Indiana women’s basketball head coach Teri Moren sat down in a black chair at the podium nearly 20 minutes after her team defeated Brown University by 22 points. She wasn’t pleased.
The Hoosiers gave up 11 3-pointers while making just five. They had 18 turnovers and relinquished 39 points in the second half after giving up just 21 in the first.
“I’m glad we got a win to begin the season," Moren said postgame. "But I’d be up here lying if I told you I was at all pleased with any of that tonight.”
The disappointment was evident. She stared at the final box score in front of her after placing her red pen to her left and shrugging her shoulders. She took a seven second break after uttering those words, trying to articulate her feelings.
Indiana won 82-60 in its season opener inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Monday. But there wasn’t much Moren was thrilled about. She said her team played undisciplined.
Of the eight Hoosiers who played at least five minutes, six of them are upperclassmen. Indiana is a veteran team, but it played far from it.
In the first half, Indiana had a clear advantage in the post. Senior forward Karoline Striplin and junior forward Lilly Meister racked up 7 and 6 points, respectively. But instead of continuing to feed the duo in the paint, the Hoosiers got “carried away” with outside shots, according to Moren.
And just before halftime, Indiana left a Brown shooter open on the strong side of the defense. It also switched a guard onto a center during a ball-screen. Those are just two of several things that frustrated Moren.
“It’s those little things that if you don’t nip it in the butt real quick, those are the things that are going to get your ass beat,” Moren said. “Our kids know that.”
Moren went into the locker room at halftime feeling like her team just went rogue to close out the first half. It wasn’t just the 11 3-pointers the Hoosiers gave up or their on-court performance that frustrated her, but there were also aspects of a veteran-led team she expects to see. And she didn’t Monday.
Whether it was Indiana not having necessary conversations in the huddle at timeouts or not playing with pride, Moren didn’t see a player-led group that held itself accountable.
“When you have players like Syd and usually Chloe, and Yarden at times, Shay has a great voice, but they need to be having those conversations before I get to the timeout,” Moren said. “They need to be holding each other accountable, wanting individually to play with greater pride, collectively wanting to play with greater pride. They need to be coaching each other up.”
Not only did the group did not play up to Moren’s standards, but neither did graduate student guard Chloe Moore-McNeil.
“I thought Chloe was lethargic,” Moren said. “Didn’t have much energy at the point. She’s our leader –– she has to be better.”
Moore-McNeil finished with just 2 points on 1-for-2 shooting. She added four rebounds and five assists but accumulated four turnovers.
Indiana, historically a team with defensive prowess, didn’t show it Monday. Moren was surprised with her squad’s undisciplined nature. She wants them to regain the defensive identity she’s instilled into the program.
Moren didn’t give any excuses: not that the Hoosiers were without junior guard Lexus Bargesser, who sported a boot and crutches, and sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont.
“They’re going to have to watch film, and I have to do a better job, along with our staff, of making sure how we do things, the way we do them, when we do them, doing them correctly, doing them right with consistency day in and day out of practice,” Moren said.
Indiana has two days to prepare for Harvard University, who is slated to make its way into Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for a 7 p.m. matchup Thursday. Moren said there’s “really good film” for her squad to see instances where they slipped and learn how they must correct it.
But if the Hoosiers can’t correct it, Moren said she’ll use a simple strategy to help.
“It’s like the old Coach Knight comment,” Moren said. "The best way sometimes is they got to sit next to you to start to figure some things out and if we have to do that, we’ll do that because I have to get their attention somehow.”
On the surface, the Hoosiers notched another blowout season-opening victory. But beyond moving to 1-0, Moren wasn’t ecstatic. She said she has to do a better job of holding her team accountable and “putting their feet to the fire” because there was no sign of a performance like Monday’s coming.
“A win? Sure,” Moren said. “But this performance tonight will not win you any Big Ten game.”
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Savannah Slone (@savrivers06) and columnist Ryan Canfield (@RyanCanfieldOnX) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
