IU women's basketball coach Teri Moren was not particularly pleased even though her team came away with two home wins last Thursday and Sunday.
She called out her bench and her team’s defense after the Thursday win against Northern Kentucky. Then Sunday against Valparaiso, the bench faltered down the stretch, and Moren was forced to put the starters back in in the fourth quarter. After a week off due to final exams, the Hoosiers have a chance to correct their faults.
IU (7-3) will welcome in the Oakland Golden Grizzlies to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Saturday to begin an important stretch of schedule during winter break.
“This is a really good Oakland team,” Moren said. “Real concerned about the Oakland team coming in here on Saturday. We need to make sure that we shore up some things tomorrow and then are ready come Saturday.”
Junior guard Tyra Buss and junior forward Amanda Cahill, along with senior guard Alexis Gassion, have been the go-to players for IU this season. The trio has averaged around 100 combined minutes per game. They have done plenty to help the team thus far. Moren said she is fine with that, but wants to see some other players step up.
In her third season in Bloomington, Moren finally has the depth she wants. After consistently running with an eight or nine-man rotation last season, Moren now has 11 or 12 players who she can give meaningful minutes to.
Now, she said she wants the bench to step up and play. They have been able to get bench points from contributors like sophomore guard Tia Elbert, who scored 10 points Sunday. But the next step is locking down on defense, not turning the ball over, and being able to provide quality minutes.
“I know the bench has been struggling the past few games so we have to make sure we’re ready to go,” Elbert said. “I take it upon myself to be the leader of that group to make sure we’re doing what we need to do.”
Oakland will be an interesting opponent for IU. The Hoosiers travel south to face the Florida Gators next Tuesday and this is their final tune up game for that matchup. IU has already dropped some other games away from home against major conference teams like North Carolina State and Auburn.
Before worrying about Florida, IU needs to focus on an Oakland team that could present some challenges. The Golden Grizzlies come in with a record of 5-4. To improve their home win streak to 20 straight games, the Hoosiers will need to lock in on defense as Oakland averages close to 80 points per contest.
“We’ve missed our fans, missed Assembly Hall,” Gassion said. “It’s nice to get those W’s back instead of all of those losses.
If there is one thing to look for in this game, it would have to be the bench play. It has been proven that Cahill, Buss and Gassion can get it done. They will be the stars. Now it is time for the supporting cast to get on track before Florida on Tuesday and when Big Ten play starts Dec. 28 at Penn State.
Gassion said there is just one thing she is looking for come Saturday.
“A win!,” Gassion said.
