The reminiscences have to be haunting. Teri Moren and Indiana ladies’s basketball have seen the unrelenting full-court strain earlier than and have seen it excruciatingly affect video games.
Earlier than Thursday night time, Indiana misplaced its final two matchups in opposition to Ohio State. The primary got here on March 4, 2023, contained in the Goal Middle in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After main by 20 factors on the finish of the primary half within the Hoosiers’ Huge Ten Match semifinal matchup in opposition to the Buckeyes, every thing unraveled.
Ohio State suffocated Indiana’s ballhandlers for the whole second half on every inbounds cross. The Buckeyes finally received 79-75, compiling the second-largest comeback in Huge Ten ladies’s basketball historical past.
And with it, an opportunity for Moren’s first convention match crown was snatched away.
Then got here February 4, 2024. Once more, Ohio State pressed. Exhausting. Indiana recorded a season-high 23 turnovers and fell 74-69 in Columbus, Ohio. Following the loss, Moren took duty for the dearth of preparation and lack of options in opposition to the Buckeyes’ protection.
So, Thursday night time, when Indiana welcomed No. 8 Ohio State to Simon Skjodt Meeting Corridor, there was little shock to see intense full-court strain. Solely this time, the Hoosiers have been composed. Moren’s squad topped the Buckeyes 71-61, incomes a pivotal resume-building win with three video games remaining within the common season.
“They have been prepared to overcome it,” Moren stated postgame. “They knew that previously, it’s been one thing that has disrupted us.”
Indiana’s plan to overcome the press appeared promising from the very first inbounds cross. Senior ahead Karoline Striplin was double-teamed earlier than passing halfcourt however managed to hurl a cross excessive to Sydney Parrish. Striplin darted to the low block, sealed off a defender and transformed a straightforward layup.
Indiana scored 3 times in its first 4 possessions, two of which got here on a quick break. Whether or not beating defenders off the dribble, reversing the ball, or discovering a cross excessive, the Hoosiers had loads of solutions to a press that had puzzled them so tremendously in prior matchups.
“We knew their press was going to be exhausting,” Parrish stated. “They’re identified for his or her press. They’re an important workforce with turning you over, and also you noticed that in direction of the top. However we got here out and dealt with it nice — we have been the aggressors to come back out.”
“We’ve gone into video games up to now the place we’ve misplaced the sport due to the press,” Parrish continued. “We knew it was coming for us, and I feel we dealt with it with grace.”
Indiana was barely much less swish within the fourth quarter, turning the ball over 10 instances. Ohio State’s aggressiveness grew alongside its desperation, however whilst tensions heightened on Indiana’s sideline — Moren snapped a clipboard out of frustration — the Hoosiers constructed sufficient of a cushion to win comfortably.
Parrish led the way in which offensively, tallying 16 factors, six rebounds and 4 assists. The graduate guard obtained to the rim comparatively simply and notched 12 factors within the first quarter alone.
Junior guard Yarden Garzon chipped in 16 factors, together with three triples, to go together with 11 rebounds and 6 assists. Garzon’s third 3-pointer marked her 2 hundredth in an Indiana uniform, transferring her simply seven away from this system document.
Together with Parrish and Garzon, junior guard Shay Ciezki added 16 factors, splashing two of her 4 makes an attempt from past the arc. Whereas Indiana’s offense was buzzing, its protection was irritating one of many prime offenses within the Huge Ten.
Ohio State got here into Thursday night time averaging 80 factors per sport — the third-best mark within the convention — however usually appeared disoriented in opposition to the Hoosiers. Moren ceaselessly opted to run a zone and she or he was rewarded. Within the second quarter, the Buckeyes scored simply as soon as in a stretch of greater than seven minutes.
Indiana completed the half on a 14-2 run, heading into the locker room with a 40-28 benefit and all of the momentum it wanted.
“That’s the place we get going,” Ciezki stated. “We feed off the vitality. We feed off these fast performs. Our protection changed into offense tonight, particularly to start with. You’re getting stops, and that led us to enter transition and push the ball.”
Maybe most significantly for Indiana, the win closely enhanced the probability of an NCAA match bid. The Hoosiers, now 17-9 and 9-6 in Huge Ten play, face Michigan State and Maryland earlier than a rematch with Purdue to finish the season.
Moren’s gamers didn’t must be instructed how necessary Thursday night time’s contest was. She stated she seen a way of urgency throughout a shootaround earlier within the day.
“It simply felt a bit of bit completely different,” Moren stated. “Somebody had requested me will we speak to them about what’s at stake? The reply to that’s no. They’re outdated, they’re veteran, they’re skilled, I obtained to belief that they know what’s at stake.”
Expertise produces maturity. For Indiana, dealing with the press because it did and holding agency down the stretch confirmed development in spades. The Hoosiers had come up quick earlier than this season. That they had alternatives in a 73-62 loss to UCLA in early January, then much more in a seven-point loss to USC a few weeks later. These losses steeled Indiana for a workforce like Ohio State.
“We knew it was going to take one thing particular,” Moren stated. “There’s little question.”
Thursday night time was an indication of how far Indiana’s come. Because the common season winds down and the postseason nears, the Hoosiers hope it was an indication of what they are often.
(Photograph credit score: IU Athletics)
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