Three games into its new campaign, Indiana women’s basketball has an identity crisis.
After its 56-46 loss to Butler University on Wednesday at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana is 1-2 for the first time since the 2008-09 season and the first time under head coach Teri Moren. The product the Hoosiers are putting on the court in 2024-25 looks like a completely different program –– not the one that has made the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 two of the last three seasons.
These are waters the Hoosiers have not swum in years as they are and will continue to be unranked for the first time since 2018-2019.
Indiana has only made 14 of the 58 three-pointers it attempted. The Hoosiers have made only 64 of the 159 attempted field goals this season. Worst of all, IU has totaled 61 turnovers and now averages just over 20 per game. Indiana added to the 27 turnovers it had against Harvard with 16 turnovers against Butler.
Through three games, Indiana has not done the things that Moren-coached teams in recent history do exceptionally well. It’s inefficiencies galore for the Hoosiers.
Against Harvard, Indiana responded to a lot of Harvard’s late pushes in the second half but could never pull away and ultimately fell in overtime.
Against Butler, Indiana played on the Bulldogs’ terms.
The Hoosiers figured out their shooting woes in the first half, but the inconsistencies reappeared. Indiana hit four 3-pointers and shot 50% from beyond the arc in the first half before going 2 for 9 from deep in the second.
What makes this identity crisis tough to swallow for the Hoosiers and their fans is that the lineups Indiana has on the court is filled with experienced players.
Fifth-year guards Sydney Parrish and Chloe Moore-McNeil are not doing what is asked of them. In the two losses, the veterans did not score particularly well; Parrish is not shooting the three well and Moore-McNeil seemingly isn’t shooting the ball enough. While that isn’t her role, her veteran presence should lead to more points. Moore-McNeil had only one assist against Butler and three against Harvard.
Junior forward Lilly Meister looks to be the heir to the forward throne that Mackenzie Holmes made so prized. Against Butler, Meister was 1 for 8 from the field and had 4 points.
“Lilly has to be better. Striplin has to be better. There is no other way to say it,” Moren said. “We have to have great balance. We have to have an inside presence.”
Indiana got a good handful of its points over the years — including Mackenzie Holmes’ 19.8 per game last season — came from inside at the five position.
Meister scored in double figures against Brown University on Nov. 4 and Harvard. But if 5 points is going to be her best against a competition that is a step up in quality, with players as little as an inch taller than Meister guarding her — specifically Butler sophomore forward Cristen Carter — it’s going to be a long season for Indiana if the 3-point shot continues to stay stagnant.
Junior guard Shay Ciezki and senior forward Karoline Striplin played high-leverage minutes at their previous schools. It hasn’t shown, however.
It took Ciezki eight attempts to hit her first 3-pointer of the season. Everybody knows Ciezki is better than 1 for 8. She made 46 3-pointers and shot 41% from beyond the arc as a freshman at Penn State and then shot 36% during her sophomore season.
Plus, experienced players are missing shots they are more than capable of making. Junior guard Yarden Garzon missed a game-tying layup with just over three and a half minutes left in the game.
Without counting Meister’s layup with less than 10 seconds, which made the final score a 10-point loss instead of a 12-point loss, Indiana went scoreless for nearly five minutes. Leaving out Meister’s final basket, Indiana was 1 for its last 11 Wednesday.
In addition to the offensive struggles, Butler out-worked Indiana with meaningful stats on the score sheet.
Butler had 24 bench points compared to Indiana's 7. Butler won the offensive rebounds battle 11-6 and a good portion of that led to second-chance points 10-5.
“We are not taking care of the ball, not shooting the ball particularly well,” Moren said. “We couldn’t finish plays.”
At the end of the day, that’s all it is for Moren’s squad.
What’s disappointing for Hoosier fans is their team was in prime position to win each of their two losses for much of both contests.
But they lost both games.
“It sucks. It hurts. Hurt last game,” Parrish said. “We are about to face a really good Stanford team, and we got to be better.”
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Savannah Slone (@savrivers06) and columnist Ryan Canfield (@RyanCanfieldOnX) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
