INDIANA UNIVERSITY WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: NEVER BET AGAINST TERI MOREN
After a solid 22-point win at home in the regular season opener, the Indiana University women’s basketball team went on to drop the following 2 games in extremely disappointing fashion before an impressive 3-game winning streak (Stanford, Columbia, Baylor) actually had them right back in the thick of Top 25 discussions. And then North Carolina mopped the floor with the Hoosiers in a 30-point drubbing. The Tar Heels were in complete control throughout that entire game, but rapidly ran away with the Battle 4 Atlantis championship trophy right from the opening whistle of the 2nd half.
Needless to say, things have been volatile to begin the season for the ladies in B-Town.
For starters, luck has not been on their side in the injury department. X-factor Lexus Bargesser missed the first 4 games with a foot setback. Lenee Beaumont, arguably the team’s most underrated hooper heading into the season, has yet to see a single second on the court as she works her way back from a knee ailment. Sydney Parrish left early in the B4A semifinal dub over Baylor with a knee injury. We can only pray that the results from her impending imaging come back positive, and furthermore that the team can get Beaumont back ASAP while simultaneously sustaining full health throughout the rest of the roster.
Then you must also factor in the team’s immense offensive struggles thus far. Aside from a 34-point explosion from Shay Ciezki (which she proved more than capable of doing last season) against Baylor, the team has been downright dreadful when it comes to putting the ball in the bucket with any sense of efficiency. The Hoosiers are currently ranked 203rd in the NCAA in points per game (65.6), 206th in Field Goal Percentage (40.2%), and 256th in 3-Point Field Goal Percentage (27.4%).
Other than her big night in the upset win over Stanford at home, Chloe Moore-McNeil has looked a bit lost. After supporting star players like Grace Berger, Mackenzie Holmes, and Sara Scalia through her first 4 seasons at IU, she has appeared out of sorts when cast as a primary offensive option. Prior to the injury, CMM’s fellow super senior Parrish has been ice cold offensively (although she has been crucial on the defensive end/glass).
The overall performance of the entire group has been underwhelming to start the season. Thankfully, they have plenty of time to get the train back on the tracks. Even more thankfully, Teri Moren is the type of catalyzing conductor who is more than capable of navigating her people through any unforeseen turbulence.
Moren has been one of the top up and coming shot-callers across the entire landscape of women’s college hoops over the course of the last decade, and anyone contesting that claim should seek mental assistance immediately. While the all-time winningest coach in the history of the IU women’s basketball program has yet to bring a NCAA championship trophy back to B-Town, that is not to say that her trophy case runs barren. Earlier this year, the former Purdue Boilermaker guard (take a moment for your cranium to completely grasp that) led Team USA’s U18 team to a Gold Medal at FIBA’s annual U18 Women’s AmeriCup. This was Moren’s 3rd consecutive year earning Gold as a member of the USA coaching staff at the event.
There was always a slim list of believers in the idea of the Hoosiers getting over the hump of true title contention in 2024-2025, but we have been aboard that bandwagon throughout the entire offseason. The players on the court simply need some time to establish their cohesion, and the lady on the sideline is the perfect glue to hold everything in place (and everyone accountable).
Keep going, Teri!