12/8/2023 basketball Edit

Behind Enemy Lines: Indiana Women's Basketball Edition

Alec Crouthamel • TheKnightReport

Staff Writer

Beat writer for women's basketball here at TKR, as well as covering all other things Scarlet Knights. Also working as a broadcaster with WRSU student radio and hoping to do more in the future!

Rutgers women's basketball opens up their Big Ten campaign with a big early matchup, hosting Indiana on Saturday. In order to get the best inside scoop on what is up with the Hoosiers, it’s important to get a point of view from the inside.

Talia Goodman from The Hoosier Network and Peegs.com talks about Indiana women’s basketball and what to expect as the Hoosiers come to Jersey Mike’s Arena to face off against the Scarlet Knights on Saturday at 4 pm.

Some quotes are lightly edited for clarity.

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How has the season gone so far for Indiana?

It's had its ups and downs, definitely. I think the Stanford game was the first moment where going into the season, I didn't think they'd be the same as they were last year. I mean, when you lose a player of Grace Berger’s caliber, you lose a lot. You lose the stability that she brought them on the defensive side, too. Leadership was kind of the biggest thing they were missing there. They have a bunch of quiet leaders on the team right now. But Grace Berger was a very vocal leader. I think I was expecting a little bit of a slow start, I was not expecting them to lose by 32 to Stanford. But, you know, that's what happened. Stanford is a top 10 team in the country. So I think Cameron Brink was just a little too much for Mackenzie Holmes and the Hoosiers to handle.

The Maine game was the other one that surprised me. It was really close. Maine was leading pretty much the whole way through until Indiana had a second-half comeback. They were able to take that one, which was good. But I was a little bit concerned. The thing with Indiana is they have a bunch of a bunch of girls who can make shots. But if they're not going in, they lose confidence. And when they lose confidence, it kind of all goes down with them. On a one-to-ten scale right now I'd give them about a seven based on what they should be doing. I think they're still a top-25 team in the country. So in that sense, maybe a nine, but based on my own expectations of what they should be able to do with the talent that they have, more like a seven or eight kind of range.

Where do you think the loss of Grace Berger has been seen the most?

I think it's just grit. I think they were tough. She was tough. They've been struggling to find that kind of grit on the court so far. And I think Chloe Moore-McNeil has that. I think Sarah [Scalia] is beginning to have that that. I think, as a whole, they just need that sense of urgency. And Teri Moren has said this, too, that they had in the past with her on the team, and again, leadership is huge on her end.

What has Mackenzie Holmes done to build on her star season from last year and continue to build on her career at Indiana?

I mean, she's just an All-American. She's fun to watch. If you've ever watched her play, it's fun to watch her. She's just a force in the post. She is a leader, too. She's more of a quiet leader. But you see her on the court, and she brings the team together. I think she's kind of where this team starts and ends.

Is there anyone that’s surprised you on the team with their performance so far?

Sara Scalia, for me. When she was at Minnesota and transferred over, you expected her to be this sharpshooter, and that was her role at Minnesota. She was their leading scorer for two years, pretty much always scored in double digits there. And that's what she's done her entire life. She told me since second grade, all she's done to shoot the ball. That's all she's ever had to do. And so when she got here, it was a big adjustment. Teri Moren has this huge defensive philosophy where, you know, everyone has to contribute on the defensive side of the ball. And I think she just wasn't used to that. So last year, the transition wasn't easy for her. You saw her struggle, she was coming off the bench.

We knew she'd start this year, or at least had a sense, but didn't know what that would look like. And I think on the defensive side of the ball, she has just improved immensely, her effort level is just there, where you didn't really see it last year. Then her shots are falling, and it's because she's gaining more confidence in the role she has now, that those shots are falling. And when her shots are falling she's on. I think you've seen that in a couple of games so far. One in Fort Myers, she had a couple this year where she's averaging three three-pointers made per game, which is good for her. I think she is just taking on a much larger role on this team, and it's really paid off for them so far. They have a lot of options, which is the good part. They have Yarden Garzon who was phenomenal in her freshman year, but on days when her shots aren't falling, you have Sarah.

Now that you mention Yarden Garzon, she was one of, if not the, best shooters in the Big Ten as a freshman. How has she progressed in her sophomore year?

It's been a little slower on that front, I would say. She's not making as many, but she doesn't really have to in most games right now. I mean, it would have been helpful in the Maine game, I think, but no one’s shots were really falling there. She can do a lot of things. I'd like to see a little bit more from her on defense. That's the big point right now that the coaching staff is making and that you're seeing is on defense. But I mean, when she's on, she's on, I think she had it in the Tennessee game, she went off and it was on her birthday, which was a really cool story too. But I've liked what I've seen about her this season, not immense improvement that you can really point to, but she's a fairly reliable player on the court. I think if she's more of a presence on the defensive side of the ball, she'll be more of a complete player and really help this team.

Looking ahead to this weekend, what does Indiana have to do to beat Rutgers on the road?

There's a few things that have been lacking for them that can use some improvement. Winning the rebounding battle is one of those. I think they have one of the lowest numbers in the country on the offensive boards (They rank 262nd nationally in offensive rebound percentage, per WarrenNolan.com). So that's one thing. Free throw shooting is also another thing they have to work on. And then points in transition is another.

I just think if their shooting is on, it should be no problem for them. They have weapons, they have Yarden, they have Sarah, they have Sidney [Parrish] who can step in and do it. They even have Chloe who can step in and do it. But Chloe’s kind of an interesting one, because a lot of what she does goes unnoticed. I think she's also, kind of, the anchor to this team, too. She's averaging around two steals a game and around six assists or something crazy like that, but she's not a flashy player. You might not even really notice her leading the team. But she does a lot of that and brings the team together. I think her and Mackenzie you can count on. You can count on Mackenzie to have a good game pretty much every game. So I don't think she's much of a question mark. I think it's just winning that rebounding battle is something that I'll really look for in this game, because they have size.