IU Coach Teri Moren has preached defense recently. IU women’s basketball suffered a pair of losses in the past two weeks, and in both games Moren said lackluster defending was at least partially to blame for the defeats.
The defense may have looked good on paper Thursday night, but IU Coach Teri Moren was none too happy with the overall performance despite a 100-49 win over Northern Kentucky.
In particular, Moren was upset with her bench players and their defensive focus and energy. Moren said the team spends time before every game doing prep and scouting for the next opponent, but she said her players are still missing things.
“We show these kids,” Moren said. “We give them the answers to the test, and then we get in those games, and they flat out fail. It’s not OK. It might be OK against Northern Kentucky. It’s not going to be OK against Penn State. It’s not going to be OK against Florida, and it probably won’t be OK against Valpo. We’ve got to be serious about getting better. It’s not my starters per se. It’s the help that’s coming off the bench right now that’s not taking pride in what we’re asking them to do.”
IU jumped out to a 35-5 lead after the opening quarter by playing stifling defense and rebounding nearly every missed shot by Northern Kentucky. IU held Northern Kentucky to just 2-of-15 shooting in the first 10 minutes.
The Norse were able to hang 17 points on the Hoosiers in the second quarter, which caused Moren to become visibly upset on the sidelines. At halftime Moren was still frustrated, senior guard Alexis Gassion said.
“Coach was a little disappointed in our defensive mentality in the second quarter, so she got on us about that,” Gassion said. “She was pretty mad about that effort.”
The Hoosiers made their biggest mark defensively at the beginning of quarters. IU held the Norse scoreless for the first six minutes of the game, and for about the first three minutes in both the third and fourth quarters. Meanwhile, the Hoosiers scored 43 points combined in those scoreless stretches for Northern Kentucky.
Near the end of those quarters, however, the defense would slip up. That was what angered Moren most.
“Tonight, I kept asking them not to play the scoreboard, just to really focus on ourselves defensively,” Moren said. “We’ve struggled with that, so that’s on me. I’ve got to do better. We’ve got make sure that we’re committed to that end.”
IU moved to 6-3 in the win, and the 49 points allowed were the second fewest in the season. However, Moren said her team had set the goal before the game of only allowing 35 points. The fact they couldn’t hold the Norse to that number is a problem, she said.
“It’s about expectations being high, and when we brought them to Indiana, I expected great things,” Moren said. “And I expected greater things. And I want better.”
Frustrations aside, IU has to prepare for a game against Valparaiso on Sunday afternoon. With the quick turnaround, Moren said her team will only really have one day of preparation but you can bet what they’ll be working on.
“We will continue to work and work and work on the defensive end until we can get it right,” Moren said. “Because right now, it’s not good enough to beat the guys down the road that we’re going to face.”
