For the second straight season, the Indiana women’s basketball team’s season came to an end at the hands of South Carolina.
The top-seeded Gamecocks beat the Hoosiers 64-53 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday in Columbia, S.C.
South Carolina knocked IU out in the Sweet 16 last season.
“Proud of our group,” IU coach Teri Moren said. “We wanted it to be a low-possession game. This is a team that averages over 80 points; we held them to 64.
“It was the third quarter that kind of did us in.”
Indiana led by three at the end of the first quarter and 26-25 at halftime. But South Carolina outscored IU 26-14 in the third quarter to take control.
Moren said she expected the defending national champions to come out strong to start the second half.
“That’s what’s disappointing, that we didn’t come out with the same sort of focus (and) ability to take care of the ball that we needed to, knowing that they were going to come out with more intensity,” she said.
The Hoosiers finish the season 20-13.
The end of the season marks the end of their Hoosier careers for guards Sydney Parrish and Chloe Moore-McNeil, who have been part of a foundation that has seen the team make the last five NCAA tournaments.
“There’s no doubt that the two guys have left a legacy at Indiana,” Moren said. “That’s really all you want out of your career. I’m very proud of them.”
Both hope to continue their playing careers after Indiana, be it in the WNBA or overseas.
“I hope to be lucky enough to continue my basketball career,” Moore-McNeil said, “but if not, you always have to have a plan B, and that’s continuing schooling in ultrasound technician.”
Replacing those two will be a priority for Moren. Like all coaches in the NIL era, she’ll be looking into the transfer portal, which opened today.
“We’ve already sort of been in the process of kind of figuring out what we feel those holes will be and addressing those,” Moren said.
Parrish expects the next generation of Hoosiers to carry on the success of the last few years. That includes a Big Ten title, a top-seed in the NCAA Tournament, an Elite Eight and two Sweet 16 appearances.
“You lose good players, but you keep building and building,” Parrish said. “I have a lot of confidence in the team next year and the teams in years to come. And I think that starts with our head coach.”
