IU women’s basketball head coach Teri Moren entered her team’s NCAA tournament locker room with a dry head of hair and dry clothes on her back. She left soaked after her team surprised her with streams of water from firing water bottles following their victory against No. 12 Belmont University on March 24. This marked the program's first ever Sweet Sixteen appearance.
Moren and her team then went on to make program history for a second time in the NCAA tournament when they made it to the Elite Eight after upsetting No. 1 North Carolina State 73-70.
The 2014-15 Season
First seasons will often have stumbles. Moren’s first season with IU ended with a losing record of 15-16.
Despite the challenges of coaching a new team in a new environment, Moren had some highlights such as improving the Hoosiers' scoring average, free throw shooting and defense.
IU’s 72 points per game was the program's best since the 1995-96 season, and their 74% free throw shooting was the best since the 2003-04 season. Moren improved the team’s quickness on defense, which translated to 284 total steals, the best in four years.
The 2015-16 Season
Moren found her footing at IU as the Hoosiers’ record improved to 21-12. This season the team made the NCAA tournament as the No. 9 seed, making it their first berth in the tournament in 14 years. Moren’s accomplishments this season earned her the Big Ten Coach of the Year award.
The 2016-17 Season
Moren’s season record continued to improve in her third year, when the Hoosiers finished with a 23-11 record. New program records in points scored with 2,547, scoring average with 75 points per game and assists with 564 helped lead them to the WNIT Quarterfinals.
The 2017-18 Season
Continuing their success in the WNIT, the Hoosiers won the tournament after defeating Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the championship game. The team finished the season with a 23-14 record. Moren also had success developing strong players in Tyra Buss and Amanda Cahill, who together set 10 records and rank in the top five of IU women’s basketball’s all-time scorers. Buss and Cahill also made All-Big Ten teams with Buss making the first team and Cahill the second.
The 2018-19 Season
This season marked the fourth consecutive year of a 20 plus game-win with a 21-13 record. The Hoosiers also had their fourth straight postseason appearance as the 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They made it past the No.7 University of Texas at Austin in the first round, but fell short against the No. 2 University of Oregon in the second round.
The 2019-20 Season
Moren and her team showed a significant jump for their win-loss ratio, holding a substantial winning record of 24-8. Their efforts this season had them ranked for all 20 weeks in the AP’s top 25. Included in this, the Hoosiers made a program record ranking at No. 12.
The 2020-21 Season
Moren’s most recent season was her best yet. The Hoosiers had their lowest amount of losses during Moren’s tenure with a 21-6 record. The Hoosiers also accomplished another program record with 16 wins against Big Ten competition.
Their regular season success earned the Hoosiers their highest NCAA tournament ranking in program history as the No. 4 seed, with their second highest of a No. 6 seed dating back to 1983. For the first time in program history, IU made it to both the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight. O
ther accomplishments for her players include junior guard Grace Berger being named as one of 13 finalists for the USA Women’s FIBA Americup team while senior guard Ali Patberg, sophomore forward Mackenzie Holmes and junior guard Aleksa Gulbe won All-Big Ten honors.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misstated the recruitment of Tyra Buss and Amanda Cahill
