Indiana University Athletics
Scalia, Moore-McNeil Highlight IU’s Winning Ways
2/17/2024 2:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Leave Sara Scalia open at your own risk. More and more these days, risk grows even if you do guard her.
Scalia could always shoot. That much we know. Indiana's senior guard long ago worked her way into an elite three-point shooter status.
It's a big reason, although not the only one, why coach Teri Moren made her a top transfer priority after Scalia decided to leave Minnesota following three standout seasons, and if instant Cream and Crimson success didn't happen, well, it's here now.
So is a program 3-point shooting record.
"It took Sara a year trying to figure out how we do things and our standards and expectations," Moren says. "She believes in her shot. We believe in her. She's an incredible talent and shooter."
The numbers prove it. Scalia's four 3-pointers in Wednesday night's victory at Wisconsin gave her a school single-season record of 79 in 24 games. That's one more than Amanda Cahill made in 37 games during the 2017-18 season.
Scalia shoots 44.6 percent from three-point range, which is better than her overall shooting of 44.4 percent. She averages 16.3 points.
For comparison, last year, her first as a Hoosier, she averaged 9.5 points, and shot 34.4 percent from beyond the arc.
Scalia made 214 three-pointers in three seasons at Minnesota, including 111 during her final year there in 2022. After last year's struggles, she ratcheted up the training to restore her long-distance accuracy and improve her overall game.
"She worked hard last summer," Moren says. "She transformed her body, and also her strength. She broke a lot of weight records.
"With time and last year's experience, she came in extremely confident. This is a kid who does her work outside of practice. She's very difficult to guard. She knows she'll get everybody's best. That takes some mental toughness to know people will be chasing you. She has to have help from her teammates.
"She was already mature when she came here, and now she has a comfort level in being a huge part of our team."
That will be on display Monday afternoon when the No. 14 Hoosiers (21-3 overall, 12-2 in the Big Ten) travel to Illinois (12-12, 6-8), and again on Thursday when they host No. 4 Iowa (23-3, 12-2) in a rematch with huge national implications.
Scalia isn't IU's only perimeter difference-maker as it pushes for a second straight Big Ten title and a deep NCAA tourney run. Consider senior guard Chloe Moore-McNeil, who has emerged as a dynamic offensive threat to complement her defensive and passing prowess.
Moore-McNeil is 9-for-9 on 3-pointers in her last two games, and shoots a career-best 43.5 percent beyond the arc. This is huge given she shot just 14.8 percent on three-pointers as a freshman and reached 31.0 and 33.7 in her next two seasons.
She has scored in double figures in seven straight games, reached at least 20 points twice, and thrown in just the fourth triple double in program history. She averages a career-best 10.5 points and leads the team in assists (116) and steals (34).
"That's a testament to everything she's meant to this program," senior center Mackenzie Holmes says. "She has really trusted the process.
"As a freshman, she didn't see the floor that much, but she got in the gym every day. She's a product of the work she put in. It doesn't happen overnight."
Moore-McNeil's development includes verbal leadership she previously lacked. It's especially noticeable during timeouts when the Hoosiers are struggling.
"Now being a senior," Holmes says, "she's come out of her shell. She's shown that other side of her. It helps us when her voice is heard."
This is what Moren saw when she recruited Moore-McNeil as a two-time Tennessee High School Miss Basketball who totaled 2,598 points with more than 500 rebounds, 500 assists and 400 steals.
As a Hoosier, Moore-McNeil had to get stronger, tougher and more in-tune to the demands of high-level college basketball.
Mission accomplished.
"They don't make kids like Chloe anymore," Moren says. "She came in as freshman and didn't play, but she believed in the staff and believed in the process. She watched the older kids ahead of her and how they worked and had been developed. She knew it was a matter of time before it was her turn.
"A lot of those kids, when they face that situation, they leave. She was never one of those kids.
"Her body has completely changed, her confidence has changed, the way she leads our team has changed. She is the heart and soul.
