The last time Lenée Beaumont took the court for Indiana women’s basketball was March 23, 2024.
The then-freshman guard contributed 3 points in her five minutes played during the Hoosiers’ NCAA Tournament Round of 64 victory over Fairfield University. Beaumont didn’t record minutes in the Hoosiers’ next two games — a win over the University of Oklahoma and a loss to the University of South Carolina — to end Indiana’s season.
With the graduation of key players, like guard Sara Scalia and forward Mackenzie Holmes, Beaumont was in a position to make an impact for Indiana off the bench the following year.
However, when Indiana took the court for its first contest of the 2024-25 season inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Beaumont sat on the bench with her teammates sporting a black Indiana T-shirt and sweatpants. It was an exhibition against Maryville University on Oct. 30, and Indiana head coach Teri Moren said after the match Beaumont was out with a “nagging knee” injury she suffered toward the end of the summer. Moren expected her to return to the court that season.
But as each game passed, the 6-foot-1 Beaumont was not on the floor competing with the Hoosiers. She warmed up with her teammates before Indiana’s season-opening contest against Brown University but did not play. Beaumont did not step onto the court in the next seven games before Moren announced Dec. 1 that Beaumont would have surgery on her knee.
The then-sophomore took a redshirt year and missed the entirety of last season when the Hoosiers went 20-13 with a trip to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. Now, despite only one season on the court with Indiana, Beaumont is one of the Cream and Crimson’s most experienced players and core leaders.
After the 2024-25 season ended, over half of Indiana’s roster was gone, either via graduation or transfer portal. The only remaining players were Beaumont, senior guard Shay Ciezki, sophomore forward Faith Wiseman, sophomore guard Valentyna Kadlecova and redshirt sophomore forward Sydney Fenn.
Ciezki is the only of the returning players to average more than five minutes per game last season, and she’s entering just her second year with the program after transferring from Penn State in April 2024
Although Beaumont couldn’t play in contests, it didn’t stop her from working with and around her teammates. She sat with her teammates on the bench wearing street clothes and talked to them during warmups.
Beaumont said working back from the injury has been both physically and mentally challenging. When she slowly started to get back to practice, it was a harsh reality check as to where she was physically.
“I think the hardest part for me, honestly, was finally getting the opportunity to come back and realizing very quickly, like, you're out of shape. You're rusty. You don't trust yourself. You don't know what you're doing out there on the court,” Beaumont said in an interview with the Indiana Daily Student on Sept. 30. “I know that's, like, a lot of digging myself in a hole, but, truthfully, I would leave some practices, kind of emotional, talking with Ali (Patberg) and Ben (Tate), my athletic trainer, and just, like, ‘What has happened to me?’”
Through that process, Beaumont relied on her optimism. She admitted it might not always be “realistic,” but for her, it’s better to understand the positive side of a situation, especially when fighting through adversity.
Moren praised Beaumont for showing up when she could, whether that was “religiously” trying to get better in whatever way she was allowed or being at every team meeting.
In a press conference Sept. 30, Moren said last season’s locker room was “not in good shape,” but now, it’s improved because of Beaumont, who has embraced her new leadership role. Outside of Moren’s staff, Beaumont was one of Indiana’s biggest recruiters, Moren said, communicating with potential recruits to fill roster spots.
“She was willing to communicate with anybody, to try to find and help us find her teammates,” Moren said. “And so, you know, she is invested in this program. And one of the things about Beau is that, you know, Beau is passionate. She loves this place. She loves this game.”
Beaumont understands her experience compared to the newcomers and knows she can be the person to communicate the program’s values and expectations to them. She wants them to know she’s been through the good and bad with the Hoosiers, but she’s someone to rely on — which is part of the culture they’re trying to establish.
Moren has asked Beaumont to be that leader — to communicate expectations and create a “healthy environment” in the locker room. She sees Beaumont as the player to hold her teammates accountable, set the standards and make sure each player is aligned with one another.
“And she and I talk a lot just about how one goes about that, what that leadership looks like,” Moren said. “But in terms of her being able to handle that, there’s nobody better right now that I would love to lead our team more than Lenée Beaumont.”
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Max Schneider (maxschn@iu.edu) and columnist Sean McAvoy (@sean_mc07 and semcavoy@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
