Indiana Women's Basketball Preseason Storylines Entering Wednesday's Exhibition

November marks the return of the Indiana women's basketball season. The Hoosiers play Northwood in an exhibition at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Wednesday night. Below are some storylines and what-if's heading into this season without the program's all-time winningest player.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — No. 9 Indiana's season unofficially begins Wednesday with an exhibition game versus Northwood at Assembly Hall. The season opener will be the following week against Eastern Illinois. 

For Wednesday, anticipate many different roster combinations.Head coach Teri Moren stated Monday that was the hope. Moren also commented on the edge-of-your-seat eagerness for the veteran returners. Last season, the first-ever No. 1-seed Hoosiers lost at home in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. That upset supplies motivation. In September, senior Sydney Parrish said it still brought pain.

But as four starters return this season, plus 14-game starter Sara Scalia, the expectations to compete for back-to-back Big Ten regular-season banners and earn a high seed in the tournament remain. Indiana is picked to finish second in the Big Ten by media and third by the coaches.

The Big Ten is stacked with top-25 teams at the moment. Indiana plays at No. 9 Ohio State, and splits home and road matchups with No. 23 Illinois, No. 14 Maryland and No. 3 Iowa. The non-conference slate is also loaded. The Hoosiers are set to visit No. 15 Stanford in their second game of the season on Nov. 12, and will face No. 11 Tennessee on Thanksgiving in Florida.

There's a noticeable void on this year's roster, as Grace Berger became a top-10 WNBA Draft selection by the Indiana Fever. Still, the Hoosiers could run out a veteran-filled starting five of Chloe Moore-McNeil, Scalia, Parrish, Yarden Garzon and Mackenzie Holmes, though Moren didn't reveal Wednesday's starting lineup.

How Indiana replaces Berger's 12.9 points, team-high 5.8 assists and leadership is the most popular question heading into the season. Moren has hinted at three-point specialist Garzon posting up to the basket more with her size, which could mean that simultaneously, Scalia gets more three-point looks. Scalia shot 36% from beyond the arc.

“Knock on wood, [Scalia's] been shooting the ball very, very well for us inside practice right now,” Moren said Monday. “I think her goal for the season is to not lose her confidence. Sometimes, that's the one thing that happens with the shooters … I think that happened to her a year ago where … Her confidence was was shaken a little bit and we can't let, allow that to happen.”

Moore-McNeil posted the second-most assists last season and started all 32 games. Indiana would greatly profit from the senior's continued production in assists, defense, and getting to the free-throw line. Moore-McNeil frequented the line more than any other guard last season and shot 86%. More points here and there would contribute for Berger's absence at guard.

Indiana has great depth at the position, with Lexus Bargesser returning on the bench and two freshmen ESPN Top-100 guards in Lenée Beaumont and Julianna LaMendola. Moren said the two rookies play with moxie, though they looked nervous in the team’s closed scrimmage. It’s uncertain how many minutes they’ll each get, but Moren sees Wednesday evening as an opportunity for the newcomers to obtain experience playing in front of fans, albeit at home.

“What I like to see is, always and that's some of the things that we've been trying to do in practice on the offensive side, be executed” Moren said of Wednesday’s exhibition. “Then us be stingy defensively like we've been. We're still a work in progress, I think on the defensive side of the ball, especially because of those new kids. That's always the learning curve.”

The Berger question is undoubtedly paramount, but the more pressing question that pertains to this year’s active roster is, can Holmes stay healthy down the stretch? Holmes suffered an injury during last season’s Big Ten Tournament and missed the opening round of the NCAA Tournament as precaution. Moren said that giving reps to sophomores Lilly Meister and UT Martin transfer Sharnecce Currie-Jelks should alleviate the All-American’s workload.

Meister played in 31 games last season, training with Holmes in practice. The sophomore said she learns something unique each day and tries to soak in the All-American’s knowledge. Currie-Jelks was the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year and averaged 15.2 points in 26 starts. The sophomore rotated in and out of practice since the team's return from Greece in August, as she dealt with an injury. Moren said Monday the whole team is healthy.

There are suitable options for the Hoosiers in the paint, but Holmes is the likely candidate to be Indiana’s engine. The three-time All-American averaged 22.3 points per game last year, about 10 more than the play-maker in Berger. But for now, Indiana’s season begins with an exhibition Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET versus Northwood. The matchup, which will debut reserved seating for the women’s program in Assembly Hall, will air on Big Ten-plus. 

Related stories on Indiana Women's Basketball: 

• MACKENZIE HOLMES AP PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN: Indiana forward Mackenzie Holmes was one of six players named to the Associated Press preseason All-American Team Tuesday. CLICK HERE 
• YARDEN GARZON CHERYL MILLER AWARD WATCH LIST: Garzon, who set the program's freshman record for made 3-pointers, was named to the 20-player watch list for the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award. CLICK HERE
• 2023-24 IUWBB SCHEDULE: The Indiana women's basketball schedule is finally here. Coach Teri Moren and the Hoosiers have several big-time matchups against Big Ten opponents and against heavyweight teams in the non-conference slate. CLICK HERE
• SHARNECCE CURRIE-JELKS INJURY: Coach Teri Moren spoke on Monday in Minneapolis at Big Ten Media Day, and she revealed that Sharnecce Currie-Jelks is dealing with a hamstring injury that she's been recovering from ever since the Indiana women's basketball team returned from Greece. Currie-Jelks transferred to Indiana from UT Martin this offseason. CLICK HERE
• WHAT TERI MOREN SAID: Indiana women's basketball coach Teri Moren spoke at Big Ten media days Monday at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. Here's everything Moren said during her main podium session. CLICK HERE