It was a Monday matinee matchup between Indiana women’s basketball and Illinois. The Hoosiers, who entered the game with a 12-2 record in conference play, were in the thick of the Big Ten regular season title race.
But the Fighting Illini dominated the Hoosiers en route to a 20-point victory Feb. 19, 2024. The loss essentially prevented Indiana from winning its second consecutive league title.
However, that was last season. The Cream and Crimson have an opportunity to avenge the loss to Illinois in their lone scheduled matchup this season at 7 p.m. Thursday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
Indiana enters the contest on a two-game winning streak with both victories coming away from its home court. The Hoosiers squeaked by Northwestern on Jan. 8 before earning a 7-point victory over then-No. 23 Iowa on Jan. 11.
Now sitting at 12-4 and 4-1 in Big Ten play, Thursday’s game is a “big one” for Indiana to figure out, according to head coach Teri Moren. The Fighting Illini’s offensive action plagued the Hoosiers a season ago as they outshot the visitors from the field and 3-point range while outscoring them in three of four quarters.
“It’s a lot of zoom action, which is kind of the stuff we are running right now, which is a lot of handoffs, little guard-to-guard screening action,” Moren said on her Inside Indiana Basketball radio show Monday. “Sometimes it can be a stagger screening action and so it really puts a lot of pressure on your guards to figure out if you want to fight over the top — you got to fight like crazy — or if you want to try to go underneath and try to meet-and-greet.”
A “meet-and-greet,” she said, is when players meet the opposition on the perimeter and prevent them from getting to the basket.
Indiana’s post players — senior forward Karoline Striplin and junior forward Lilly Meister — will play a crucial role in defending Illinois’ high-powered offense, as they may have to make “emergency switches” to adequately defend the Illini. To ensure proper execution, Moren said the Hoosiers will have to communicate at a high level.
“We’re really going to put it in (Indiana players’) hands,” Moren said about the strategy in guarding Illinois. “We’re going to give them about two or three things, ways that we’d like to guard it or that we can guard it, and we’re going to let them choose the best way that they want to guard it.”
Inside the Fighting Illini
Led by third-year head coach Shauna Green, Illinois sits at 12-4 and 2-3 in conference play. The Fighting Illini are coming off a 5-point victory over then-No. 23 Iowa on Jan. 9 inside the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois.
Fifth-year senior forward Kendall Bostic notched her 10th double-double this season in the victory. She leads the team in scoring and rebounding with 15.7 points and 11.3 rebounds per game.
Bostic, who hails from Kokomo, Indiana, averaged 15 points in the two matchups between the Hoosiers and Fighting Illini last season. She also dominated the glass with 22 total rebounds.
Fifth-year senior guard Genesis Bryant is second in scoring on the team with 14.4 points per game, while senior guard Adalia Mckenzie chips in 13.1. In total, the Fighting Illini have four players who average in double figures.
Makira Cook, who dominated Indiana last season with 24 and 22-point showings, was ruled out for the rest of the season Jan. 8 with an ongoing health issue. The fifth-year senior guard started in each of Illinois’ first eight games of the season and averaged 11.9 points. Sophomore guard Gretchen Dolan was also determined to be out for the season Jan. 8 with a knee injury.
Despite seven Fighting Illini players having missed at least one game because of injury this season, and now Cook and Dolan out for the season, Illinois still poses a significant threat to Indiana.
“Shauna’s done a great job,” Moren said. “They’re very talented — very old. That’s a very old team. There’s still Genesis Bryant, Bostic –– they got plenty of talent.”
Indiana having the Hoosier faithful behind it Thursday could be the difference in the game, which may be like the last two back-and-forth matchups inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall between the two squads.
“Our battles will continue to be what they are because I think there’s such a great rivalry between the two teams because we have gone back and forth,” Moren said.
Tipoff
The matchup, which is designated as IU’s Pride Game, is slated to begin at 7 p.m. The first 500 fans inside the arena will receive an Indiana pride flag.
Peacock will stream the contest with former Indiana guard Nicole Cardaño-Hillary from 2020-22 on the call alongside Keith Lee.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Savannah Slone (@savrivers06) and columnist Ryan Canfield (@RyanCanfieldOnX) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
