From the start, Indiana women’s basketball lacked the physicality Illinois demanded. With driving layups and three 3-pointers, the Fighting Illini established their presence early.
The Hoosiers trailed by as many as 15 points in the first quarter, but even as they turned up their intensity to cut into the Fighting Illini’s lead, their efforts fell short. Indiana suffered a 54-68 loss to Illinois on Thursday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
“They’re great at getting downhill,” graduate student guard Sydney Parrish said postgame. “They have some really fast guards that get downhill. We have the size advantage over them, but it’s tough when they’re getting downhill, and we can’t seem to stop them.”
While Illinois guards were beating Indiana on the outside, physicality in the post proved to be a challenge for junior forward Lilly Meister and senior forward Karoline Striplin. The duo combined for just 7 points in comparison to the 34 points scored by fifth year forward Kendall Bostic and freshman forward Berry Wallace for the Fighting Illini.
“They were super physical with us,” Moren said. “Disappointed in the fact that I felt like we should have probably at some point got into the bonus, got to the free throw line just because of how physical. Obviously, our officials didn't see it that way, but nonetheless, give Illinois all the credit.”
Throughout the game, the Hoosier faithful inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall erupted with discontent of the officiating crew. But Hoosier fans weren’t the only ones upset about missed calls, as Moren was visibly upset with the crew. She was constantly having discussions with the officials, kneeling on the ground and throwing her hands in the air in frustration throughout the game.
“I thought, like I said, Illinois came out from the beginning and established how physical the game was going to be,” Moren said. “And there were a lot of moments, I'm not going to lie, I didn't feel protected in that. I didn't think our kids, I didn't feel like we were protected and that's disappointing.”
The Hoosiers went to the free throw line 11 times while Illinois did so 10 times. While the physical play did not take the Hoosiers to the free throw line as much as Moren may have hoped, she did not attribute the loss to officiating.
“That's not why we lost the game though," Moren said.
And Moren was right.
It wasn’t just the physicality or officiating that caused the Hoosiers to fall to the Fighting Illini, but a combination of the two in conjunction with inopportune turnovers.
From offensive fouls to travels, the Indiana offense had reoccurring self-inflicted wounds throughout the contest. The Hoosiers tallied 14 turnovers compared to the Fighting Illini’s six turnovers.
But off Indiana’s 14 turnovers, Illinois scored 14 points — the deficit Indiana faced at the end of the night.
“We got to continue to get better at all of it,” Moren said. “And I think the other piece of that is when teams are as physical as Illinois was tonight and there's nothing being called, we have to be able to work through that. And I didn't think we were able to do that tonight."
Indiana will once again be tested with physical play when sophomore guard JuJu Watkins and No. 4 USC head into Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Sunday.
“We’re going to come in tomorrow, watch the film, learn from it, but we got to turn the page really quickly,” graduate student guard Sydney Parrish said. “Because if we play like this against USC, it’s going to be, it’s going to be brutal.”
The contest between the Hoosiers (12-5, 4-2 Big Ten) and the Trojans (16-1, 6-0 Big Ten) is set to tip off at noon Sunday and will be televised on NBC.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Savannah Slone (@savrivers06) and columnist Ryan Canfield (@RyanCanfieldOnX) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
