to become more common.

“When you go through some rough patches, I think you find out quickly what you’re made of,” Moren said. “And I think we found out today we’re capable of a whole lot. My hope for this group is that they can see themselves in this game today and know that they can come out and perform like this every night.”

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