“We’ve got to get better,” says Coach Moren after IU squeaks past Miami 53-51

With 7.5 seconds remaining, it was Miami’s possession, down by 2 points. The Hurricanes inbounded at half-court and worked the ball around the perimeter into the hands of Guard, Kelsey Marshall, who had nailed her previous two 3-point attempts and had hit three previously in the game. 2 seconds remained as she launched from beyond the arc for the win. It didn’t fall, and Indiana escaped with the 53-51 victory, concluding the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship in the Bahamas.

How did the Hoosiers get there? How does a team averaging 76 points a game find themselves in such a low-scoring and tough battle so late in the game? To put this in perspective, IU only scored less than 60 points in game 3 times last season: once in a loss to Tennessee (58); in a victory over Illinois (58); and in the Elite 8 loss to Arizona (53).

Indiana Guard Nicole Cardano-Hillary takes a shot during warm-ups before the IU-Miami game on November 27th

Indiana shot over 45% from the field in the game, although they turned the ball over 24 times, including 8 uncharacteristic turnovers coming from All-American Senior Guard Grace Berger, and 6 more from Senior Guard Nicole Cardano-Hillary, who also had difficulty scoring. Cardano-Hillary didn’t find the bucket until late in the fourth quarter, going 1-6 from the field and 0-2 from the free throw line. Indiana collectively missed ten free throws, shooting just 11-21 from the line.

Miami challenged Indiana defensively, mixing up the approach throughout the evening. The Canes are an extremely well-coached team and rose to the task of setting the pace of gameplay. In the first half, the mid-court pressure and double team from the wings opened up some crafty Indiana post cuts, and all of the Hoosiers seemed to be getting in the action. The women looked to be having fun on the court! Miami changed up their defense, providing full court pressure, to which IU had difficulty breaking. The Hurricanes ended the half with a 6-0 run, heading into the locker room narrowing the once 14-point deficit to just 6.

The see-saw momentum continued in the second half, and with 7:25 left in the game Cardano-Hillary found a breaking Mackenzie Holmes for the bucket plus one. This looked to be the start of a strong Hoosier run, as they broke away to a 12-point lead. But the last 4 and a half minutes of the game would be all Miami, battling back into the game by forcing turnovers and establishing an 11-0 run.

IU Head Coach Teri Moren was grateful for the ‘W’, but remained aware of the work that lays ahead to prepare for their upcoming match-up against #5 NC State. “Miami challenged us in every way . . . really proud of our kids for finding a way [to win]. We’re Lucky! Sometimes you have to be lucky to win a game,” she said. “There’s a whole bunch to take from this game and we need to be better for next week.”

One of the positive takes from this game is productive minutes IU received from their bench, predominantly in the first half of the game. The 6 defensive rebounds and 3 assists are a big improvement from what the bench provided in IU’s loss against Stanford on Thursday. In particular, the defensive growth and presence of Sophomore Guard Chloe Moore-McNeil has been exciting to watch.

“Loved Chloe,” said Coach Moren. “[She was] so good in that first half,” Coach continued to praise her aggressive defensive play and ability to get open on the offensive side.

The work will begin quickly for the Hoosiers as they look to rebound from a rough road test in the Bahamas against two fantastic teams. And, the challenges do not get much easier for Indiana, as they host the #5 Wolfpack of NC State (6-1) in a rematch of last year’s NCAA Sweet 16 round game. Tip-off is 7pm on Thursday, December 2nd. The game will be televised on ESPN2.