IU women’s basketball handles Ohio State’s full-court press in crucial win

The memories must be haunting. Teri Moren and Indiana women’s basketball have seen the unrelenting full-court pressure before and have seen it excruciatingly impact games.

Before Thursday night, Indiana lost its last two matchups against Ohio State. The first came on March 4, 2023, inside the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After leading by 20 points at the end of the first half in the Hoosiers’ Big Ten Tournament semifinal matchup against the Buckeyes, everything unraveled.

Ohio State suffocated Indiana’s ballhandlers for the entire second half on each inbounds pass. The Buckeyes ultimately won 79-75, compiling the second-largest comeback in Big Ten women’s basketball history.

And with it, a chance for Moren’s first conference tournament crown was snatched away.

Then came February 4, 2024. Again, Ohio State pressed. Hard. Indiana recorded a season-high 23 turnovers and fell 74-69 in Columbus, Ohio. Following the loss, Moren took responsibility for the lack of preparation and lack of solutions against the Buckeyes’ defense.

So, Thursday night, when Indiana welcomed No. 8 Ohio State to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, there was little surprise to see intense full-court pressure. Only this time, the Hoosiers were composed. Moren’s squad topped the Buckeyes 71-61, earning a pivotal resume-building win with three games remaining in the regular season.

“They were ready to conquer it,” Moren said postgame. “They knew that in the past, it’s been something that has disrupted us.”

Indiana’s plan to conquer the press looked promising from the very first inbounds pass. Senior forward Karoline Striplin was double-teamed before passing halfcourt but managed to hurl a pass over the top to Sydney Parrish. Striplin darted to the low block, sealed off a defender and converted an easy layup.

Indiana scored three times in its first four possessions, two of which came on a fast break. Whether beating defenders off the dribble, reversing the ball, or finding a pass over the top, the Hoosiers had plenty of answers to a press that had puzzled them so greatly in prior matchups.

“We knew their press was going to be hard,” Parrish said. “They’re known for their press. They’re a great team with turning you over, and you saw that towards the end. But we came out and handled it great — we were the aggressors to come out.”

“We’ve gone into games in the past where we’ve lost the game because of the press,” Parrish continued. “We knew it was coming for us, and I think we handled it with grace.”

Indiana was slightly less graceful in the fourth quarter, turning the ball over 10 times. Ohio State’s aggressiveness grew alongside its desperation, but even as tensions heightened on Indiana’s sideline — Moren snapped a clipboard out of frustration — the Hoosiers built enough of a cushion to win comfortably.

Parrish led the way offensively, tallying 16 points, six rebounds and four assists. The graduate guard got to the rim relatively easily and notched 12 points in the first quarter alone.

Junior guard Yarden Garzon chipped in 16 points, including three triples, to go along with 11 rebounds and six assists. Garzon’s third 3-pointer marked her 200th in an Indiana uniform, moving her just seven away from the program record.

Along with Parrish and Garzon, junior guard Shay Ciezki added 16 points, splashing two of her four attempts from beyond the arc. While Indiana’s offense was humming, its defense was frustrating one of the top offenses in the Big Ten.

Ohio State came into Thursday night averaging 80 points per game — the third-best mark in the conference — but often looked disoriented against the Hoosiers. Moren frequently opted to run a zone and she was rewarded. In the second quarter, the Buckeyes scored just once in a stretch of more than seven minutes.

Indiana finished the half on a 14-2 run, heading into the locker room with a 40-28 advantage and all the momentum it needed.

“That’s where we get going,” Ciezki said. “We feed off the energy. We feed off those quick plays. Our defense turned into offense tonight, especially in the beginning. You’re getting stops, and that led us to go into transition and push the ball.”

Perhaps most importantly for Indiana, the win heavily enhanced the likelihood of an NCAA tournament bid. The Hoosiers, now 17-9 and 9-6 in Big Ten play, face Michigan State and Maryland before a rematch with Purdue to end the season.

Moren’s players didn’t need to be told how important Thursday night’s contest was. She said she noticed a sense of urgency during a shootaround earlier in the day.

“It just felt a little bit different,” Moren said. “Someone had asked me do we talk to them about what’s at stake? The answer to that is no. They’re old, they’re veteran, they’re experienced, I got to trust that they know what’s at stake.”

Experience produces maturity. For Indiana, handling the press as it did and holding firm down the stretch showed growth in spades. The Hoosiers had come up short before this season. They had opportunities in a 73-62 loss to UCLA in early January, then even more in a seven-point loss to USC a couple of weeks later. Those losses steeled Indiana for a team like Ohio State.

“We knew it was going to take something special,” Moren said. “There’s no doubt.”

Thursday night was a sign of how far Indiana’s come. As the regular season winds down and the postseason nears, the Hoosiers hope it was a sign of what they can be.

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

Category: Women's Basketball

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