For the first time in the last six NCAA Tournaments, Indiana women’s basketball does not have the luxury of playing at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for the Round of 64 and 32. Consequentially, due to a rollercoaster regular season, the Hoosiers will face a challenge.
But even with the venture to Columbia, South Carolina, No. 9-seeded Indiana took care of the No. 8-seeded University of Utah 76-68 at Colonial Life Arena on Friday afternoon.
The Utes were an even matchup for the Hoosiers due to similar play style and records. However, one of the main areas Indiana needed to figure out early was stopping 6-foot-3 senior forward Maye Toure and junior guard Gianna Kneepkens. Kneepkens’ 45% from deep, marks her as one of the best shooters in the country.
The Hoosiers didn’t necessarily stop the two, as they combined 46 points, but found success defensively against the other Utes. Utah’s next leading scorer was senior guard Kennady McQueen with just 9 points.
Offensively for the Hoosiers, Indiana needed a boost from an unlikely hero. After a rough regular season, junior forward Lilly Meister added much needed scoring for Indiana with 10 points, 8 coming in the first quarter as she paced the offense.
When teams win in the NCAA Tournament, it's mostly fast starts that propel the winner, Meister stopped the Utes from running away with the game early by combating success from Toure with her production.
Meister’s rough stretch started when she was taken out of the starting lineup permanently in favor of senior forward Karoline Striplin on Jan. 19 against USC, due to struggles offensively and all-around inefficiency.
But Meister stuck with her teammates and staff for high-leverage moments like Friday.
“I’m so happy for Lilly. I think we all are. But I think what you’ve seen today was a confident Lilly,” graduate student guard Chloe Moore-McNeil said. “We gave her good juice and once she got going, I mean, the rest was history for her.”
Moore-McNeil's thoughts are proof that Meister will be forever confident as a Hoosier, which speaks volumes to the support staff and culture that head coach Teri Moren has established in Bloomington.
“When Lilly is confident Lilly is a really good basketball player.” Moren said. “One thing I know about her teammates is that they have continued to pour into her and pour into her and encourage her and give her good juice as we call it.”
Indiana will advance to the Round of 32 and take on the No. 1-seeded University of South Carolina. A month ago, many could’ve said the Hoosiers have no chance against the Gamecocks, but the Hoosiers have won three of their last four and are boasting confidence. They will be ready for South Carolina.
While the game against Utah was only Indiana’s third postseason game — two games in the Big Ten Tournament and then Friday — the Cream and Crimson have been playing with urgency for weeks now.
They look like an incredibly more cohesive team now. The Hoosiers are taking good shots and not settling for bad ones, playing stout defense and not panicking when things don’t go their way, much like in the first half against Utah, Indiana stayed poised. But that wasn’t the case about a month ago. The Hoosiers were playing for their tournament lives in the final days of the regular season, this team is used to pressure and has conquered it so far.
“We understand that if we don’t come in and play well, this could be the last game,” Moren said. “So, I think there is a different sense of urgency, you know, when you’re playing in the NCAA Tournament.”
The focus now shifts to the Gamecocks — the team that defeated the Hoosiers in last year’s Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.
Colonial Life Arena will be buzzing with Gamecocks fans Sunday. Indiana will have to conquer that as well as the team it will have to beat on the floor. The Hoosiers have had their backs against the wall for a good while now and have faced competition like South Carolina, in fellow No. 1-seeded Southern California.
Indiana will need to be ultra efficient like it was against the Trojans on March 7 in Indianapolis. Only a handful of buckets will separate Indiana from getting to the Sweet 16 in Birmingham, Alabama, or getting sent home.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Savannah Slone (@savrivers06) and columnist Ryan Canfield (@RyanCanfieldOnX) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
