How IU women’s basketball’s ‘low energy’ practice foreshadowed loss to Illinois

Seated at the podium inside the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall media room, Sydney Parrish combed through the white sheet of paper at her fingertips and made a simple declaration.

“We got to be better than what’s on this paper,” Parrish said.

That piece of paper was the final box score from Indiana women’s basketball’s 68-54 loss to Illinois Thursday night. Within it, a few statistics jump out. The Illini led the Hoosiers 18-7 in assists and only turned the ball over six times compared to the hosts’ 14.

Illinois tallied 25 first-quarter points alone, getting virtually anything it wanted against an Indiana defense that came out flat-footed. But the story of Thursday’s loss began well before tipoff and well before Parrish examined that box score.

According to coach Teri Moren, there were signs at Wednesday’s practice.

“Yesterday was not a good practice for us,” Moren said. “As I always tell them, you play how you practice. And I thought our practice was not very good yesterday with some individuals — not all of them, but some of them — and that always ends up biting you in the rear end.”

She said the session was marked by low energy, turnovers and a lack of focus from players Indiana and Moren “count on a lot.” Whereas Moren would typically hope her team leaves practice with satisfaction in energy and a keen sense of the scouting report, Wednesday’s left much to be desired.

“It carried over to tonight,” Moren said.

In the first quarter, there was a stark disparity in pace. Illinois had an athletic advantage and frequently picked on Yarden Garzon, who played four minutes in the second half. Adalia McKenzie beat Garzon to her spots seemingly at will, forcing Moren to call on Lexus Bargesser for an extended run.

Still, it was inside where Illinois truly dominated. Kendall Bostic, who finished with a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds, didn’t receive much resistance from Lilly Meister. Like Garzon, Meister’s playing time was cut considerably after the first half — she only played three of the final 20 minutes.

Coming into the season, there were no guarantees how Indiana’s frontcourt would fare without program legend Mackenzie Holmes. Meister was an adequate understudy in her first two seasons but hasn’t been able to break through fully as a starter.

She’s shown flashes, but Meister’s averaged just five points and three rebounds in the last four games.

“As of late, she’s just been okay,” Moren said of Meister. “And we don’t need an okay Lilly. We need a really good Lilly to help us, because we have to have great balance.”

With Indiana’s equilibrium thrown off, there wasn’t enough offensively to compensate. Parrish, Shay Ciezki and Chloe Moore-McNeil each scored 13 points, all posting at least nine in the second half. The trio’s energy was on full display, with Parrish often crashing to the hardwood on drives or Ciezki and Moore-McNeil hounding ballhandlers on the perimeter.

For Moren, those players provide a fix when a “disappointing” practice like Wednesday’s occurs. She lauded Parrish and Ciezki specifically for their energy and preparation during practices.

“I think that they can recognize when some of their teammates are not interested in being at practice,” Moren said.

Perhaps the most concerning part of Indiana’s practice is that, according to Moren, it wasn’t an outlier. She noted the lack of energy isn’t consistent, but when it manifests as it did in the first quarter Thursday night, there’s a higher need for buy-in.

Coming off a pair of road wins against Northwestern and Iowa, Indiana’s direction was undoubtedly optimistic. Parrish said Indiana can’t afford to only show up for “big games” and overlook one such as Thursday’s.

Now 12-5 and 4-2 in Big Ten play, the Hoosiers turn to one of their toughest challenges of the season in star sophomore guard JuJu Watkins and No. 4 USC. With the Trojans coming to Bloomington for a noon tip on Sunday, there isn’t much time for reflection.

Parrish knows how important it is to flush Thursday’s performance.

“We got to turn the page really quickly, because if we play like this against USC, it’s going to be brutal,” Parrish said. “We know we have to show up for that game and be a lot better than we were tonight.”

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

Category: Women's Basketball

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