BLOOMINGTON – Coming off of a hot stretch while routing opponents inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, the Indiana women’s basketball team was eager for an opportunity to prove themselves against the best.
But against top-ranked UCLA, what many hoped to be a back-and-forth bout turned into an uphill battle.
UCLA boasted some physical on-ball pressure that limited any opportunity for an easy bucket. The Hoosiers struggled against that, and began racking up turnovers and fouls.
IU put up a good fight, but ultimately couldn’t seize the moment. UCLA came away with a 73-62 victory at Assembly Hall on Saturday. Although the result didn’t end in their favor, head coach Teri Moren continued to praise her team’s effort and competitiveness after the game.
“We’re disappointed,” Moren said postgame. “Obviously we felt like we had a good game plan for how we were gonna go about winning today. Really proud of our group. I thought their effort – always, but today in particular, they were dialed in – was really good.”
The No. 1 Bruins boast one of the most talented rosters in the nation. 6-foot-7 star center Lauren Betts, who averages over 19 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game. Betts certainly looked the part throughout the game, having a clear size advantage against all of Indiana’s roster. She backed it up with 25 points on 12-for-16 shooting and 12 rebounds.
Moren praised Lilly Meister and Karoline Striplin, who had to battle with one of the country’s best players.
“I think Lilly and Strip were working their tails off,” Moren said. “They did everything they could. We were trying to push her out, trying to keep her away from the low block, trying to get the leverage from our legs. We were trying to crowd her as much as we could off of other players.”
However, outside of that, Indiana’s defense did some good things. Outside of Betts, UCLA shot 16 of 46 from the field. Betts is touted as a potential top WNBA Draft pick in the future, but those numbers show that IU effectively limited the rest of the Bruin’s roster.
“We were trying to crowd her as much as we could off of other players,” Moren said. “We call them our money spots, which were just opened up a little bit more and we were trying to deter the ball from coming inside. So yeah, it’s frustrating…she is a great player, no question about it.”
Still, IU had its issues – and UCLA’s sound defense made things even harder. The Hoosiers shot 22 of 55 from the field overall. They also struggled from 3-point range, shooting just 19 percent – their third-lowest percentage this season.
Indiana’s strong assist numbers, a big key in the last few games, also regressed. After three straight games with 25 or more assists, Indiana finished with just eight against the Bruins.
But despite the team’s struggles, Moren maintains an optimistic outlook.
“I think we’re still a really good basketball team in spite of those numbers,” she said. “There’s a fight to this group, a cohesiveness, they’re connected. Because I’ve watched them shoot it better. I’ve watched them take care of the ball better. And give credit to UCLA, but we’re still one of the best teams in the Big Ten.”
