Indiana women’s basketball’s last five seasons relied on a blueprint, one with excellent guard play and consistently suffocating defense — but there is one other pillar. The Hoosiers needed a forward to help compensate for the loss of Mackenzie Holmes departing for the WNBA a season ago.
Holmes’ former backup stepping into a starting role with junior forward Lilly Meister. But Indiana may still need another option if she were not to not be ready. Head coach Teri Moren and company knew there was a missing piece, and they found it in senior forward Karoline Striplin.
A transfer from the University of Tennessee, Striplin just made sense at Indiana.
“The culture they have, the grit and toughness, the way they play the game,” Striplin said at Indiana basketball’s institutional media day Sept. 18 on why she joined the program.
Striplin, coming from a blue blood program where she has gotten to play with some of the best women’s players in Knoxville, Tennessee, stepped in ready to contribute in Bloomington. Her time as a Lady Volunteer has been a big step in her development.
While it’s been a rocky start for the Hoosiers, who have dropped three of their first 10 games, Indiana’s blueprint to success is ever present with Striplin and Meister producing like each of them did Saturday against Penn State.
In the Hoosiers’ 75-60 victorious effort at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pennsylvania, Striplin and Mesiter were vital — the two combined for 37 points.
Striplin had a career day with 27 points on 12-of-12 shooting, including one 3-pointer and two free throws.
If Striplin can be half as good as she was Saturday at a consistent pace, some of the scoring struggles Indiana has had — especially early on in games — could go away.
She did it well from all facets on the offensive side of the ball. She was a force inside, from the mid-range and from 3-point range.
“It was all about confidence and when I got the ball, shooting it confidently,” Striplin said postgame. “My coaches were pouring into me before the game, so I just felt really confident up there in the high post and down low.”
After a disappointing performance from both forwards in the win against University of Southern Indiana on Wednesday, Moren challenged them to be better, especially with an impending Big Ten matchup.
“We are going to play against some of the very best post players in the country,” Moren said postgame Wednesday.
Indiana responded not just on offense, but on defense, especially against Penn State redshirt sophomore forward Gracie Merkle.
While Merkle had a decent 16-point performance, Indiana found reinforcements elsewhere as the Lady Lions only hit one 3-pointer. It came well after the Hoosiers hit their stride too. Regardless of the offense Indiana throws onto the floor, this will do volumes for Indiana when it heads back into Big Ten play.
“We got into the gym and worked specifically on defense, next to our offense, and I think that really helped us,” Striplin said of the preparation in the three days leading up to this game."
Striplin’s previous development at Tennessee makes the two big system work. Meister had the whole offseason to work her way into a starting role. So far, she has met expectations of being a good Big Ten forward averaging 11.6 points per game.
Plus, Indiana was in its own way for a little bit Saturday. Striplin and Meister helped that. Their offensive efforts spaced the floor for Indiana’s shooters to knock down 10 3-pointers.
Also, a road win with this type of dominance will work wonders for not only Indiana’s confidence, but its NCAA Tournament resume.
For Indiana, this is the blueprint. It will be interesting to see how the Hoosiers can translate this to their other conference matchups, with three nonconference losses, Indiana will need to string several conference wins together if it wants to be a lock for the NCAA Tournament.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Savannah Slone (@savrivers06) and columnist Ryan Canfield (@RyanCanfieldOnX) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
