{"id":4879,"date":"2022-11-30T22:45:44","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T22:45:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bloomingtonnews.online\/?p=4879"},"modified":"2022-12-02T14:49:36","modified_gmt":"2022-12-02T14:49:36","slug":"iuwbb-preview-5-indiana-vs-6-north-carolina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bloomingtonnews.online\/?p=4879","title":{"rendered":"IUWBB Preview: #5 Indiana vs. #6 North Carolina"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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IU Hoosiers cheer from the bench as they defeated UMass Lowell 93-37 on 11\/11\/22 at Assembly Hall (Photo by Jeremy Hogan\/The Bloomingtonian)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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UNCWBB Head Coach Courtney Banghart (Courtesy of UNC Athletics)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBe hard to beat,\u201d says North Carolina Women’s Basketball Head Coach Courtney Banghart before the start of each game. So far, that advice has been followed to the max by the #6 ranked Tar Heels (6-0).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And trust that UNC will be hard to beat when they visit Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall at 6pm on Thursday to take on the #5 Indiana Hoosiers (7-0) for the annual ACC\/Big Ten Challenge, and a battle of top ten teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

North Carolina has already faced two ranked teams on the road in the past week, Oregon (then #16) and Iowa State (then #5) and defeated each of them solidly. In both games, UNC found themselves down at halftime, but rallied back with a vengeance in the 3rd<\/sup> and 4th<\/sup> quarters to overtake their opponents; even orchestrating an amazing 26-point turn around this past weekend against Iowa State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure both Iowa State and Oregon have walked away saying \u2018we should\u2019ve won that game!\u2019 Give credit to North Carolina, this is a good team,\u201d said Indiana Head Coach Teri Moren. \u201cWhen you get to this level and play these games, nobody is going to stop playing when they’re down . . . No lead is ever safe . . . we are more than aware it\u2019s going to be a 40-minute game . . . we\u2019re prepared for that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Led by the ACC Player of the week, Junior Guard, Deja Kelly, the Tar Heels are out-scoring their opponents by more than 25 points, and outrebounding by a +9 margin. UNC has 4 players averaging 13 or more points, with Kelly near 18 ppg, adding 7 steals, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists each game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All-American Senior Forward Mackenzie Holmes is leading Hoosiers on offense, averaging 20 points per game, with 4 others averaging double-digit scoring: Sara Scalia, (13.3), Yarden Garzon (12.9), Grace Berger (10.3), and Sydney Parrish (10.1). Chloe Moore-McNeil is not far below the double-digit threshold, averaging 9.7 ppg. This year’s Hoosiers are also pulling down 38 rebounds (+6) and shooting 34% from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Coach Moren told members of the press that there is not much else to learn about this year\u2019s team. She mentioned that for the past couple years the team has been tough, and the only question this year that Coach had, with 7 new players added into the mix, was, \u201cHow quickly can they become a tough and gritty team?\u201d Coach Moren answered, \u201cand they\u2019ve [already] showed that,\u201d referencing the toughness her Hoosiers have already demonstrated, just 7 games into the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Indiana v UNC match-up will tip off at 6pm on Thursday, December 1st and be televised on the Big Ten Network. Next up, The Hoosiers host Illionois on Sunday afternoon in their first conference contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grace Berger Update<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday afternoon, Coach Moren described injured All-American Hoosier Grace Berger as \u201cDay to Day.\u201d Berger twisted her knee at the minute and 15 second mark of last Friday evening\u2019s match-up against Auburn, at the Las Vegas Invitational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Berger will not be playing in the UNC Game, but Coach Moren said that she is still providing leadership to the team, both wisdom and experience by talking to the team in practice and from the bench. Moren went on to describe that Grace is \u201cso passionate about this game,\u201d and hates to be sitting out, but she realizes through her maturity, that there are other things she can do to help the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notable<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n