INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Indiana's head coach is confident in her Hoosiers team this year. Despite it not being her program's usual dominant season, she still thinks they can play with any team in the country. Teri Moren’s team proved that Friday against the No. 1 seed USC Trojans.
For the second time this season, Indiana took USC down to the wire but fell short again, losing 84-79.
This time it was back-to-back 3-pointers from graduate student guard Talia Von Oelhoffen and sophomore guard JuJu Watkins with 2:42 left that were the dagger.
Solid, hard cuts, hustling up and down the court, and physical play kept Indiana in the battle early on, even when their shots weren't falling. High-IQ ball movement gave the Hoosiers easy layups and made the Trojans work on defense.
However it was also the powerful duo of Big Ten Player of the Year Watkins and All-American graduate student forward Kiki Iriafen who took over. Indiana graduate senior guard Chloe Moore-McNeil played relentless defense all 40 minutes, but it was simply better offense. The Trojan duo combined for 52 points and 20 rebounds, having a double-double, respectively.
“They’re challenging,” Moren said. “Both JuJu and Kiki are terrific and we’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for USC and (head coach) Lindsay (Gottlieb).”
In the first half, it was a game of runs. As USC went on a scoring drought, Indiana went on a run, and vice versa.
The Trojans led for the final 13 minutes of the first half, but the Hoosiers kept it close. Indiana never trailed by double digits and won the second and third quarters. Heading into the game, Moren was concerned about USC’s ability to get to the free-throw line, which was a major issue in the first matchup. It continued to be an issue for Indiana as the Trojans shot 31 free throws, with Watkins leading in getting to the free-throw line seven times.
Indiana had its own powerful duo of junior guards Shay Ciezki and Yarden Garzon who had a standout second half that ultimately kept Indiana in the game.
A quiet first half for Ciezki flipped into an unstoppable second half. She had 11 points in the third quarter and finished with 15. Garzon gave USC a hard time, especially in the second half, when she had 14 points and finished with a team-high 23, including five 3-pointers.
Turnovers also plagued the Hoosiers throughout the game. Valuable possessions with unforced turnovers or lazy passes gave USC easy opportunities with 21 points off of Indiana's 15 turnovers. Utilizing those fastbreak opportunities and pushing the tempo gave the Trojans the dominance on the game.
The Hoosiers matched the Trojans' intensity and stayed with them while showing resilience. However, when Indiana's second-leading scorer, graduate guard Sydney Parrish, fouled out with 5:39 left in the game, Indiana fell into a hole.
“It's so frustrating because I want to be out there and help my team and be able to be someone who has been in these situations before,” Parrish said. “I was just trying to do my best on the bench to try and rally up the girls, help them on the offensive side, talk to them, make sure they know what's going on, and doing my best from the sideline.”
After Parrish was on the bench for the remainder of the game, the Hoosiers didn't make a field goal for 3 minutes and 43 seconds and finished the game 1-for-7 on field goals.
Indiana never found the one moment when it could seize control and finish the game. The Hoosiers' scoring drought gave the Trojans opportunities to use their ability to execute in critical moments.
Yet, notably, this is the second time that Indiana has lost to USC in single-digits, which is rare to see from any team in the country.
“We want everybody to know we are tough,” Garzon said. “Every game no matter who we're going to play, we want to win the game. No matter what's your name, what you have on your chest, we're going to want to win this game.”
Fresh off the USC loss, Indiana is projected as a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament by CBS Sports. The Hoosiers are in a position where they will not have home court advantage for the first two rounds and will have to travel, which they have not done in recent years.
“I know this about these guys, they can play with anybody in the country,” Moren said.
Now the Hoosiers wait to hear their name called on Selection Sunday and prepare for the rest of March.
