There have been no practices since IU lost by 20 points on the road to Northwestern on Tuesday night.
Before that game, IU defeated No. 10 Iowa 75-73 in a thrilling comeback victory. It snapped a four-game losing streak for the Hoosiers and looked like an injection of revitalization into their season. Then they went to Evanston, Illinois, five days later.
"Head scratching" were the words IU Coach Teri Moren used to describe the team’s performance Tuesday.
“I’d love to give you a whole host of reasons as to why we played so poorly,” Moren said. “There’s no excuses, there’s no good reasons other than we played poorly.”
Since then, IU had a rest day Wednesday, then watched film of the 69-49 defeat Thursday, in addition to hitting the weight room. In terms of a team practice, no basketballs have been picked up.
“It was pretty tough to watch it again,” junior guard Ali Patberg said. “It was kind of, honestly, embarrassing just from the standpoint of I thought that we didn’t play very hard. We didn’t seem like we really cared.”
When talking about the game, Patberg’s eyes would often divert to the floor as she took long pauses between sentences, trying to formulate words about why the team came out with little to no energy.
But Patberg said that game needs to go in the past, and the Hoosiers need to return to the style of play that was on display against Iowa.
On Friday, the Hoosiers practiced again, and Sunday, IU will play its final home game of the regular season against in-state rival Purdue.
On Jan. 20, IU lost to Purdue 56-53 in West Lafayette, Indiana. Sophomore guard Karissa McLaughlin scored 14 points in the game and leads the Boilermakers in scoring with 15.4 points per game. Junior guard Dominique Oden and junior forward Ae’Rianna Harris also score in double digits for Purdue but were each held to single digits in the first game against IU.
Moren said the team hasn’t changed much from when the two first met.
“They don’t really go away from what they do,” Moren said. “As far as the big three — McLaughlin, Oden, Harris — you know most of their offense is going through them still.”
In Charlie Creme’s most recent NCAA Tournament bracketology, he had IU on the bubble for making the field of 64. The Hoosiers are 18-11 overall and 7-9 in Big Ten play, which has them at 11th place in the Big Ten standings. As it stands, IU would play Wednesday in the Big Ten Tournament.
But, if the Hoosiers beat Purdue Sunday, and Minnesota loses to Michigan State at home, then IU could boost itself into the top-10 of the conference standings. This means it would not have to play until Thursday.
Aside from the implications of the game and the rivalry involved, IU will also be celebrating senior forward Kym Royster and senior guard Grace Withrow.
Royster is a four-year senior who has seen a steady increase in playing time and scoring, with her junior year being the breakout season averaging 28 minutes per game and 10.2 points.
“She had probably been the most improved Big Ten player,” Moren said. “She’s been the anchor in the middle the last two seasons for us. She’s leaving here a better basketball player, but she’s also leaving here a better person and a better student. That’s what I’m most proud of.”
As for Withrow, she walked on to the team last season and was awarded a scholarship heading into this year. She recorded her first points as a Hoosier on Nov. 18, 2018, against University of North Florida and hit a 3-pointer in IU’s Tuesday game against Northwestern.
“She has been nothing but a pleasure to be around,” Moren said. “She’s an incredibly intelligent young lady with a wonderful sense of humor. She’s been nothing but supportive of her teammates.”
The game starts at noon Sunday in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
“It’s a huge game and it matters in a lot of aspects and it’s Purdue,” Patberg said. “But more importantly, it’s Kym and Grace’s last game. I’m excited to play for them and celebrate them.”
