After Saturday’s 115-54 dismantling of Gardner-Webb, the Hoosiers will look to continue their success against an in-state opponent.
Valparaiso defeated Butler 91-57 in its only game of the season so far.
The Hoosiers pressured opposing guards relentlessly against Gardner-Webb and in their exhibition against Indianapolis. Their three-quarter-court press has led to 31 steals during those two games.
Twelve of those can be attributed to freshman Tyra Buss. She said they would continue to pressure the ball against Valparaiso.
“We’ve just been really aggressive,” Buss said. “We’ve been really focusing on the defensive end this year.”
Moren said they’ve previously focused 60 percent of their time on defense in practices, and their ongoing goal is to keep opponents under 60 points per game.
That will be more difficult against a Valparaiso team that had five players in double digits and shot 50 percent from the floor against Butler.
Both the Hoosiers and Crusaders have poured it in from deep. IU shot 16-30 from behind the arc against Gardner-Webb, and Valparaiso made 12 of 25 triples against Butler.
IU sophomore Taylor Agler made five herself on her way to 17 points and seven ?rebounds.
The Hoosiers will also look to out-rebound the smaller Valparaiso team. The Crusaders only have two major contributors taller than 6 feet — senior Sharon Karungi and freshman Dani Franklin.
However, without much depth in the post themselves, Moren emphasized keeping her forwards out of foul trouble by playing smarter. Sophomore forward Jenn Anderson had three fouls in the first half, which forced her out of the game for a time.
“They can’t get into foul trouble for us,” Moren said. “At the end of the day, we have to figure out a way to move our feet and contest shots without picking up fouls. It continues to be a concern of ours.”
With just two rest days between games, Agler said they don’t have much time to prepare for Valparaiso.
“One game at a time is a big philosophy on our team,” Agler said after the Gardner-Webb game. “We can’t look ahead, and we couldn’t look past Gardner-Webb.”
Moren said IU Coach Curtis Loyd would scout the Crusaders, and they would develop a game plan from there.
“We have a short turnaround time,” Moren said. “So we’ll get our kids and prepare them for what’s probably going to be a good Valpo basketball team.”
