After Monday’s season-opening win in opposition to Brown, Teri Moren wasn’t happy together with her staff’s efficiency.
Regardless of the win, the sport highlighted particular issues that captured her consideration. Turnovers and poor protection have been chief among the many points. With a fast turnaround earlier than Thursday’s sport in opposition to Harvard, Moren knew her staff wanted to make strides rapidly.
Moren’s issues have been appropriate. On Thursday evening, 72 hours later, Indiana suffered its first loss in upset vogue in opposition to Harvard, 72-68, in extra time at Meeting Corridor.
From the beginning, Indiana was taking part in catchup in opposition to the Crimson.
Turnovers have been a problem within the first quarter and all through the sport. The Hoosiers failed to seek out any offensive rhythm as Harvard emerged because the sooner, extra aggressive staff. Indiana turned over the ball 11 instances within the first ten minutes, leading to extra turnovers than photographs tried (seven) on the finish of the primary quarter.
From the opening tip, Indiana couldn’t deal with Harvard’s full-court press.
“Their strain was no shock,” Chloe Moore-McNeil mentioned postgame. “Coming in, we knew they have been going to press us off misses, off makes, even within the half-court, you already know, playing a bit bit. I feel that’s simply the toughest half, simply understanding we have been alleged to be ready for that, and we didn’t present up for it.”
Even with the Hoosiers’ significantly better second quarter, which noticed them carry the sport inside one possession by halftime, Indiana struggled to deal with the strain.
The Crimson’s strain rattled Indiana all through the competition and Harvard by no means went away. Even when Indiana took the lead within the third quarter, Harvard pestered the Hoosier offense into mistake after mistake.
The Ivy League opponent scored 32 factors off Indiana’s turnovers, which was the distinction within the sport.
Past their incapacity to manage the ball, the Hoosiers scored zero fastbreak factors, have been outscored 28-24 within the paint and shot simply 3-for-18 on 3s. Indiana turned the ball over 27 instances, the second-highest whole for this system in a sport underneath Moren’s management.
“Is it perplexing? Yeah,” Moren mentioned. “It’s perplexing to me how we’re a veteran staff… and the way we will have these moments. We had them in opposition to Brown, the place we entered the ball, and it went out of our arms on only a easy entry to the wing. Yarden throws it forward to Jules, and it in some way goes out of bounds. We dribble it off our leg a few instances. These are uncharacteristic of us. And I get it; that’s not what we usually appear to be. We haven’t seemed like that, and so I don’t; I’m extra perplexed by it than I’m nervous.”
It’s solely the second sport of the season, however this staff is presently properly under the usual it has set beforehand underneath Moren.
Roles have but to be totally established whereas this staff tries to determine the way it desires to play. The season remains to be younger, having solely performed two video games, however like Moren mentioned after the season opener, these points should be resolved inside that locker room.
“I all the time say, you already know, one sport, though it’s tremendous upset they’ll’t, they’ll’t break our coronary heart, the place we will’t return right here, or take tomorrow off on Saturday and get again to work,” Moren mentioned. “That’s, that’s, you already know, all that we all know round right here…I don’t suppose anyone has hit the panic button fairly but…This isn’t the staff of final 12 months.
“There are new items that we’re attempting. And so they’re all nonetheless attempting to determine how that each one works collectively. It might not occur as early as our followers and perhaps as we want, how rapidly, you already know, as we want, however now we have to stay to the method of simply attempting to enhance a bit bit extra each day.”
(Photograph credit score: IU Athletics)
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