“We’re not afraid to talk about our goals,” says Coach Teri Moren of the Indiana Women’s Basketball Team. The 2020-21 team goals were to win a Big Ten Championship and to make a deep run into the NCAA Tournament. Not just a Sweet Sixteen or an Elite Eight . . . a Final Four!
The Big Ten Championship escaped the 18-5 Hoosiers, with Maryland doubling up to win the regular season a full game ahead of the Hoosiers, and culminating the Big Ten Tournament with a decisive win over Iowa. IU had a disappointing fRist game exit in that tournament, losing to Michigan State 69-61 in the Quarterfinal Round. The Lady Hoosiers had no answer for Junior Guard Nia Clouden, who dismantled the Indiana defense with 30 points.
Moren described the second half of that game as the team losing their composure, but optimistically stated, “This one hurts, but these girls have a lot more basketball in them . . . they are very competitive!”
Moren often describes this year’s team as “Gym Rats,” and believes the leadership demonstrated by this group of student athletes is among the greatest she has seen. She tells stories of IU’s top 3 of Senior Guard Ali Patberg, Junior Guard Grace Berger, and Sophomore Forward Mackenzie Holmes spending hours of their off time in the gym. At the beginning of the season, she could not stop praising the work ethic of Holmes, describing how she spent the entire off-season getting in better shape and working on her footwork.
The efforts of these three players have paid off in many ways, as it has elevated the overall team commitment to propelling their transitional offensive approach and earned the core some amazing honors. Holmes was recently named to the Associated Press All-American honorable mention team, the first AP All-American selection in school history. Berger, Holmes, and Patberg were all named 2021 All Big Ten team players, and Patberg was a top 10 finalist for the 2021 Nancy Lieberman Award.
The dedication shows on the court, where the 2021 team has accomplished their first top ten ranking in program history, 16 conference wins, and a 4th seeding in the NCAA Tournament, where they will play Monday evening against the 13th seeded Rams of Virginia Commonwealth University.
VCU earned their tourney bid by winning the Atlantic 10 conference. Although, their record is only 12-10, the team has had a spectacular run, and is extremely talented from beyond the arc. VCU hit 10 of 20 3-point attempts in their conference championship game and has been superb in forced turnovers.
Coach Moren is confident, however, in the preparation of her team. During a weekend press conference, Moren reflected on the last loss, and praised the team’s ball control ability. “We played poorly against Michigan State, there’s no doubt, on a lot of fronts,” she stated. “We haven’t been consistently turning the ball over . . . the fact that we have 2 point guards that start for us is an advantage.” Moren added, “I have been really proud with the fact that we have handled ourselves on many different occasions against teams that play great defensively.”
The defensively minded Hoosiers will need to demonstrate a healthy field goal percentage, limit opponents’ outside shooting, and protect the ball, to accomplish the goal of making a deep run in this tournament. Success in getting the ball inside to Holmes on offense and an aggressive Ali Patberg would be strong indicators of success. The team has the heart and the skill to challenge any team in the nation.
Game Information:
UTSA Convocation Center 2:00 PM ET March 22, 2021
Coverage: ESPNU