Predicted finish: 4th
Last year’s record: 23-14, 9-7 B1G
Key returners:
G- Jaelynn Penn 5’10 10.8 PPG 42% FG 34.6 MPG
F- Kym Royster 10. 2 PPG 6’2 56% FG, 17.8 MPG
Newcomers:
G- Grace Berger 6’0 (Louisville, Kentucky) Fr. (no.44 on ESPN Hoopgurlz)
F- Aleksa Gulbe 6’3 (Riga, Latvia) Fr.
G- Chanel Wilson 5’6 (Powder Springs, Georgia) Fr.
G- Ali Patberg 5’11 (Columbus, Ohio) TrnsJr.
Key non-conference games:
11/28: Wake Forest
12/2: UCLA
Head coach- Teri Moren- 5th season
Teri Moren returns to the Hoosiers for her fifth season as head coach. Under Moren, the Hoosiers have won 20+ games in three consecutive seasons. That’s a really huge accomplishment that makes her a hot commodity, but it’s not the first time she has done so. While at Indianapolis, Moren, then in the DII collegiate level, led her team to three consecutive 20+ win seasons, including a trip to the NCAA second round. Moren has been a great coach for the Hoosiers and with a WNIT championship under her belt, she will be a target for other coaches and teams in the league.
Outlook:
The Hoosiers lost the dynamic duo in Tyra Buss and Amanda Cahill to graduation, which is a huge loss for them, but they still have Kym Royster and Jaelynn Penn on the roster to fill some of the shoes Buss and Cahill left. Indiana has to keep the same energy that they had last season in order to finish in the top four of the conference. Newcomer Grace Berger will greatly help the offense, and forward Aleksa Gulbe along with Kym Royster will replace the dominance of Amanda Cahill. It’s going to be tough to be the same team as last year, but coach Moren will have her team together to try and do it again.
Best case scenario: Indiana picks up where they left off and heads into the NCAA tournament.
Worst case scenario: The loss of Buss and Cahill will prove too much for the Hoosiers, they struggle through youthful growing pains and miss the postsesaon.