Indiana University Athletics
Big Response Needed As IU Prepares for USC
1/17/2025 9:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- What do you do next when defeat comes, when disappointment hits hard, when one opportunity is lost, and another arrives? How do you respond? Do you fight or concede, elevate your play or regress?
That's the scenario for these Indiana Hoosiers (12-5 overall, 4-2 in the Big Ten), coming off Thursday night's 68-54 women's basketball loss to Illinois, facing a Sunday Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall showdown with No. 4/5 USC (16-1, 6-0) that could determine their conference title hopes.
"We have to come out a lot harder," forward Sydney Parrish says. "We can't just show up for big games. We have to show up for all of them."
That's especially true in this expanded Big Ten. It's always ranked among the nation's best conferences, but the degree of difficulty soared with the addition of top-four teams UCLA and USC to perennial powers such as IU, Ohio State, Maryland and Iowa.
"This league is too good to feel you can take a night off, ever," coach Teri Moren says. "It's the best league in the country."
USC is not a destroy-all-comers juggernaut in the manner of top-ranked UCLA (17-0, 16 double-digit victories). The Trojans have a loss, to No. 3 Notre Dame back in late November. Still, with tough-minded road wins of 72-70 over No. 6 UConn and 79-74 over No. 8 Maryland, with dynamic players such as JuJu Watkins (25.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 43 steals, 33 blocks) and Kiki Iriafen (18.6, 8.6), and 12 straight victories overall, they represent a formidable challenge.
The Hoosiers, who were competitive in their recent 73-62 home loss to UCLA, can handle the challenge if they're all dialed in.
"We have to watch the (Illinois) film and learn from it," Parrish says. "If we play like this against USC, it will be brutal. We have to show up a lot better. I know we will. We have to be better than what's on (the box score). Everybody knows that."
Defending better is one option. More attacking the basket is another.
"People know we're a great three-point-shooting team and they're guarding us tighter at the (three-point) line," Parrish says. "We believe we can get downhill more. We're trying to get downhill more. That would be great for us."
Illinois (13-4, 3-3) brought physicality and quickness the Hoosiers struggled to contain. The Illini drove for layups, buried three-pointers, and dictated court position just as they did in their late-season win last year that ended IU's Big Ten title chance.
"They were physical with us," Moren says, "and we didn't respond the right way. When teams are big and physical with us, we have to work through that. We weren't able to do that. We have to be physical back."
Defensive struggles limited leading-scorer Yarden Garzon, coming off a 21-point effort in last Sunday's win at then-top-25 Iowa, to 20 minutes, three points and two turnovers. Starting center Lilly Meister played 10 minutes and totaled one point and two rebounds.
"Yarden had a hard time guarding," Moren says. "We had to get stops. We had to get a more athletic lineup on the floor to do a better job defensively.
"Lilly has to be better offensively and defensively. The last couple of games, she's just been OK. We need the really good Lilly."
Still, the Hoosiers made a big second-half run, cutting a 15-point deficit to four before a missed layup and an Illinois three-pointer ended the rally. They can build off that comeback if they have the right preparation approach, something that didn't happen leading to the Illinois game.
Moren says she sensed some, but not all, of the Hoosiers weren't fully focused during Wednesday's practice.
"How you practice is how you play. I've always believed that. With some players, we had low energy, not being focused, turning the ball over too much. You can't have that before a game of this magnitude."
Moren points to Parrish, and guards Chloe Moore-McNeil and Shay Ciezki as practice catalysts.
"They are such high-energy players. They can recognize it if some of their teammates are not interested in being at practice. They can demand it out of them."
IU bounced back from its previous losses with winning streaks. A repeat is crucial starting Sunday.
"We have to guard better, execute better," Moren says. "We have to get better at all of it."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- What do you do next when defeat comes, when disappointment hits hard, when one opportunity is lost, and another arrives? How do you respond? Do you fight or concede, elevate your play or regress?
That's the scenario for these Indiana Hoosiers (12-5 overall, 4-2 in the Big Ten), coming off Thursday night's 68-54 women's basketball loss to Illinois, facing a Sunday Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall showdown with No. 4/5 USC (16-1, 6-0) that could determine their conference title hopes.
"We have to come out a lot harder," forward Sydney Parrish says. "We can't just show up for big games. We have to show up for all of them."
That's especially true in this expanded Big Ten. It's always ranked among the nation's best conferences, but the degree of difficulty soared with the addition of top-four teams UCLA and USC to perennial powers such as IU, Ohio State, Maryland and Iowa.
"This league is too good to feel you can take a night off, ever," coach Teri Moren says. "It's the best league in the country."
USC is not a destroy-all-comers juggernaut in the manner of top-ranked UCLA (17-0, 16 double-digit victories). The Trojans have a loss, to No. 3 Notre Dame back in late November. Still, with tough-minded road wins of 72-70 over No. 6 UConn and 79-74 over No. 8 Maryland, with dynamic players such as JuJu Watkins (25.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 43 steals, 33 blocks) and Kiki Iriafen (18.6, 8.6), and 12 straight victories overall, they represent a formidable challenge.
The Hoosiers, who were competitive in their recent 73-62 home loss to UCLA, can handle the challenge if they're all dialed in.
"We have to watch the (Illinois) film and learn from it," Parrish says. "If we play like this against USC, it will be brutal. We have to show up a lot better. I know we will. We have to be better than what's on (the box score). Everybody knows that."
Defending better is one option. More attacking the basket is another.
"People know we're a great three-point-shooting team and they're guarding us tighter at the (three-point) line," Parrish says. "We believe we can get downhill more. We're trying to get downhill more. That would be great for us."
Illinois (13-4, 3-3) brought physicality and quickness the Hoosiers struggled to contain. The Illini drove for layups, buried three-pointers, and dictated court position just as they did in their late-season win last year that ended IU's Big Ten title chance.
"They were physical with us," Moren says, "and we didn't respond the right way. When teams are big and physical with us, we have to work through that. We weren't able to do that. We have to be physical back."
Defensive struggles limited leading-scorer Yarden Garzon, coming off a 21-point effort in last Sunday's win at then-top-25 Iowa, to 20 minutes, three points and two turnovers. Starting center Lilly Meister played 10 minutes and totaled one point and two rebounds.
"Yarden had a hard time guarding," Moren says. "We had to get stops. We had to get a more athletic lineup on the floor to do a better job defensively.
"Lilly has to be better offensively and defensively. The last couple of games, she's just been OK. We need the really good Lilly."
Still, the Hoosiers made a big second-half run, cutting a 15-point deficit to four before a missed layup and an Illinois three-pointer ended the rally. They can build off that comeback if they have the right preparation approach, something that didn't happen leading to the Illinois game.
Moren says she sensed some, but not all, of the Hoosiers weren't fully focused during Wednesday's practice.
"How you practice is how you play. I've always believed that. With some players, we had low energy, not being focused, turning the ball over too much. You can't have that before a game of this magnitude."
Moren points to Parrish, and guards Chloe Moore-McNeil and Shay Ciezki as practice catalysts.
"They are such high-energy players. They can recognize it if some of their teammates are not interested in being at practice. They can demand it out of them."
IU bounced back from its previous losses with winning streaks. A repeat is crucial starting Sunday.
"We have to guard better, execute better," Moren says. "We have to get better at all of it."
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's BasketballThursday, August 13
Thursday, August 13
Wednesday, August 12
Wednesday, August 12