BLOOMINGTON, Indiana — Teri Moren, the ninth-year Indiana women’s basketball coach, has undoubtedly created a winning and positive culture as a Hoosier. She’s had many great teams with all levels of success, but one thing stands out – this one.
“I think this team has the greatest potential in terms of goalscoring,” said Moren. “We’ve got more pieces out there that can push it beyond the arc much better than just one or two that we’ve had in the past.”
Those figures come in the form of five (nearly six) players averaging twice as many goals each, led by senior forward Mackenzie Holmes at 21.1 points per game.
From across the arc, freshman guard Yarden Garzon shoots 46.5 percent for second place in the Big Ten, while junior guard Sydney Parrish adds 34.3 percent from downtown. Only four Hoosiers don’t have a Three on the list yet, and one of them, Kiandra Browne, just started playing last Sunday.
“All five of our starters can step out clearly and hit threes, which is a great luxury,” Moren said.
Moren stressed that she loves every team she coaches. Everyone was different and yet the same, she said. You’ve got the NIT championship era with Tyra Buss, NCAA tournament runs with Ali Patberg, and now a 6th-ranked team that just got star player Grace Berger back into early Big Ten play.
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“We put together a team that has the greatest potential in terms of firepower offensively when we can get going, but what held us down was our defence,” Moren said.
You see, it’s less common for Moren to talk about the crime she’s committing. She said she knows that in basketball that’s obviously a must and that people get hung up on scoring, but she will always go back to solid defense first.
When she arrived in Indiana, Moren and her staff wanted her defense to be stingy and tough and earn that identity from opposing teams. It worked.
This season, the Hoosiers are No. 1 defensively in the Big Ten while their offense falls to No. 5. If a team has both guns, it might be a ticket to a longer run in the NCAA tournament.
Last season, five players still reached double points, but the three-point ratio was slightly lower overall. It’s nice to have the opportunity to hit long shots, and Moren is grateful, but the Big Ten should really pay attention to the scuffle that comes with that scoring prowess.
“We’ll always come back to what we are and hopefully that’s a really good defensive team too,” Moren said.
Related stories about Indiana women’s basketball
- HOOSIERS STAY AT NO. 6 The Hoosiers will remain at the same spot in the Associated Press’s top 25 poll after their win over Northwestern on Sunday in Week 10. The full list of recordings is included. CLICK HERE
- GRACE BERGER IS BACK Indiana women’s basketball star Grace Berger is back after a month and a half with a right knee injury. Berger scored a season-high 16 points on their celebrated return in the Hoosiers’ Sunday win over Northwestern. CLICK HERE
- INDIANA DEFEATS NORTH WESTERN ON THE ROAD Indiana women’s basketball closed Northwestern 72-50 on the road while senior guard Grace Berger and junior forward Kiandra Browne came back into play from injuries. Despite only a week in training, Berger was the team’s second-best scorer behind senior forward Mackenzie Holmes. CLICK HERE
