Indiana University Athletics
Taste of Greatness – IU Women Fueled for National Title Run
10/22/2021 10:22:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - College basketball's ultimate prize is there for the taking.
The Indiana Hoosiers aim to take it and if you doubt, move on.
IU drives to move up.
"We just came off an Elite Eight run," senior guard Ali Patberg says. "Once you get a taste of that, it fuels you even more."
In the women's game, Connecticut sets the national title-winning standard as do Stanford (the defending national champ), Tennessee, Baylor, South Carolina and Notre Dame.
Now comes Indiana, a growing national power under coach Teri Moren, ranked No. 8 in the AP preseason poll, its highest rating ever, topping the No. 9 spot it earned last year.
After last season's 21-6 record and Elite Eight finish, with two All-Americas in forward Mackenzie Holmes (17.8 points, 7.6 rebounds last season) and guard Grace Berger (15.4 points), an All-Big Ten guard in Patberg (14.0 points) and starters Aleksa Gulbe (9.0 points, 6.9 rebounds) and Nicole Cardaño-Hillary (8.5 points), plus key reserves and a promising newcomer class, Hoosier national championship talk resonates as never before, a huge step for a once struggling program.
It comes with this perspective -- glory comes to those who work and persevere.
"Every workout is high intensity," Patberg says. "Not that it wasn't before, but you take it to another level. We have so many veterans who know what it takes to get to where we were last year. We want to go farther and we know it will take more."
Adds Berger: "Coach Moren has been great in letting us know we haven't accomplished our goals yet. We haven't won a Big Ten championship. We haven't been to a Final Four or won a national championship, so we still aren't where we want to be."
A pause.
"We're approaching every day trying to get one percent better."
That might sound like a cliché', but it doesn't make it any less true.
"Coach's biggest message," Holmes says, "is that last year was a lot of fun and great, but none of that matters this year.
"We're starting with a blank slate. We have bigger goals and aspirations. What we did last year will not affect this year's outcome.
"Getting better every day, controlling the things we can control and doing the extra work will all be crucial to our success."
IU's veteran status produces high-quality, ultra-efficient practices which creates a unique dilemma for Moren -- how do you push players who already push themselves?
"I will look at the practice plan and the time," she says, "and go, 'That was fast.' I was able to get through practices quicker than normal. The efficiency gets us through things faster."
Coaches always strive to get more from players -- more effort, more awareness, more toughness, more defense and beyond. With prospects so high, letting up even a little could be NCAA tourney costly.
No Hoosier wants that.
And so …
"We still have to hold those five to a high standard," Moren says. "We have to get the best out of them by coaching them hard."
Demands keep coming.
"We would do them a disservice if we did not hold them to a really high standard," Moren says. "Even though they say they get it, we still have to coach them. There's more growth to get out of them."
Growth starts inside Cook Hall and Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
"Coach always emphasizes it's our job as players to get in the gym and get better," Berger says. "Try to improve one thing that was a weakness last year. That can add up to the difference from being in the Elite Eight to being a national champion.
"It's spending intentional time in the gym. Focus on the little details. Don't have wasted practices.
"It's cutting hard, talking on defense. It's the little things that separate good from great teams."
No Hoosier understands that better than Patberg, who because of injuries, transferring from Notre Dame and pandemic-caused eligibility changes is about to start her seventh season.
"We're on a different level of attention to detail," she says. "Last year when we made it as far as we did, experienced ups and downs, and bounced back well. That's because we stayed. We attacked whatever was in front of us.
"Coach always says we're stronger as a fist than as individuals. The way we handle adversity as a group is incredible.
"When we go through adversity, we get stronger. Last year when we hit adversity, we didn't let it stop us. It fueled us to be better."
What does "better" mean?
Consider IU has been ranked for a school-record 38 straight weeks. It finished last season at No. 12.
The Hoosiers have won at least 20 games for six straight years, won the women's NIT in 2018 and finished second in the Big Ten last season with a 16-2 record.
Besides the five returning starters, there's plenty of difference-making depth.
Sophomores Chloe Moore-McNeil, Kiandra Brown and Arielle Wisne, and junior Grace Waggoner provide key off-the-bench experience.
Contributions are expected from a strong newcomer group with freshmen Kaitlin Peterson from Alabama, Keyarah Berry from Georgia and Mona Zaric from Serbia, plus Georgia transfer Caitlin Hose.
"Our new pieces come in well prepared," Berger says. "They have veterans to lead them. They show a lot of potential."
Adds Gulbe: "Having all five starters back is great. We got that feel for year other last year. We have some great additions. We can see the players have progressed. We have great chemistry."
IU will need all of that against formidable national competition. South Carolina is the preseason No. 1, with UConn at No. 2, Stanford at No. 3 and Maryland at No 4.
The Hoosiers will play Stanford, No. 5 North Carolina State and No. 13 Kentucky in the first couple of weeks of the season before Big Ten play.
