4th ranked Indiana University Women’s Basketball (9-0 / 1-0) will travel to University Park, Pennsylvania to take on the Lady Lions of Penn State (7-2 / 0-1). The game will tip off at 7pm on Thursday, December 8th, and will be televised on the Big Ten Plus Network (B1G+). The two teams last met in Bloomington on December 6, 2021, with the Hoosiers bettering Penn State 70-40.
Indiana is coming off of a 65-61 win against Illinois in their first conference match-up, a game which was back and forth up until the final buzzer at Assembly Hall, last Sunday afternoon. The Hoosiers jumped up to #4 in the national AP rankings after their pair of wins last week, and with a win on Thursday evening, Indiana will tie their best ever start to a season, when they began 10-0 back in 2018-19.
The Hoosiers are led offensively by All-American Forward Mackenzie Holmes, who is averaging more than 20 points per game with 70% field goal accuracy. Holmes is the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week.
Collectively, IU is averaging more than 85 points per game (8th in the nation) and holding their opponents to less than 60. The Hoosiers have 6 players averaging double digit points per game, with each member of the team adding to their overall point total. Indiana is also 9th in nation with 19.4 team assists per game.
The Lady Lions have dropped their last two games, losing to Virginia in the Big Ten / ACC Challenge, and falling in double overtime 98-96, at Minnesota. Penn State is led by All-Big Ten Senior Guard Makenna Marisa, who averages 18.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 2 steals per game. Collectively, Penn State scores just shy of 77 ppg and shoots 46% from the field.
Indiana Head Coach Teri Moren described Marisa as one of the best in the country, saying she is difficult to cover because of her ability to score at all three levels. “If you lose her for whatever reason, whether its in transition, she makes you pay,” said Coach Moren. “All of our Guards will have an opportunity to guard her . . . everyone’s gonna get a shot at guarding her.”
“[Makenna] is a great player, all Big Ten for sure . . . she probably does not get the attention she deserves,” added Moren. “We are very much aware of what she is capable of doing and how dangerous she can be for [Penn State].”
What to Expect
Look for Indiana to push strong in transition throughout the entire game. Penn State will mix up defensive configurations from their hybrid 2-3 to a 1-3-1 zone, attempting to keep the ball out of the paint. Penn State will likely apply a full court press throughout much of the game in order to slow down the pace, and to reduce the amount of looks that Indiana is allowed from their perimeter offense.
Indiana will look for high productivity from beyond the arc, which means there should be active ball movement around their four-guard set.
Penn State will need to be aggressive off of the boards on defense in order to reduce Hoosier second chance points.
The Lady Lions will depend on high offensive production from both Marisa and Sophomore Guard Leilani Kapinus in order to stay competitive with the Hoosiers. Expect Penn State to produce high ball screen movement with kickouts for regular looks at three-point shots. Their success from beyond the arc along with their ability to limit Indiana in the paint will determine whether or not they can compete with the Hoosiers.
“This is going to be a great test for us, but because of the pieces we do have, we’ll handle ourselves in the right kind of way, “mentioned Coach Moren about handling the many faces of the Penn State zone defense.
“They are a multi-defensive team,” said Coach Moren “That’s their way of keeping teams off balance, it’s kind of a guessing game, once you get into the halfcourt with them.”
Notable
- All-American Senior Guard Grace Berger is out “indefinitely” with an injured knee
- Junior Forward Kiandra Browne is out with a broken thumb, but expected to return to the line-up in early January
- Graduate Forward Alyssa Geary is listed as “Day-to-day” with an ankle injury, but is expected to miss the game against Penn State
- Junior Guard Chloe Moore-McNeil leads the Big Ten and is third in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio.
- IU was named the NCAA Team of the Week for its efforts against No. 6 North Carolina and Illinois.
Next up, Indiana will square off against Morehead at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall at 2pm on Sunday, December 18th, after taking a break for finals week.