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IUWBB AP/Coaches Poll

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It's time the women's team got some recognition and break into the rankings. But I won't be surprised if it doesn't happen.  I believe they travel to Ohio State Thursday which would give them another opportunity to show what they can do. Just keep winning.

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Moved up 2 spots to #12 in the AP Poll and is the highest ranked B1G team as Maryland is #13.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/national/story/2019-12-09/the-ap-top-25-womens-basketball-poll

 

Indy Star - 

Last season, the Indiana women’s basketball team spent March on the bubble hoping to make the NCAA tournament for the sixth time in program history.

Less than a year later, making the tournament isn’t a question — it’s an expectation and nearly a guarantee.  Now sitting at No. 12 in the AP poll, Indiana (8-1) continues to improve on the program’s highest ranking while adding quality wins to its résumé.

Teri Moren’s team went 2-1 at the Paradise Jam during Thanksgiving weekend with wins over No. 6 South Carolina and Washington State with a loss to No. 7 Baylor sandwiched in between. Indiana followed that up with a win at No. 21 Miami as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge before a 27-point rout of North Florida on Saturday.

“The good teams, they win by six, eight points,” Moren said after the 34-point win against Washington State. “Great teams make a statement.”

If that’s the case for Moren, then the early part of the season has been filled with statements.

In wins, the Hoosiers are outscoring their opponents by an average of nearly 30 points, thanks in large part to a defense that has held opponents to less than 50 points in three consecutive games.

“We’re a program that hangs its hat on the defensive end,” Moren said. “We’ve always said that, when we got here six years ago, that’s who we were going to be. That’s our identity, and that’s what our kids believe.”

Indiana’s defense could be getting a boost soon as junior guard Bendu Yeaney — who routinely guarded the opposing team’s best player last season — nears a return from her Achilles injury.  While Yeaney's return will help the defense, Grace Berger's return from injury will give the offense a shot in the arm.

Heading into the season, Moren often expressed how she felt Berger made tremendous strides in the transition from her freshman to sophomore season. Berger has backed up that hype as she’s been the team’s leading scorer (14.9 points per game), but she's missed the past two games.  Moren said she expects to have Berger back for Wednesday’s matchup at Butler (6-2).  “Her recovering and bouncing back from that has been as smooth as we could hope for,” Moren said.

Berger’s importance stems further than her scoring ability, as she’s improved on her ball-handling and has gotten more comfortable in Moren’s system.  “You see how superior she is with her ball-handling and her ability to pass and make plays,” Moren said. “We miss her a lot.”

Without Berger, the Indiana offense was stagnant at times against North Florida despite winning with ease.  “It wasn’t a clean game by any stretch offensively for us,” Moren said. “We know this. We’ve played much better.”

Moren's recruiting ability has given her the deepest team she’s had in her six years at Indiana and allows more wiggle room when players like Berger and Yeaney are unavailable.

“One of the things we talked about going into this season was our depth,” Moren said. “That’s the best part about this team.”  

With the depth, it can be easy to overlook the two major pieces that helped the program transition from losing Tyra Buss and Amanda Cahill after the 2018 WNIT title.  Ali Patberg’s importance to the team cannot be overstated. Beyond the numbers, Patberg continues to captain of the offense while senior Brenna Wise provides a threat to stretch the floor.

Patberg frequently flirts with a triple-double — she had six points, eight rebounds and seven assists against North Florida — and Wise might be finding her stride just in time as Big Ten play approaches.

With Wise finding her stroke, Patberg’s ability to run the offense, Berger’s ability to score and Yeaney’s defense being added to the bunch, Moren’s team could well be on its way to reaching heights the program has never seen.

Edited by Class of '66 Old Fart
Added Indy Star article

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