Indiana Women's Basketball: Next Woman Up is Freshman Lilly Meister

Hoosier freshman forward Lilly Meister had a job to do when replacing senior forward Mackenzie Holmes, who sat out the first round of the NCAA Tournament due to left knee soreness. Meister's performance in her first career start proved to be what Indiana needed to move onto the second round.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana women's basketball freshman forward Lilly Meister earned her first career start during the Big Dance.

She was the next woman up as senior forward Mackenzie Holmes sat out the first round of the NCAA Tournament due to left knee soreness. The program made sure to emphasize Holmes was available if needed, but just wanted to take extra care.

"I don't think it was until we were really going through our scouting report that I knew," Meister said. "We had been hinting at it the past couple weeks but it was never set in place."

This season, Meister has played 30 games for 197 minutes. The 6-foot-3-inch Rochester, Minn. native tallied seven points, four rebounds and tied graduate student guard Grace Berger for a team-high three blocks in Saturday's 77-47 win over Tennessee Tech.

"The whole season my role has been different every game," Meister said. "It's never been the same. This [Saturday] was just another example of that."

Meister said she was prepared to start in the back of her mind, and the victory over the Golden Eagles was just another game. She was met with some nerves, but the best atmosphere got her through it.

"It's March Madness," she said. "Packed Assembly Hall. That's crazy."

Indiana head coach Teri Moren said the only thing she asked Meister and graduate student forward Alyssa Geary, who played an increased 17 minutes, to do was to be open to whatever role was given to them and embrace the process of getting better.

"I thought both of them did a tremendous job," Moren said. "We didn't need either one of them to do or be anything other than who they are. Lilly has played minutes off the bench for us and has provided us with a spark, whether it's rebounding, guarding, whether it's getting put-backs, hitting free throws. She's grown inside our program this year."

Moren added Meister is a smart, well-thought out young lady who puts in a lot of work behind the scenes that made her ready for this moment. Aside from her seven points, her defense was the main focus, and it greatly improved.

"That's really what we wanted her to focus on," Moren said. "Not replacing Mack as far as being a scoring threat. If the ball did get to her or found her she could get that offensive rebound put-back, that was going to be great."

Monday night, the Hoosiers will face 9-seed Miami in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Hall at 8 p.m. ET. It hasn't been announced if Holmes will sit out this round or not.

Related stories on Indiana women's basketball

• HOW TO WATCH INDIANA VS. MIAMI IN SECOND ROUND Here's how to watch Indiana women's basketball face 9-seed Miami in the second round of the NCAA Tournament inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Monday night. CLICK HERE
• WHAT BERGER, MEISTER SAID AFTER FIRST ROUND WIN Here's what Indiana women's basketball guard Grace Berger and forward Lilly Meister said following the Hoosiers' 77-47 win over Tennessee Tech in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. CLICK HERE
• MACKENZIE HOLMES HOPEFUL TO RETURN Indiana women's basketball was without leading scorer Mackenzie Holmes in its NCAA Tournament first-round game against No. 16 seed Tennessee Tech, but the Hoosiers didn't need her in the 77-47 win. Holmes and Indiana coach Teri Moren sounded optimistic about a return this season. CLICK HERE