IUWBB Game Preview: Open Season Against Presbyterian Friday / win 71-37

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The 2016-17 season will start at home for Indiana Women's Basketball on Friday night when it welcomes Presbyterian to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET and will be live on BTN Plus.

23/RV Indiana (0-0) vs. Presbyterian (0-0)
Friday, November 11 • 7 p.m. ET
Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall • Bloomington, Ind.
Live Web Broadcast: BTN Plus (David Sugarman, Zach Wilska, Kate Porter)
Radio: IUHoosiers.com (Lucas Corley)
Live Stats: Sidearm
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Promotion: Fans will receive a 2016-17 #IUWBB team picture

ABOUT THE COACHES
Indiana
Teri Moren
Career Record: 235-158 (14th year)
Indiana Record: 36-28 (3rd year)

Presbyterian
Todd Steelman
Career Record: First Year
Presbyterian Record: First Year

ABOUT THE BLUE HOSE
Presbyterian, out of Clinton, South Carolina, went 18-13 overall last season and 13-7 overall in league play while advancing to the semifinals of the Big South Tournament. The Blue Hose also open up their 2016-17 campaign on Friday and return leading scorer sophomore guard Taylor Petty (10.8 ppg.) and junior guard Janie Miles (8.5 ppg.). Presbyterian hosted its lone exhibition game on Oct. 27 when it defeated NAIA Montreat, 89-71, behind Petty's 29 points. Head coach Todd Steelman is in his first season at the helm after spending the last five seasons as the associate head coach at Maine.

REGULAR SEASON OPENS FRIDAY NIGHT
The 2016-17 regular season finally kicks off on Friday night when Presbyterian visits Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. It marks the fourth-straight year the Hoosiers have started off the season on its home court and have won three-straight home openers leading into the matchup. All time, IU is 32-13 in season openers.

FASTEST TO 1,000
Junior guard Tyra Buss has a chance to be the fastest player in school history to 1,000 career points as the Hoosiers host Presbyterian and Vanderbilt in weekend action. She sits just 18 points shy of the career mark after scoring the third most points in a single season in 2015-16. Her 620 points puts her third on IU's single-season scoring list, finishing just 22 points behind record holder Karna Abram (1984-85). In her first two years combined, Buss has scored 982 career points, the most points ever scored in freshman and sophomore seasons combined at Indiana. She also set the school single season record holder for free throws made (203) last season.

FIVE INK LETTERS FOR CLASS OF 2021
IU officially announced the addition of five new members to its roster for the upcoming 2017-18 season. The class, which is heralded by many scouting services as the best in the Big Ten. The graduating class of 2021 features five-star recruit Jaelynn Penn (Louisville, Ky.) and three-star prospects Alexis Johnson (Kinkaid, Texas), Linsey Marchese (Dacula, Ga.), Keyanna Warthen (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and Bendu Yeaney (Portland, Ore.).

FIVE PLAYERS SCORE IN DOUBLE FIGURES IN EXHIBITION WIN
Sophomore forward Kym Royster led a collection of Hoosiers that scored in double figures as she guided her team to an exhibition win, 87-58, on Sunday afternoon inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Royster poured in 18 points and grabbed eight boards while five other players scored in double figures including junior guard Tyra Buss (16 points) and senior guard Karlee McBride (11 points).

TOP FIVE RETURN
Indiana will have a familiar look when it steps on to the court at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Friday night. The Hoosiers return all five starters and 10 letterwinners from the 2015-16 campaign, one of its most successful in program history. Juniors Tyra Buss and Amanda Cahill return off All-Big Ten campaigns a season ago and join 2015-16 starters seniors Karlee McBride , Alexis Gassion and Jenn Anderson .

ITS (ALMOST) ALL COMING BACK
With the return of 10 letterwinners from a season ago, Indiana returns 93 percent of its scoring and 91 percent of its rebounding in 2016-17. All five top scorers also return including all three -- Tyra Buss , Amanda Cahill and Alexis Gassion -- who averaged double figures last season.