"I love her leadership, her heart and how hard she plays. Her teammates respect her. They've watched her commitment."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Leave Sara Scalia open at your own risk. More and more these days, risk grows even if you do guard her.
Scalia could always shoot. That much we know. Indiana's senior guard long ago worked her way into an elite three-point shooter status.
It's a big reason, although not the only one, why coach Teri Moren made her a top transfer priority after Scalia decided to leave Minnesota following three standout seasons, and if instant Cream and Crimson success didn't happen, well, it's here now.
So is a program 3-point shooting record.
"It took Sara a year trying to figure out how we do things and our standards and expectations," Moren says. "She believes in her shot. We believe in her. She's an incredible talent and shooter."
The numbers prove it. Scalia's four 3-pointers in Wednesday night's victory at Wisconsin gave her a school single-season record of 79 in 24 games. That's one more than Amanda Cahill made in 37 games during the 2017-18 season.
Scalia shoots 44.6 percent from three-point range, which is better than her overall shooting of 44.4 percent. She averages 16.3 points.
For comparison, last year, her first as a Hoosier, she averaged 9.5 points, and shot 34.4 percent from beyond the arc.
Scalia made 214 three-pointers in three seasons at Minnesota, including 111 during her final year there in 2022. After last year's struggles, she ratcheted up the training to restore her long-distance accuracy and improve her overall game.
"She worked hard last summer," Moren says. "She transformed her body, and also her strength. She broke a lot of weight records.
"With time and last year's experience, she came in extremely confident. This is a kid who does her work outside of practice. She's very difficult to guard. She knows she'll get everybody's best. That takes some mental toughness to know people will be chasing you. She has to have help from her teammates.
"She was already mature when she came here, and now she has a comfort level in being a huge part of our team."
That will be on display Monday afternoon when the No. 14 Hoosiers (21-3 overall, 12-2 in the Big Ten) travel to Illinois (12-12, 6-8), and again on Thursday when they host No. 4 Iowa (23-3, 12-2) in a rematch with huge national implications.
Scalia isn't IU's only perimeter difference-maker as it pushes for a second straight Big Ten title and a deep NCAA tourney run. Consider senior guard Chloe Moore-McNeil, who has emerged as a dynamic offensive threat to complement her defensive and passing prowess.
Moore-McNeil is 9-for-9 on 3-pointers in her last two games, and shoots a career-best 43.5 percent beyond the arc. This is huge given she shot just 14.8 percent on three-pointers as a freshman and reached 31.0 and 33.7 in her next two seasons.
She has scored in double figures in seven straight games, reached at least 20 points twice, and thrown in just the fourth triple double in program history. She averages a career-best 10.5 points and leads the team in assists (116) and steals (34).
"That's a testament to everything she's meant to this program," senior center Mackenzie Holmes says. "She has really trusted the process.
"As a freshman, she didn't see the floor that much, but she got in the gym every day. She's a product of the work she put in. It doesn't happen overnight."
Moore-McNeil's development includes verbal leadership she previously lacked. It's especially noticeable during timeouts when the Hoosiers are struggling.
"Now being a senior," Holmes says, "she's come out of her shell. She's shown that other side of her. It helps us when her voice is heard."
This is what Moren saw when she recruited Moore-McNeil as a two-time Tennessee High School Miss Basketball who totaled 2,598 points with more than 500 rebounds, 500 assists and 400 steals.
As a Hoosier, Moore-McNeil had to get stronger, tougher and more in-tune to the demands of high-level college basketball.
Mission accomplished.
"They don't make kids like Chloe anymore," Moren says. "She came in as freshman and didn't play, but she believed in the staff and believed in the process. She watched the older kids ahead of her and how they worked and had been developed. She knew it was a matter of time before it was her turn.
"A lot of those kids, when they face that situation, they leave. She was never one of those kids.
"Her body has completely changed, her confidence has changed, the way she leads our team has changed. She is the heart and soul.
"I love her leadership, her heart and how hard she plays. Her teammates respect her. They've watched her commitment."
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