During the nonconference season, IU Coach Teri Moren called Larryn Brooks her team’s undeniable leader.
With Brooks being a point guard and Moren a former point guard, the two talked frequently about the game, each learning things from each other. Brooks, just a sophomore, started every game her freshman season and quickly emerged as Moren’s leader on the court.
But as a 10-1 team became a 14-10 team, Moren struggled to find the same leadership.
Shots stopped falling. Close, winnable games were losses. The defense wasn’t coming together. Moren blamed herself for the inexperienced Hoosiers not understanding certain game situations.
But leadership on the court wasn’t something she could control — for that she looked to Brooks. Entering the final stretch of the season, she’s still trying to get that back — and get that back consistently.
“I’ll say this,” Moren said, “I think that Larryn has really taken it personal that I continue to say that we’re still looking and seeking to find that leader.”
During a practice before the Illinois game, Moren said her team hit a “lull.” Brooks was the first to gather her teammates together and lead them through the end of practice.
Now it’s a matter of doing that all the time.
Against Purdue last Monday, Brooks scored a game-high 22 points. That came on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor, including a perfect 3-of-3 from 3-point range, and she added nine free throws on 10 attempts.
The result was a dominant 72-55 win.
Brooks followed that performance with two games — versus Northwestern and Ohio State — where she went a combined 6-of-23 from the field and committed 11 turnovers. After the Purdue game, Moren said that was the Brooks she needed each and every game.
She got that back in IU’s most recent win Wednesday night against Illinois. Brooks had zero second-half turnovers to go with a team-high 14 points. The inconsistency of IU’s starting point guard has mirrored that of its entire team.
The Hoosiers went on a four-game losing streak in January, starting with a narrow loss to then-No. 23 Minnesota, followed by defeat at the hands of a Penn State team that was winless in the Big Ten to that point. IU lost by just 10 to a Maryland team that was ranked No. 7 in the country and then played what Moren called their worst game of the season against Michigan State.
Consistency is something she’s continually addressed, something that’s been frustrating. But it’s a flaw she could look at in a positive light at a high point like Wednesday night.
“We were waiting to have a night like this, and we’ve been so close,” Moren said. “We’ve been in a lot of games and have fallen short. I’m really proud of our resilience and just sticking together. A lot of moments where we’ve been discouraged. For them to come out tonight the way they did says a lot about the progress we continue to make.”
Moren attributed some of the trouble to the fatigue of her freshmen, especially Tyra Buss and Amanda Cahill, two starters who get a bulk of the playing time. Buss is averaging 29 minutes per game, while Cahill plays 28.4. Only Brooks plays more.
“I think that is what being a freshman in the Big Ten looks like,” Moren said. “Until you go through it, you’re not quite sure how to navigate the balance of academics, traveling and playing in the Big Ten.”
But there will be a point where she doesn’t call them “young” anymore, Moren said. They’re maturing and growing as a team. They’re learning what does and doesn’t work.
For the first time this season, Moren alluded to the Big Ten Tournament coming at the beginning of March and the post-season.
To get there, growing into a team that competes on a consistent basis continues to be an everyday process for IU.
“These are small victories,” Moren said after Wednesday’s win. “It’s not quite what we want it to look like, but yet it’s nights like these that you feel really good about the progress and feel good about each other.”
