Indiana Women Get First Tough Test With No. 13 Kentucky on Sunday

It's not uncommon to see more "manageable" teams at the start of any college basketball season. Not for Teri Moren and her No. 8-ranked Hoosiers. Indiana's women's basketball team wants another NCAA tournament run and tough tests like No. 13 Kentucky — the Hoosiers' guests on Sunday — provide a great challenge.

USA Today

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — There are no "gimme games" for Indiana women's basketball head coach Tori Moren.

Moren wants to build on last year's first-ever Elite Eight run, and the best way to do that is play as difficult of a schedule as possible. That's why No. 8-ranked Indiana is taking on No. 13 Kentucky at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday at  Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.

"We felt with five returning starters, plus some of the pieces that can help off the bench, that we needed to put together another difficult schedule," Moren said. "It's always intentional in how we put together our schedule."

The Big Ten conference schedule is always difficult, and this year will be no different. Five Big Ten teams made the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll — Maryland at No. 4, Indiana No. 8, Iowa No. 9, Michigan No. 11 and Ohio State No. 17 — so there will be plenty of challenges later. 

Moren scheduled other huge nonconference challenges as well. The Hoosiers will play defending national champion Stanford on Nov. 25 in the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Classic in the Bahamas. They will also play N.C. State, the No. 1 seed they knocked off in the Sweet Sixteen last year, in Bloomington on Dec. 1 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Junior guard Mackenzie Holmes is all for the challenge, starting with No. 13 Kentucky on Sunday. 

"That will help us when we get into conference play," she said. "It gives us a chance to play against that type of competition and prepare for what the Big Ten will offer."

Indiana is 1-0 after beating Butler 86-63 on the road on Wednesday to open the season. The Hoosiers were led by Nicole Cardaño-Hillary who went 7-for-8 from the arc, which ranks third in school history, and was 10-for-11 from the field in scoring 29 points. 

"I knew we had a lot to do on defense, but the shots felt good, and they were falling," Cardaño-Hillary said.

Last year, the Hoosiers lost to Kentucky 72-68 in Lexington, struggling to score down the stretch and letting a 10-point lead slip away. This season, the Wildcats return three starters — Dre'Una Edwards, Blair Green and 6-foot-2 senior guard Rhyne Howard, who averaged 20.7 points per game last season.

"Our players love the competition and the challenges we present them with in the nonconference," Moren said. "It's benefited us so much."

How to watch Kentucky at Indiana

• Who: Kentucky Wildcats (2-0) vs. Indiana Hoosiers (1-0)
• When: 5 p.m. ET, Sunday, Nov. 14
• Where: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Ind.
• TV/Streaming: ESPN
• Radio: WHCC 105.1 FM

Related stories on Indiana women's basketball

• INDIANA GETS ROAD WIN AT BUTLER: The Hoosiers, met with plenty of fans in cream and crimson, brought home its first win of the season with Nicole Cardaño-Hillary leading the pack scoring 29 points. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA TIPS OFF REGULAR SEASON AT BUTLER: Last season, the Indiana-Butler game was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, coach Teri Moren starts off her season with a road game for the first time in her tenure down the road at Hinkle Fieldhouse. CLICK HERE.
• INDIANA DOMINATES GREYHOUNDS: In a stunning exhibition game, the No. 8 ranked Hoosiers showed the Greyhounds what an Elite Eight team is made of. CLICK HERE.
• INDIANA TIPS OFF AT HOME VERSUS UINDY: The No. 8 ranked Hoosiers host the University of Indianapolis Greyhounds in Indiana's sole exhibition game. Indiana's veteran players lead the charge. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA'S EXPERIENCED GROUP: Indiana returns all five of its starters after the program's historic season and Elite Eight run. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA SCHEDULE: Here is Indiana's complete women's basketball schedule for the 2021-22 season. CLICK HERE