Indiana University Athletics
#IUWBB Notebook: Lessons Learned in WNIT
11/24/2015 9:02:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By: Sam Beishuizen, IUHoosiers.com | Twitter
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Preseason WNIT gave Indiana exactly what head coach Teri Moren wanted—a lesson.
The Hoosiers went 2-1 in the tournament, picking up wins against Tennessee State and Chattanooga at Assembly Hall before losing to DePaul in a game Moren said IU "gave one away" with 23 turnovers, allowing 13 offensive rebounds and shooting just 7-of-17 from the free throw line.
All that's left for Indiana to do is learn from it and move on. IU will play IPFW (3-1) at the Gates Sports Center in Fort Wayne at 7 p.m. where they'll hope to build on their play in the WNIT before heading to Nashville for a Thanksgiving tournament with Ohio, Austin Peay and Vanderbilt.
"I think that was just part of our commitment to our scheduling," Moren said. "We wanted to make sure our kids had an opportunity early on to get a look at the opponents that have had that postseason appearance. Sure, it gives you a little bit of an idea of how you stack up, but it's still really early."
Moren liked what she saw in the wins against Tennessee State and Chattanooga but was more focused on correcting the areas DePaul exposed in the final game.
Though Indiana's defense was disrupted in its own right—scoring 20 points off of turnovers—Moren said DePaul's constant ball pressure wore the Hoosiers down, which she said affected them both offensively and defensively.
In an ideal world, DePaul's strategy of instilling fatigue is something Moren hopes Indiana can one day replicate. With the current state of the team, the Hoosiers don't quite have enough depth to do it as affectively as DePaul could.
Moren said Indiana will need to learn how to deal with the ball pressure it saw against DePaul quickly. While IPFW may not use it as often, Moren said she knows the Hoosiers will see it against Georgia Tech later next week and likely see it in the Big Ten.
"Three different games, but three different games in which we learned something about our basketball team," Moren said. "Despite the loss to DePaul, we learned some great lessons. We learned what not to do next time we play a team like that."
Frontcourt Rotation Still Being Worked Out
Indiana's frontcourt lineup is going to be unconventional at times this season. How unconventional it gets is still being figured out.
The Hoosiers have been starting three guards alongside senior Lyndsay Leikem and sophomore Amanda Cahill. Moren described both as "True 4s," who are more power forward than conventional center.
Junior Jenn Anderson, a more conventional center and a starter last season, is still working her way back into playing shape after being ill to begin the season and freshman forward Kym Royster is still shaking off some freshman rust to earn larger minutes.
"In a perfect world, Lyndsay and (Cahill) would be subbing for each other, Kym and Jenn would be subbing for each other," Moren said.
Cahill has been excelling in her role early on in the season, having earned a selection on the Preseason WNIT's All-Tournament Team. She's averaging 15 points and 7.7 rebounds per game through three contests.
"I'm more worried about the team and how we did overall," Cahill said. "We've been working a lot with different lineups and playing different people in practice. I'd say it's something that's an advantage for us to be able to play with a lot of different people doing a lot of different things. I think that's something we'll try to use to our advantage."
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Preseason WNIT gave Indiana exactly what head coach Teri Moren wanted—a lesson.
The Hoosiers went 2-1 in the tournament, picking up wins against Tennessee State and Chattanooga at Assembly Hall before losing to DePaul in a game Moren said IU "gave one away" with 23 turnovers, allowing 13 offensive rebounds and shooting just 7-of-17 from the free throw line.
All that's left for Indiana to do is learn from it and move on. IU will play IPFW (3-1) at the Gates Sports Center in Fort Wayne at 7 p.m. where they'll hope to build on their play in the WNIT before heading to Nashville for a Thanksgiving tournament with Ohio, Austin Peay and Vanderbilt.
"I think that was just part of our commitment to our scheduling," Moren said. "We wanted to make sure our kids had an opportunity early on to get a look at the opponents that have had that postseason appearance. Sure, it gives you a little bit of an idea of how you stack up, but it's still really early."
Moren liked what she saw in the wins against Tennessee State and Chattanooga but was more focused on correcting the areas DePaul exposed in the final game.
Though Indiana's defense was disrupted in its own right—scoring 20 points off of turnovers—Moren said DePaul's constant ball pressure wore the Hoosiers down, which she said affected them both offensively and defensively.
In an ideal world, DePaul's strategy of instilling fatigue is something Moren hopes Indiana can one day replicate. With the current state of the team, the Hoosiers don't quite have enough depth to do it as affectively as DePaul could.
Moren said Indiana will need to learn how to deal with the ball pressure it saw against DePaul quickly. While IPFW may not use it as often, Moren said she knows the Hoosiers will see it against Georgia Tech later next week and likely see it in the Big Ten.
"Three different games, but three different games in which we learned something about our basketball team," Moren said. "Despite the loss to DePaul, we learned some great lessons. We learned what not to do next time we play a team like that."
Frontcourt Rotation Still Being Worked Out
Indiana's frontcourt lineup is going to be unconventional at times this season. How unconventional it gets is still being figured out.
The Hoosiers have been starting three guards alongside senior Lyndsay Leikem and sophomore Amanda Cahill. Moren described both as "True 4s," who are more power forward than conventional center.
Junior Jenn Anderson, a more conventional center and a starter last season, is still working her way back into playing shape after being ill to begin the season and freshman forward Kym Royster is still shaking off some freshman rust to earn larger minutes.
"In a perfect world, Lyndsay and (Cahill) would be subbing for each other, Kym and Jenn would be subbing for each other," Moren said.
Cahill has been excelling in her role early on in the season, having earned a selection on the Preseason WNIT's All-Tournament Team. She's averaging 15 points and 7.7 rebounds per game through three contests.
"I'm more worried about the team and how we did overall," Cahill said. "We've been working a lot with different lineups and playing different people in practice. I'd say it's something that's an advantage for us to be able to play with a lot of different people doing a lot of different things. I think that's something we'll try to use to our advantage."
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