Coach Moren challenges Hoosier Nation to continue supporting IUWBB
#4 Indiana University Women’s Basketball (10-0 / 2-0) will host Morehead State (4-6) at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall at 2pm on Sunday afternoon for their 9th of 10 non-conference games of the 2022-23 season.
“There’s been absolutely no doubt in the growth,” said Indiana University Head Coach Teri Moren regarding the upswing in program support. “We’ve seen it in our season ticket sales and the actual butts in the seats,” she added with a smile. “But there’s always room for improvement . . .”
Women’s basketball at Indiana University has gone from a 15-16 team, at the bottom of the Big Ten conference standings, to a national powerhouse, under the leadership of Coach Moren. The Hoosiers are experiencing their second consecutive season achieving a #4 national ranking and have beaten two top five teams in the past couple of seasons. Indiana has achieved greatness under Coach Moren, including seven consecutive seasons of 20+ wins, an NIT Championship, and three consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament (there would have been 4 had the Tournament not been cancelled in 2020). All three of those appearances in the ‘Big Dance’ include wins, with a Round of 32, a Sweet 16, and an Elite 8 being accomplished.
The Hoosiers are averaging just over 4500 fans in attendance in each of their 6 home games this season. While that is a significant increase from the 2900 the Hoosiers averaged during the 2015-16 season when the Coach Moren Era began, Hoosier Nation can do better.
By means of comparison, this year’s IU Men’s team is averaging over 15,600 per game, and Assembly Hall has a basketball capacity of 17,222. Women’s basketball as a whole has gained huge support in popularity over recent years, but there much ground yet to be gained.
Here in Bloomington, Indiana, we have an incredibly talented and exciting team to support, led by two All-American players, 4 players from nations abroad, and a former Indiana Miss Basketball. And I will repeat, the Hoosiers are #4 in the country!
“I will continue to challenge the community of Bloomington and the surrounding communities of Evansville and Indianapolis, to come out and support our team. There’s no doubt in all of our minds that . . . [fans] are instrumental in helping us win games! There’s no question that they will us at times because of their enthusiasm,” added Moren.
Coach went on to describe that the number of fans in attendance at games is also an invaluable and instrumental aspect to the recruiting process of future Hoosier hopefuls.
Will Hoosier Nation heed the call and rise to the challenge? There is an opportunity to do so this weekend, as Indiana takes on the Eagles of Morehead State. Tickets are a mere $10/adult and $5/children.
The Eagles are coming off of a close loss at the hands of USC Upstate, where they were led by Sophie Benharouga, who posted a career-high 19 points to go alongside eight rebounds, while team scoring leader Veronica Charles contributed 14 points. Morehead is allowing just 62 points per game by their opponents this season, but have struggled on offense, shooting just 37% from the field and hitting under 25% of 3-point attempts. The Eagles are also being out rebounded so far in 2022, 39-35/ per game.
Indiana has had a 10-day break in action for finals week, last defeating Penn State in a 67-58 win in University Park on December 8th. All-American Senior Forward Mackenzie Holmes leads the Hoosiers in points (20.6), field goal percentage (69.3%), and rebounding (7.3). Junior Guard Chloe Moore-McNeil is about as accurate as can be, shooting 55.4% from the floor, 40.6% from the 3-point line, and 93.1% at the free throw line.
Indiana should dominate the paint in this match-up. Look for Holmes to add to her season-leading totals in this game. Additionally, there will likely be good opportunity to see more minutes from the bench in this contest. Expect Graduate Forward Alyssa Geary to make her way back into things after an injury, and increased time on the floor for Freshman Guard Henna Sandvik.
Notable
- Graduate Forward Alyssa Geary is expected back for the Morehead State game, following an ankle injury that sidelined her for the previous 2 games
- All-American Graduate Guard Grace Berger is still listed as “out indefinitely” while she rehabs a knee injury
- Junior Forward Kiandra Browne is still rehabbing a thumb injury, but is expected to be back in the line-up in early January
Up next, Indiana ends non-conference play against Butler at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, on Wednesday, December 21 at 1pm.