"We're all competitors," Patberg says. "We're excited we get to play teams at that level. It will be a challenge, but we're ready for it."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - College basketball's ultimate prize is there for the taking.
The Indiana Hoosiers aim to take it and if you doubt, move on.
IU drives to move up.
"We just came off an Elite Eight run," senior guard Ali Patberg says. "Once you get a taste of that, it fuels you even more."
In the women's game, Connecticut sets the national title-winning standard as do Stanford (the defending national champ), Tennessee, Baylor, South Carolina and Notre Dame.
Now comes Indiana, a growing national power under coach Teri Moren, ranked No. 8 in the AP preseason poll, its highest rating ever, topping the No. 9 spot it earned last year.
After last season's 21-6 record and Elite Eight finish, with two All-Americas in forward Mackenzie Holmes (17.8 points, 7.6 rebounds last season) and guard Grace Berger (15.4 points), an All-Big Ten guard in Patberg (14.0 points) and starters Aleksa Gulbe (9.0 points, 6.9 rebounds) and Nicole Cardaño-Hillary (8.5 points), plus key reserves and a promising newcomer class, Hoosier national championship talk resonates as never before, a huge step for a once struggling program.
It comes with this perspective -- glory comes to those who work and persevere.
"Every workout is high intensity," Patberg says. "Not that it wasn't before, but you take it to another level. We have so many veterans who know what it takes to get to where we were last year. We want to go farther and we know it will take more."
Adds Berger: "Coach Moren has been great in letting us know we haven't accomplished our goals yet. We haven't won a Big Ten championship. We haven't been to a Final Four or won a national championship, so we still aren't where we want to be."
A pause.
"We're approaching every day trying to get one percent better."
That might sound like a cliché', but it doesn't make it any less true.
"Coach's biggest message," Holmes says, "is that last year was a lot of fun and great, but none of that matters this year.
"We're starting with a blank slate. We have bigger goals and aspirations. What we did last year will not affect this year's outcome.
"Getting better every day, controlling the things we can control and doing the extra work will all be crucial to our success."
IU's veteran status produces high-quality, ultra-efficient practices which creates a unique dilemma for Moren -- how do you push players who already push themselves?
"I will look at the practice plan and the time," she says, "and go, 'That was fast.' I was able to get through practices quicker than normal. The efficiency gets us through things faster."
Coaches always strive to get more from players -- more effort, more awareness, more toughness, more defense and beyond. With prospects so high, letting up even a little could be NCAA tourney costly.
No Hoosier wants that.
And so …
"We still have to hold those five to a high standard," Moren says. "We have to get the best out of them by coaching them hard."
Demands keep coming.
"We would do them a disservice if we did not hold them to a really high standard," Moren says. "Even though they say they get it, we still have to coach them. There's more growth to get out of them."
Growth starts inside Cook Hall and Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
"Coach always emphasizes it's our job as players to get in the gym and get better," Berger says. "Try to improve one thing that was a weakness last year. That can add up to the difference from being in the Elite Eight to being a national champion.
"It's spending intentional time in the gym. Focus on the little details. Don't have wasted practices.
"It's cutting hard, talking on defense. It's the little things that separate good from great teams."
No Hoosier understands that better than Patberg, who because of injuries, transferring from Notre Dame and pandemic-caused eligibility changes is about to start her seventh season.
"We're on a different level of attention to detail," she says. "Last year when we made it as far as we did, experienced ups and downs, and bounced back well. That's because we stayed. We attacked whatever was in front of us.
"Coach always says we're stronger as a fist than as individuals. The way we handle adversity as a group is incredible.
"When we go through adversity, we get stronger. Last year when we hit adversity, we didn't let it stop us. It fueled us to be better."
What does "better" mean?
Consider IU has been ranked for a school-record 38 straight weeks. It finished last season at No. 12.
The Hoosiers have won at least 20 games for six straight years, won the women's NIT in 2018 and finished second in the Big Ten last season with a 16-2 record.
Besides the five returning starters, there's plenty of difference-making depth.
Sophomores Chloe Moore-McNeil, Kiandra Brown and Arielle Wisne, and junior Grace Waggoner provide key off-the-bench experience.
Contributions are expected from a strong newcomer group with freshmen Kaitlin Peterson from Alabama, Keyarah Berry from Georgia and Mona Zaric from Serbia, plus Georgia transfer Caitlin Hose.
"Our new pieces come in well prepared," Berger says. "They have veterans to lead them. They show a lot of potential."
Adds Gulbe: "Having all five starters back is great. We got that feel for year other last year. We have some great additions. We can see the players have progressed. We have great chemistry."
IU will need all of that against formidable national competition. South Carolina is the preseason No. 1, with UConn at No. 2, Stanford at No. 3 and Maryland at No 4.
The Hoosiers will play Stanford, No. 5 North Carolina State and No. 13 Kentucky in the first couple of weeks of the season before Big Ten play.
"We're all competitors," Patberg says. "We're excited we get to play teams at that level. It will be a challenge, but we're ready for it."
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Center
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
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