HOW THE INDIANA UNIVERSITY WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM CAN WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP
Teri Moren was not thrilled with her team’s lackluster effort last night in the regular season opener against Brown, but she is assuredly happy to have “escaped” with a 22-point victory.
With the Hoosiers’ inaugural outing now in the rearview mirror, the cream and crimson can now set their sights on the road ahead. Like each and every college basketball team, IU must take things one game at a time. However, there is one contest in particular that matters the most to all of these teams: the NCAA championship.
Indiana has yet to bring a NCAA championship trophy back home to Bloomington, and nobody is anticipating this season to be any different. The candy stripe crew just narrowly made the cut as a Top 25 team heading into the season and were predicted to finish 5th in the Big Ten. Mediocre expectations aside, betting against Teri Moren is NEVER a smart idea.
All of these being stated, there are a few things that absolutely MUST transpire if this team is going to bring home it’s first title:
TEAM MUST STAY HEALTHY
The season has only just begun, but the injury bug is already pestering the Hoosiers. Sydney Parrish left the team’s exhibition win over Maryville last week after rolling her ankle. Three other players (Lexus Bargesser, Lenee Beaumont and Sydney Fenn) each missed that outing altogether. The true freshman Fenn, who will now be redshirting this year after undergoing a precautionary knee surgery tied to a preexisting ailment, was never expected to fill a major role this season as she continues to develop. However, Bargesser and Beaumont are each borderline starters for this team and their health will be critical to the success of this team. Our fingers are crossed that those ladies are back on the court ASAP and the rest of the team can stay on it.
SYDNEY PARRISH + YARDEN GARZON MUST COMBINE TO AVERAGE AT LEAST 30 PPG
The deadly Mackenzie Holmes-Sara Scalia combo and their 36.1 PPG are no longer in B-Town, meaning this year’s team is going to need others to step up to bridge that scoring gap. Thankfully, last year’s 3rd and 4th leading scorers Yarden Garzon (11.7 PPG) and Sydney Parrish (10.8 PPG) are still in the mix. The 6’2” wings have plenty of battle-tested experience, and will be counted on to provide Teri Moren a pair of primary scoring threats. The duo looked comfortable in their new roles last night, combining for 36 points on 13-26 shooting (50%) from the field and 5-14 from distance (35.7%). They will need to continue getting buckets efficiently as the season progesses.
CHLOE MOORE-MCNEIL MUST BE THE BIG TEN’S BEST PERIMETER DEFENDER
CMM has the most individual responsibilities for this team. She will once again be tasked with orchestrating Teri Moren’s offense and taking care of the ball while doing so. Plus, she will be expected to sustain the growth she showcased as a shooter a season ago (40.9% from deep on 2.9 attempts-per-game). But arguably more important to her contributions on the offensive end will be her gritty, hard-nosed profile as a point of attack defender. Moore-McNeil is among the toughest perimeter defenders in the nation, and will once again be assigned with defending the opposition’s top perimeter scoring threat night in and night out.
SHAY CIEZKI MUST BE THE BIG TEN’S BEST SHOOTER
Shay Ciezki has yet to connect on her first official made 3-pointer as a Hoosier, but it will not be long before her barrage of triples begins in Bloomington. The New York native has displayed elite shooting skills through her first 2 collegiate campaigns at Penn State, hitting 38.9% of her 5.5 nightly triple attempts. She has clearly cemented herself as one of the most lethal marksmen in the country, and now it is time for her to establish herself as the B1G’s superior sniper.
LILLY MEISTER + KAROLINE STRIPLIN MUST EFFECTIVELY FILL THE MACKENZIE HOLMES VOID
Mackenzie Holmes is irreplaceable, there is simply no getting around that. She is the greatest player in the history of Indiana University women’s basketball, and there is no individual player out there who could replicate the type of production + passion which she exuded as a member of this program. It was always going to take a collective effort to fill her void, and so far through the team’s first 2 showings Lilly Meister and Karoline Striplin have done an admirable job of making things happen in the frontcourt. Meister led the Hoosiers with 18 points and 4 rebounds in just 16 minutes (!!!) during the exhibition matchup with Maryville, and followed that up with another impressive showing yesterday against Brown (13 points and 6 rebounds). Her primary backup Striplin has also been solid thus far, most notably in last night’s action in which she dropped 17 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in only 12 minutes (!!!). If those two can continue to string together this type of production it will go a long way towards IU reaching their goals.
BENCH MUST BE THE BIG TEN’S BEST
Depth was one of the Hoosiers’ greatest weaknesses throughout the 2023-2024 campaign, but it should be one of the team’s greatest strengths this season. With every single member (Bargesser, Beaumont, LaMendola, Henna Sandvik) of last year’s bench mob back in the fold and a few new additions (Striplin, Sharnecce Currie-Jelks, Faith Wiseman, Valentyna Kadlecova) sprinkled in, the starting unit should have much more support coming from their backups this year compared to last. However, the Hoosiers will need these players to be better than just good. They will each need to excel in their respective roles off the pine if IU has any shot at a ship.