IU women's basketball back in action

On Jan. 4, the IU women’s basketball game against Purdue was cancelled. The inclement weather, which forced the matchup against the Boilermakers to be postponed, gave the team extended time to prepare for Ohio State.

Despite concern for the additional time between games his team has, IU Coach Curt Miller said the team has remained focused.

“We’re a little bit worried now that we’ve had this much time but our team has been focused in preparation for Ohio State,” he said.

The Hoosiers (14-0, 1-0) take on the Buckeyes (11-7, 1-1) at home at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. The Buckeyes arrive in Bloomington after falling to Michigan at home 64-49 on Jan. 5.

Senior forward Tabitha Gerardot said Ohio State will be a tough opponent.

“They’ve played some really tough games this year, and we know they’re not gonna be afraid or intimidated when they come here,” she said.

Saturday’s matchup will also have a sense of familiarity for some of the IU players.

“We have a lot of Ohio kids on our roster that understand these players at Ohio State and how talented that are,” Miller said.

Two of those talented players include 6-foot-5 senior center Ashley Adams, who is averaging 6.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game this season, and 6-foot-2 senior center Darryce Moore, who is averaging 9.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

“Adams and Moore are both very talented post players, and Moore’s actually had a great year as starting center,” Miller said. “They both create problems by getting you buried and getting too low of post catches.”

He also said the team has to make them work to get their touches in the post and make sure they’re not getting the ball close to the basket.

“The higher out they get catches, their percentages of finishing plays and the percentage of us being more successful against them goes up,” Miller said.

He also emphasized being aware of limiting easy touches.

“We just can’t let them catch the ball at two feet where they’re too talented.”

Miller said IU and Ohio State are built similarly because both teams have experienced post players and outstanding point guards.

“They’re a tough matchup for us,” Miller said. “Most teams decide to zone them and I’m not sure that’s our M.O. to zone someone for 40 minutes.”

Miller said the Hoosiers will have to give the Buckeyes a variety of looks and mix it up on defense.

Senior center Sasha Chaplin also said giving different looks was important, as well as constant movement when defending Adams.

“If you stay stationary, people can play against you a lot easier,” she said. “We’ll just try to confuse her as much as possible.”

Aside from internal team similarities, both programs also share accomplishments externally. Both teams are coming off victories against opponents ranked in the Top 25 nationally.

“He (Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff) is getting a lot of out of that team right now,” Miller said.  “They have a chance to really exceed expectations just like we do.”

Follow women's basketball reporter Stuart Jackson on Twitter @Stuart_Jackson1