Hoosiers Picked to Finish Third; Buss Named Preseason All-Big Ten
For the first time in program history, Indiana has been selected to finish third in the Big Ten by a vote of the league's coaches and media, released on Monday, Oct. 24. IU was selected to finish third outright by the media while the coaches elected a tie between Michigan State and Indiana. Junior guard Tyra Buss was selected as a preseason All-Big Ten pick as she earned a unanimous selection by the coaches and a spot on the media team as well.

JOINING THE PRESEASON RANKS
For the first time in program history, IU has garnered a preseason top 25 ranking as it came in at No. 23 in the AP Preseason Top 25 on Nov. 1. The Hoosiers have appeared in the national polls just three times (1992-93, 1993-94, 2013-14) and this marks the first time the program has been ranked entering the regular season. IU also received votes in the USA Today Coaches Top 25 poll where it collected 51 points, coming in at 27th overall.

FRESH FACES
While the Hoosiers return their top five starters from the 2015-16 NCAA Tournament campaign, they welcome some fresh faces to the bench for the 2016-17 season. Redshirt sophomore Tia Elbert will finally make her cream and crimson debut after transferring from Marquette a season ago while also welcoming fifth-year graduate senior Amber Deane (Dayton) to the mix. Three new freshmen also work into the fold with Texas natives Ria Gulley and Bre Wickware along with Indianapolis native Darby Foresman joining the squad. On the coaching side, third year and Big Ten Coach of the Year Teri Moren added Janese Banks and Glenn Box to her staff in the offseason. Banks arrives in Bloomington after spending the last two seasons at nearby IUPUI while Box joins the Hoosiers after two seasons at Saint Louis.

MAJOR TV TIME
IU will be featured a total of nine times on national television broadcasts including games on CBS and ESPN2. The Hoosiers will meet Ohio State on New Year's Eve on CBS Sports while ESPN2 will be inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall when reigning Big Ten champ Maryland visits on February 5.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE GETS BETTER
Fans will notice a new look - and a new name - to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall when the Hoosiers host UIndy on Sunday afternoon. It's in thanks to a $40-million-dollar gift from IU alumna Cindy Simon Skjodt, which updates the historic venue with new fan amenities and modern technology. Just a few of the most notable changes are the South Lobby entrance, Ken Nunn Champions Plaza, new scoreboard with HD quality video screens, updated and improved rest rooms.

A GLANCE AT THE SCHEDULE
The Hoosiers will yet again face another challenging schedule in the 2016-17 season, including nine teams that made postseason appearances last year. NCAA Tournament foes include Chattanooga (Nov. 17), at Auburn (Nov. 27), Florida (Dec. 20) and Big Ten rivals Ohio State (Dec. 31), Purdue (Jan. 19), Michigan State (Feb. 2), and Maryland (Feb. 5). IU will hit the road for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge this season, heading to North Carolina State on Dec. 1 while also facing the likes of Vanderbilt (Nov. 13) and travel to Western Kentucky (Nov. 19) before league play begins.

UP NEXT
IU completes the opening weekend two-game homestand when it welcomes Southeastern Conference foe Vanderbilt to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Game time is set for 2 p.m. ET and will be live on BTN Plus.

Live stats, radio and game notes within:
http://iuhoosiers.com/news/2016/11/...season-against-presbyterian-friday-night.aspx

Go Hoosiers!

 

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Hoosiers set for a pair of weekend home games
by Jake Thomer

With a busy preseason and an exhibition win already under its belt, No. 23 IU will officially begin its regular season with a pair of games this weekend at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

The Hoosiers will play their first game of the new season Friday night when they are hosts to Presbyterian at 7 p.m. On Sunday afternoon, Vanderbilt will come to Bloomington as IU’s first major conference opponent of the season for a 2 p.m. tipoff.

