Indiana Women's Basketball: How to Make a Deeper NCAA Tournament Run
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The Indiana women's basketball program keeps inching its way closer and closer to a banner but can't quite seem to finish the job.
The program has made eight NCAA tournament appearances, four of which head coach Teri Moren is responsible for in her soon-to-be nine years of coaching the Hoosiers.
In 2021, the Hoosiers advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history following that performance up with another trip to the Sweet 16 before falling to No. 2-seeded UConn last season.
"I think for us, a year ago we had the right pieces," Moren said. "We had all the pieces we needed.
"The one thing that you can never control is injuries. I think Mackenzie Holmes, losing her for a large part of the season...she wasn't quite 100 percent."
The team was certainly trending in an upwards direction. For the entire season, the Hoosiers were ranked No. 15 fluctuating all the way to No. 4 at one point in the Associated Press Poll.
Then, tragedy struck in Jan. 2022 when starting forward Holmes went down with a left knee injury that required surgery and for her to miss eight games.
Mackenzie Holmes (left)
© Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Hoosiers tapped forward Kiandra Browne and guard Chloe Moore-McNeil to take Holmes' place until her return on Feb. 17.
"I had come to the realization that my teammates needed me," Moore-McNeil said. "They depended on me a little bit more. I understood I would play a little bit more minutes, so I just knew it was time to grow up, I guess."
Moren said at Indiana Basketball Media Day that she believes if Holmes was 100 percent healthy, the team could have won a Big Ten championship. Instead, in their first Big Ten tournament title game in 20 years, the Hoosiers fell to Iowa 74-67.
Nonetheless, the season was a success and the team adjusted well without Holmes, winning six out of eight games in her absence.
Looking ahead, Moren and company are now figuring out how to pair seven veterans with seven new faces that could combine to rake in a Big Ten and NCAA title.
"Do we have enough pieces?" Moren asked. "I think we'll have enough firepower. I think defensively we've always been at the top of this league in terms of the grittiness and the toughness."
Defense has always been the Hoosiers' bread and butter. Moren has talked to the new players about how they want to develop as defenders while the returners know they need to give a little more when it comes to their defense.
"I know our big key is getting stops, so I think being a one-on-one defender is where I want to grow," Moore-McNeil said.
Chloe Moore-McNeil
© Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK
Last season, the Sharon, Tenn. native totaled 18 steals and four blocks along with 162 points.
"The expectations for her a year ago were big for her to come off of our bench and be a scoring power for us, but also be a great defender, which she was for us," Moren said.
"Now she's to a point where she has that opportunity in front of her to not only start but play big minutes for us."
What's one thing the Hoosiers have other than talent that can get them to a banner? Chemistry. Moren said it's been off the charts the past two seasons with the team able to bond quickly and build solid relationships. With that factor, Moren and staff know they have a good chance.
The most important component for Moore-McNeil is standing firm in the fact that it's a very different team and year.
"We had a lot of success the past two years, but I think taking steps forward, we need to put that behind us and focus on the pieces that we have now," Moore-McNeil said.
One of the returning pieces is graduate student guard Grace Berger, who casually revealed she was coming back for another year. Instead of telling Moren first, she told sports information director Megan Kramper who then asked, "does Coach know?"
"You can tell her," Berger said.
Grace Berger (34)
© David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Moren chuckled at Berger's humbleness and how competitive she is. Not one to be too loud on or off the court, Berger knows there's more work to be done in her final season.
"If you ask Grace, we haven't done much, and I love that," Moren said. "I love that about her because of her competitiveness and the spirit she has.
"She obviously has left a mark, but I think she has her sights set on still winning a championship here."
Last season, the Hoosiers' defense was ranked third in the Big Ten allowing its opponents an average 61.8 points per game. The Hoosiers' offense was also strong ranking sixth in average points scored per game with 71.3.
The Hoosiers will be without three of their top five scorers making room for Minnesota transfer guard Sara Scalia and her precise three-point shot ranked second in the Big Ten with 111 three-pointers plus Oregon transfer guard Sydney Parrish, who ranked 10th in three-point shooting in the Pac-12.
Graduate student forward Alyssa Geary might be a good substitute for former starter Aleksa Gulbe. Kiandra Browne and freshman Lilly Meister are also options at the position.
"I think we have some interesting pieces," Moren said. "I think we have a lot of really good talent. I do think that there is going to be a moment where you'll probably see us use our depth more than we did a year ago. We're excited about that."
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