Ohio State is a women's basketball program known for running a full-court press for 40 minutes. That press has hurt the Hoosiers in the past two matchups, where they came up short. But coming into the matchup, Indiana head coach Teri Moren implemented press breaks all week long in practice.
The Buckeyes have totaled at least 10 steals in the past ten consecutive games, including against the Hoosiers. They also lead the Big Ten in steals per game, averaging 13. It was a daunting statistic for Indiana as they average 14.2 turnovers per game, which has been a prominent issue on the court. But a big reason why Ohio State is such a strong defensive team is ultimately because of the press.
Yet the Hoosiers came out Thursday night fully prepared for what to expect and answered with a 71-61 win.
“We didn't want to turn the ball over,” Moren said. “That was the first thing; we wanted to be able to get the ball in bounds and then try to hit over the top, which we did several times. We talked about how it will have to be a balance of beating it with passes over the top but also beating it with the dribble from time to time.”
Ball movement was key for getting past the press for Indiana and ensuring that they get the ball up the court by limiting turnovers and saving time on the clock to get set up offensively. The Hoosiers limited dribbling up the court and let the passing do the work instead. Two guards who could handle the ball were closer to the inbounder, while the forwards stayed in the frontcourt, ready to bolt to the hoop once the ball reached past halfcourt.
The format for Indiana resulted in easy layups as they took advantage of the size advantage in the paint, finishing with 32 points in the paint.
While Ohio State has an intimidating press, they also have a strong defense once opponents get into the half court. Throughout the week, Moren implemented practices about how to navigate through the press but then how important it would be for her team not to take quick shots and turn the ball over in the half court.
Indiana understood what they needed to do to win and used their passing efficiency to create easy shots. The team combined for 21 assists and shot 54% from the field. They consistently made the extra pass, created high-percentage looks, and kept the Buckeyes defense in constant rotation.
When the double teams came from the Buckeyes, the Hoosiers didn't get overwhelmed and instead always had a help player coming for relief. Indiana's ability to move the ball quickly from side to side, utilizing both inside-out action and skip passes, opened up scoring opportunities for the shooters and cutters.
The fluid ball movement through the press was a key factor in the offensive efficiency in this win.