Both Vanderbilt and Presbyterian return their top four scorers from last season, so their strengths from last year should carry over into the upcoming season. One thing both teams did well last season was shoot the three, and IU Coach Teri Moren said her team will have to keep the perimeter locked down all weekend.

“We’re not looking ahead to Vanderbilt, but certainly we know we have to guard the 3-point line both Friday and Sunday,” Moren said. “The thing about Presbyterian, though, they’re kind of hybrid players and they don’t have a true post player, so they can all step out and shoot the three.”

Presbyterian was 41st out of 344 Divison I teams in the country last season in terms of most 3s attempted at nearly 23 3s per game. Sophomore guard Taylor Petty was last year’s leading scorer for the Blue Hose and by far their most active long-range shooter, tallying 74 made threes in 223 attempts during the season.

Vanderbilt, on the other hand, opts for efficiency with its 3s and shot 37 percent from deep last year, which was good for 16th in the NCAA. The Commodores’ backcourt of junior guards Christa Reed and Rachel Bell will anchor the team as the two leading scorers from last season. The duo combined for more than 20 points per game.

Both Moren and sophomore forward Kym Royster said the quick turnaround between games is tricky for planning purposes but not much of an issue in the way of player fatigue. Royster said the biggest thing when prepping for two games in three days is to take full advantage of practice time during the week.

“We just have to come into every practice focused and ready to work,” Royster said. “We can’t have any days of practice where we’re not good as a team collectively. We’ve got to always look forward to coming in and getting things done.”

If the Hoosiers do get tired, they can lean on their deep bench to stay fresh and competitive. With seven guards who saw at least 10 minutes of playing time in IU’s exhibition win against University of Indianapolis, Moren has a wide range of players to help keep up with Presbyterian and Vanderbilt on the perimeter.

Moren said the starting lineup for Friday’s game will be close to a game-time decision. She has said the lineup and rotations will remain fluid in the early part of the season but nine or 10 players would be in the regular rotation Friday.

With both Vanderbilt and Presbyterian coming off 18-win seasons and returning most key players, Moren said the opening weekend should present a healthy challenge for her team.

IU went 14-0 at home last year, so Moren said she anticipates every visiting team who comes to Bloomington this season will be anxious to end the Hoosiers’ streak. On Friday night, Presbyterian will get the first crack at playing streak-stopper.

“Presbyterian will be a great first game for us. They bring some tremendous challenges,” Moren said. “I would anticipate, just like anybody else that comes in here, that we’re going to get their best.”

http://www.idsnews.com/article/2016/11/hoosiers-set-for-a-pair-of-weekend-home-games

Go Hoosiers!

 

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IU up at the half (Presbyterian).
IU is up 31-28 at half. GBR!
Purdue women go down at Maine by 20 points ... could Versyp be on the hotseat?

Go Hoosiers!

 

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Indiana plays a strong 2nd half; the bench has a very good effort as the team posts win #1 for the season, 71-37. Buss leads scorers with 15 pts while Cahill gets a double-double with 12 pts and 11 rbs.

Boxscore:
http://iuhoosiers.com/boxscore.aspx?path=wbball&id=11924

Go Hoosiers!

 

[Hoosier Manic]

Good deal...

 

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No. 23 Indiana Women’s Basketball Opens Season With 71-37 Win

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Juniors Amanda Cahill and Tyra Buss both scored in double digits as No. 23 Indiana opened the 2016-17 season with a 71-37 win over Presbyterian College on Friday night.

Cahill posted her 12th career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds and shooting 54 percent from the field (6-for-11) inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Buss led all scorers with 15 points and helped her team to a fourth-straight season opening win. She would finish the evening three points shy of her 1,000th career point.

Backed by Cahill on the glass, IU outrebounded the Blue Hose, 40-18, on the night. Sophomore forward Kym Royster finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds as the duo combined to lead the Hoosiers' dominate effort in the paint. Combined, Indiana scored 50 of its 71 points on its inside game and 24 of those points on second chance shots.

