Indiana Women's Basketball: Who Will Replace Grace Berger at Point Guard?

With the graduation of Indiana women's basketball star point guard Grace Berger, the one position is open and has plenty of solid options to fill it in the 2023-24 campaign.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana women's basketball had a stellar 2022 campaign with high hopes to build the program up for another record-breaking season. However, point guard Grace Berger won't be around to help due to her graduation, so who will take her place?

The Hoosiers finished with a 28-4 overall record, the first Big Ten regular season title since 1983 and the program's first one-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Berger in her fifth season led at the point and said her farewell to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in an emotional final game after Indiana's second round defeat to Miami on March 20.

Indiana head coach Teri Moren and the whole team spoke highly of Berger all season long and often said she was the heart of the program and got her teammates excited about getting extra hours in the gym. It didn't feel like work to them. Senior forward Mackenzie Holmes, who still has one year of eligibility left, said through tears she was sad the second round was the last time she would ever play with Berger at Indiana.

Indiana's Grace Berger (34) works against Michigan's Leigha Brown (32) during the first half of the Indiana versus Michigan women's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023 :: © Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

The team as well as the fan base expressing their support on social media will truly miss Berger as she has now moved on to play for the Indiana Fever in the WNBA after being selected in the first round of the draft Monday night. Berger left behind a strong legacy, but she also left behind an open position at point guard. There are several options in filling it.

The good news is Berger is the only guard the team is losing next season. Forward Alyssa Geary graduated, and forwards Kiandra Browne and Mona Zaric entered the transfer portal. Other than that, the team remains very similar to last season.

Starting guards Chloe Moore-McNeil, Sydney Parrish, Yarden Garzon and Sara Scalia (who earned 14 starts last season) are still on the roster while Henna Sandvik and Lexus Bargesser also remain Hoosiers following successful freshman year campaigns.

Out of the list above, although nothing has been hinted at or confirmed by Indiana's staff, Moore-McNeil or Bargesser would be great fits to slide into the one position.

Actually, Moore-McNeil already has experience taking over for Berger when she went down with a right knee injury during the Auburn game at the Las Vegas Invitational. Berger didn't need surgery but still missed eight games. In her time out, the Hoosiers won all but one matchup and beat one ranked team in No. 6 North Carolina. 

Moore-McNeil averaged 9.8 points in that stretch and made taking over for Berger look effortless. Moren said while Holmes scored most of the points, Moore-McNeil was the true MVP during Berger's absence. 

Indiana's Chloe Moore-McNeil (22) scores around llinois' Kendall Bostic (44) during the first half of the Indiana versus Illinois women's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022 :: © Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Overall, the Sharon, Tenn. native averaged 9.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and led the team with 155 assists at the end of her junior season.

Meanwhile Grass Lake, Mich. native Lexus Bargesser never earned a start but still played in 29 games as a true freshman. She played a season-high 23 minutes in the Hoosiers' 74-62 overtime win over Nebraska while Berger was out. She ended her season averaging 2.1 points and 1.0 rebound per game.

Moren said in a press conference earlier in the season the staff was grooming her to become a point guard, and she was accepting that challenge well.

Indiana's Lexus Bargesser (1) scores past Nebraska's Kendall Coley (32) during the second half of the Indiana versus Nebraska women's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023 :: © Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Indiana does have a couple of guards coming in in freshmen Lenée Beaumont and Jules LaMendola, but the two haven't arrived to campus just yet as they're finishing up their senior years at their respective high schools.

It's possible the Hoosiers could grab a point guard out of the transfer portal too. There's been no discussion about this as the Hoosiers keep their postseason decisions pretty private, but there are now open scholarships on the roster with the departures of Browne, Zaric, Geary and Berger. Beaumont and LaMendola will take two of those spots of course.

It's uncertain who will get the starting point guard job in the 2023-24 season, but the good news is Indiana has plenty of solid options as the team reloads, not rebuilds. 

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