One month ago, it faced a Maryland team on a 10-game win streak. The Hoosiers kept it close enough to make a run at the end before ultimately falling short.
Thursday night, it was a different location, same story.
The Hoosiers traveled to College Park, Md. for a rematch with No. 5 Maryland, who entered the game this time having won 19-straight. IU stayed in it well into the second half, but could never take the lead in an 83-72 loss.
Maryland’s Laurin Mincy led all scorers with 28 points. Malina Howard and Shatori Kimbrough-Walker had 16 each.
Moren considered this game a step forward.
“I’m just really, extremely proud of our basketball team tonight,” she said. “I thought we showed a lot of fight, showed a lot of resilience against the No. 5 team in the country.”
Sophomore guard Karlee McBride carried the Hoosiers with a team-high 18 points, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. Midway through the second half, McBride hit a 3-pointer to cut the Terrapin lead to seven.
A couple minutes later, she made another and the IU deficit was just four.
But that was as close as the Hoosiers, who didn’t lead once in the game, would get to handing Maryland its first Big Ten loss. IU’s losing skid also reached four games.
It’s not an unfamiliar position for the Hoosiers, who lost four in a row during the month of January. That, too, included a loss to Maryland, where IU made a late run but couldn’t stay within 10.
After Thursday’s game, Moren noticed several improvements from the first meeting to the second.
They held Brionna Jones, who averages 12.5 points per game, to just five. They won the rebounding battle 37-36.
“We’re not a big team, we’re not a deep team, especially at that four and five spot,” Moren said. “Just for our kids to battle the way they did, I’m just really proud of them.”
Maryland got to the free-throw line 30 times, compared to IU’s 19. As shooting efficiency and the rebounding differential between the two teams stayed close, that made a huge difference, Moren said.
Maryland, in its first year as a part of the Big Ten, ?remains unbeaten in the conference. IU will cap off its East Coast trip with a game against No. 20 Rutgers on Sunday.
Moren said the addition of the two teams has been an ?adjustment for the conference. They bring a different style, size and athleticism.
“The rest of the Big Ten, we were going to have to make sure we were ready for what Maryland and Rutgers was going to bring,” Moren said. “The adjustment wasn’t for Maryland or Rutgers, it was the rest of the Big Ten adjusting to those two teams.”
