Indiana Women's Basketball Coach Teri Moren Said 'We Are a Defensive-Minded Team'

The Hoosiers are at the top of the Big Ten leaderboard in scoring defense and limit their opponents to an average 57.1 points per game. Their offense is certainly elite, but both Coach Teri Moren and her team have said 'we hang our hats on our defense.'

IU Athletics

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — In basketball, the flashy three-pointers, jump shots and fast break offenses gain appreciation from audiences and fans all across the globe. But for Indiana women's basketball — they hang their hats on defensive play, Coach Teri Moren said.

The Hoosiers are the No. 1 scoring defense in the Big Ten right now. They haven't allowed an opponent to score more than 69 points so far this season limiting their opponents' average final score to just 57.1.

Stanford, the reigning NCAA champions, was the only team that broke 69 points. The Hoosiers even limited Maryland, the highest scoring offense in the Big Ten at the time to 63 points.

"You have to rely on who we are," Moren said. "We are a defensive-minded team."

To be clear, the Hoosiers are also offensive monsters ranking sixth in the Big Ten scoring offense. But defense continues to be the name of the game.

The Hoosiers tally 575 rebounds compared to their opponents' 484 so far this season and an average 15.7 points off turnovers compared to their opponents' 11.5.

Junior forward Mackenzie Holmes leads the rebounding charge with 115. Senior forward Aleksa Gulbe will take second with 94 boards this season.

In Indiana's victory over Nebraska on Thursday, one crucial piece to the defense was missing — Holmes, who was out with a knee injury.

Moren said in a post game press conference she doesn't know when Holmes will be back and gave no timeline. 

To replace the 6'3" forward for the time being was sophomore forward Kiandra Browne, who got her first start in the Nebraska game.

Moren said Browne's start was a bit shaky, but she did great things, especially setting up screens to give her offense ample opportunity to score. 

"Kiandra coming in rebounding, playing really great defense, taking a charge and just filling in nicely for Mackenzie, it just says a lot, and I think it makes us really dangerous as we get into the post season," senior guard Grace Berger said. 

Moren said she thought her team did great defensively to stifle the Cornhuskers, including guarding Nebraska's leading scorer, Jaz Shelley. Graduate student guard Ali Patberg rose to the challenge.

"Ali's super smart, understands tendencies and was trying to take that away," Moren said. 

The one area the Hoosiers are lacking in is steals. They currently have 96 steals this season compared to the 115 they've allowed.

Graduate student guard Nicole Cardaño-Hillary makes up for 27 steals followed by Berger's 23 and Gulbe's 20.

In the win over Nebraska, Gulbe had four steals before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

"I can't say enough about her defensively," Moren said.

Cardaño-Hillary added that Gulbe gets the energy up for the team, and Moren said her team is built different naming Gulbe as one of the difference makers.

The competitiveness separates them from other teams, and nothing seems to shake them even when their team's leading scorer is out.

"Yet, we show up to shoot around, and our kids are ready to go," Moren said. "They don't flinch.

Related stories on Indiana women's basketball

• HOOSIERS DEFEAT NEBRASKA AT HOME: The 72-65 win and 5-0 conference best start was done so even without the Hoosiers' leading scorer Mackenzie Holmes who sat out with a knee injury. Grace Berger led the team to victory with 22 points. Indiana coach Teri Moren said her team was "built for this moment." CLICK HERE. 
• INDIANA TAKES ON NEBRASKA AFTER 8-DAY BREAK: Eight days away allowed the bench to get healthy, Moren said. Now the team is back and ready to fight for its best Big Ten start in history with a hopeful win over the Cornhuskers who recently knocked off then ranked-No. 8 Michigan. CLICK HERE.
• KEYARAH BERRY LEAVES THE TEAM: The freshman guard is one of two players to leave the team this season as Caitlin Hose exited the team last year to focus on her studies. CLICK HERE.