Tyra Buss wasn’t even supposed to participate in the 3-point contest of Hoosier Hysteria.
The original contestants of the event were junior guard Karlee McBride, senior forward Lyndsay Leikem, sophomore forward Amanda Cahill and sophomore guard Jess Walter. Buss ended up replacing Walter, who suffered a minor injury in practice and it paid off.
Buss raced her way to the final of the women’s 3-point contest before narrowly defeating Leikem in the women’s championship. However, Buss’ night beyond-the-arc was not over as the 5-foot-8 point guard had to choose between men’s players Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell, Nick Zeisloft and Troy Williams.
Buss chose Williams and cited the fact that the 6-foot-8 forward doesn’t usually get the chance to shoot 3-pointers in games.
“I’m not one that’s known for talking,” Williams said jokingly. “But I gotta quiet them down when need be.”
Williams was able to quiet down Illinois’ all-time high school leading scorer as he defeated Buss in the overall 3-point championship by a score of 18 to 14.
Prior to Buss’s journey to the 3-point championship, IU Coach Teri Moren stole the show with her dance moves following introductions. Moren “hit the quan,” with sophomore guard Tia Elbert and danced with her team.
“How bout that?” Moren said of her dance moves to Hoosier Hysteria host Catt Sadler. “There’s nothing like hitting the quan. I had a really good teacher in Tia, who’s by far our best dancer. I watched a lot of video. It was something where the kids came to me and asked if I’d like to do it. I like this group so much, so I said that I would absolutely do it.”
Moren was able to partake in her second Hoosier Hysteria on Saturday night as the former Indiana State coach enters her second season as the IU reign holder.
“I’m from Southern Indiana,” Moren said. “So I grew up as a Hoosier fan. There’s nothing like being in AH, there’s nothing like being at this event. It’s hard to describe, it’s something that you have to experience.”
Moren went on to elaborate to Sadler on her team’s upcoming season. The Hoosiers are looking to build off last year’s 15-16 (5-15 Big Ten) campaign, and return starters such as Tyra Buss, Amanda Cahill and Alexis Gassion.
“There’s no question that experience is really important,” Moren said. “A lot of our young kids got a tremendous amount of experience last season. I think you’ll see us playing faster last year. We’re a work in progress, but it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.”
IU begins play at 2 p.m. Nov. 8 when it faces Slippery Rock in an exhibition in Assembly Hall.
“I’m the proud mother of all these girls,” Moren said. “The work they do in the classroom, the work they’re doing here, it’s amazing. They’re just great human beings, they’re great to be around. We enjoy each other’s successes, and we’re there when we have some setbacks. They love Indiana.”
