With a full slate of Big Ten games on the horizon, Indiana women’s basketball is set to take on Oakland University on Sunday in its final nonconference game of the regular season.
The matchup will serve as a final tune-up for the Hoosiers as they look toward conference play, which continues Dec. 28 against Wisconsin at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Indiana already opened Big Ten with a 15-point victory over Penn State on Dec. 7.
Indiana has been without graduate student guard Sydney Parrish since Nov. 24, when she suffered a left knee injury against Baylor University.
But after the Hoosiers win over Bellarmine University on Dec. 15, head coach Teri Moren said she expects Parrish to play in the Hoosiers’ final nonconference game of the regular season against the Golden Grizzlies.
If Parrish returns for Indiana on Sunday, her presence will add depth at the guard position, an area where the Hoosiers have been tested early in the season. And with injuries affecting Indiana through its first 11 games, minutes for guards like sophomore Julianna LaMendola and junior Henna Sandvik have increased.
“I think any time you have adversity the way we’ve had it, other people have to step up and their roles change,” Moren said after defeating Bellarmine. “We talk about that a lot. You always have to be on the edge of your seat ready when your number is called.”
While the guards will continue to figure out their roles, junior forward Lilly Meister and senior forward Karoline Striplin will look to find more consistency in the paint before conference play continues.
The duo struggled early in the season, but have seemed to find their rhythm recently, highlighted by their combined 37 points and 29 points against Penn State and Bellarmine, respectively.
The Golden Grizzlies will play under interim head coach Deanna Richard. Former head coach Jeff Tungate retired Dec. 9 after Oakland opened Horizon League play with a win over Wright State University. He decided to retire mid-season following multiple back surgeries, which made it difficult for him to continue coaching.
But it is not in an unfamiliar position for Oakland with Richard as interim head coach. She served as the Golden Grizzlies interim head coach for four games last season when Tungate was on medical leave.
Oakland, which enters the matchup at 4-6, is led by junior guard Maddy Skorupski and senior Macy Smith. Skorupski averages 16.6 points, 3.1 assists and 3.3 steals per game while Smith averages 10.1 points per game.
The contest between the Hoosiers and the Golden Grizzlies is scheduled for noon Sunday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall and will stream on Big Ten+.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Savannah Slone (@savrivers06) and columnist Ryan Canfield (@RyanCanfieldOnX) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
