IU Women take down Maryland, continue to dream big
By TYLER SMITH (@TylerSmith_ISL)
ISL Editor
INDIANAPOLIS — After an Elite 8 appearance one year ago, Teri Moren and the Indiana Hoosiers have had big goals for this basketball season. At times, the Hoosiers have looked like national title contenders. Recently, they’ve battled injuries and went through a tough stretch of losing four out of five games. The Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis provides the perfect opportunity to right the ship and prepare for another deep NCAA Tournament run. And for Indiana, so far, so good.
After defeating Rutgers by 12 on Thursday, the Hoosiers had another date with Maryland on Friday afternoon, exactly one week after the Terp’s defeated Indiana by three in College Park. The Hoosiers got their revenge, with an impressive 62-51 victory at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“Fantastic win for our program today,” said Hoosiers Coach Teri Moren. “We have so much respect for Maryland. We knew that we were up against a great basketball team, and knew we had to bring it for 40 minutes. Our goal was to be as disruptive as we could and be active. We made enough plays and found a way to win”
Maryland Coach Brenda Frese believes Indiana is ready for another deep NCAA Tournament run: “I thought they were the tougher team. They punched first and never looked back. Really impressed. Can’t say enough about their game plan and how they took things away from us. Their experience and their confidence, it’s huge. I expect they’ll make a really deep run.”
Per the usual, Indiana used a balanced attack in the victory. Mackenzie Holmes is getting healthy at the perfect time for IU, and she led the Hoosiers with 17 points. Grace Berger had 16 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists. And Nicole Cardano-Hillory stuffed the stat-sheet with nine points, eight rebounds, four steals, and three assists.
Grace Berger is a winner, and her comments came as no surprise after the win. “For me, it’s a big win but it’s just the quarter finals. Our goal is to win the Big 10 Tournament and then we’ll worry about the NCAA tournament. We still have work to do.”
The Hoosiers will now face the top-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday, who survived a late Michigan St. rally to win earlier in the day. Indiana defeated them easily earlier this season, but the Buckeyes aren’t the same team. Indiana has a clear goal of winning this tournament, and with each passing win, their NCAA Tournament seed could continue to improve. The win over Maryland probably makes them a lock for a No. 3-seed in the dance, with a chance to climb to a No. 2-seed with another win or two this weekend.
“We look at everything as seasons,” said Coach Moren. “Non conference was a season. Big Ten play was a season. There’s the Big ten tournament, also a new season for us. We had a tough stretch in the last season, but the thing that’s special about this team is their resilience and ability to bounce back. They never hang their heads. That’s not how they’re wired.”
Not long ago, things looked a little bleak for this team. But with their experience and resilience that Coach Moren talked about, the dream season is still very much alive and well.
