No. 25 Indiana women’s basketball begins another season Monday, hosting Brown University at 7 p.m. inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington
The Hoosiers finished 26-6 last season, falling to the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. With three seniors — Mackenzie Holmes, Sara Scalia and Arielle Wisne — now graduated, the Cream and Crimson brought in five newcomers — three freshmen and two transfers.
Here’s what to know ahead of the Hoosiers’ season opener.
Newcomers slated to make debuts
Senior forward Karoline Striplin and junior guard Shay Ciezki will each make their Indiana debuts Monday against Brown University. Indiana head coach Teri Moren feels the two have seamlessly transitioned to Indiana from the University of Tennessee and Penn State.
Only two freshmen — forward Faith Wiseman and guard Valentyna Kadlecova — are slated to be available for the season-opener. The two totaled four and 13 minutes, respectively, in the Hoosiers’ 95-27 victory over Maryville in their exhibition contest Oct. 30.
Injuries
Junior guard Lexus Bargesser and sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont both missed the exhibition game with foot and knee injuries, respectively. Moren said Oct. 30 that she’s unsure of Bargesser’s timeline, while Beaumont is expected to return at some point from a nagging knee injury she suffered toward the end of summer.
Freshman forward Sydney Fenn underwent knee surgery and will miss the season, according to Moren. She was practicing in pain, Moren said, and so Fenn and her family decided to opt for surgery.
Graduate student guard Sydney Parrish suffered a right ankle injury in the third quarter against Maryville. After the game, Moren said Parrish probably could’ve returned to the floor but was precautionarily held out.
When the availability report is released at 5 p.m. Monday, two hours before tipoff, injury statuses for Bargesser, Beaumont and Parrish will be updated.
3 starters return
The Hoosiers return three starters this season in graduate student guard Chloe Moore-McNeil, junior guard Yarden Garzon and Parrish.
Moore-McNeil and Garzon started each of Indiana’s 32 games last season, averaging 10.2 and 11.7 points per game, respectively. Parrish missed seven games with a broken foot she suffered Jan. 19 in practice before returning in the Hoosiers’ loss to Illinois on Feb. 19. She still averaged 10.8 points per game in her second season at Indiana.
Meet Brown
Brown, a member of the Ivy League located in Providence, Rhode Island, travels to Bloomington to take on Indiana for just the second time. Led by head coach Monique LeBlanc in her fifth season, the Bears are coming off a 16-11 campaign a season ago.
Over the offseason, Brown traveled to Portugal and Spain in a foreign trip where it played three games against local teams.
Junior guard Grace Arnolie led Brown in scoring last season as she averaged 14.4 points per game. She earned All-Ivy Honorable Mention honors. Junior forward Alyssa Moreland also returns after grabbing 6.5 rebounds a game in her sophomore season.
Tipoff
The matchup is slated to tipoff at 7 p.m. Monday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. The game will stream on Big Ten+ while also being on 96.7 FM with Austin Render on the call.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Savannah Slone (@savrivers06) and columnist Ryan Canfield (@RyanCanfieldOnX) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