As a team, IU shot 53.6 percent from the field and included a dominate fourth quarter where it went 64.3 percent to close out the game.

Freshman Ria Gulley the start in her first collegiate game and chipped in six points as she became the first freshman to start a season opener since Buss and Cahill both did it in 2014-15. In all, 11 players scored points in the win and

Presbyterian came out ready for the preseason ranked Hoosiers, as it took two leads early in the first quarter. Gulley's first career points on 3-pointer helped Indiana stretch its lead out to five with 4:11 to play in the first quarter and ended the opening frame on a 13-2 to run to lead 19-9.

IU's defense stifled the Blue Hose (0-1) as it forced a shot clock violation to begin the second quarter. It was just one of 19 turnovers forced by Indiana, as they also capitalized by picking up 11 steals led by Buss' three.

Indiana closed the final 4:43 of the half with a 13-3 run and held Presbyterian to one field goal the final 4:53 of the second quarter to lead 38-21 at the break. Cahill officially put herself in double figures late into the third with an offensive board and putback with 1:36 to play. Senior forward Jenn Anderson helped IU see its largest lead of the game at that point as she made it a 53-32 game to close the third quarter.

The fourth quarter was the most dominate for IU, as it outscored Presbyterian 18-5 overall in the final ten minutes and seal win number one of the season.

QUOTEABLES
Head Coach Teri Moren
"I thought we grew tonight since our last game versus UIndy. We went back and watched a lot of film. There was a lot of things we wanted to improve in this game, and defensively we seemed more sound tonight. Our communication has to improve and has to get better. That's a difficult team (Presbyterian) because of their movement, to guard if you aren't connected, if you aren't sound. For the most part, we seemed pretty connected especially in the first half. I really liked our intensity in how we went to our bench or our starters were in, it just seemed like we played with more purpose tonight and intent. We grew in the right direction. We still have a long way to go but I thought we did get to see really good things."

Players
On shutting down perimeter shooters…
Junior Forward Amanda Cahill
"I think there were times where we had a couple lapses and we were a little bit off or low on our gaps but I think for the most part we did a good job. We knew coming in that they're really strong from the 3-point line, so we tried to amp up or defense and ball pressure so we could take that away.

On the challenges faced tonight…
Sophomore Forward Kym Royster
"It helped that we had a couple days to prepare so we were really ready through our practices, we got some experience and we got watch some film. I think just coming into the game we knew what to expect, so we were ready.

NOTABLES
• The Hoosiers won their season opener for the fourth-straight year and are now 33-13 all-time on opening night.
• Indiana has won 15 straight games in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall dating back to last year when they went a perfect 14-0 at home.
• Indiana held Presbyterian to single digits in scoring in two quarters. Presbyterian scored nine points in the first quarter and five points in the fourth quarter.
• The Hoosiers shot 9-of-14 (64.3 percent) from the field in the fourth quarter and 30-of-56 (53.6 percent) from the field for the game. Indiana held Presbyterian to 16-of-45 (35.6 percent) from the field for the game.
• Junior Tyra Buss led the Hoosiers with 15 points and scored in double-figures for her 38th straight game, dating back to Feb. 26, 2015 in her freshman season against Maryland.
• Buss now has 997 career points and can become the fastest player (and 24th in program history) to reach the 1,000 career point mark on Sunday versus Vanderbilt.
• Junior Amanda Cahill scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for her 18th career double-double. Cahill has scored in double-figures in 26 of her last 27 games, dating back to last season.
• Senior Amber Deane (four points), redshirt sophomore Tia Elbert (two points) freshmen Darby Foresman (four points) and Bre Wickware (two points) all made their Hoosier debuts tonight.

UP NEXT
Indiana returns to the hardwood on Sunday afternoon when it welcomes Vanderbilt to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET and will be live on BTN Plus.

Boxscore and videos within:
http://iuhoosiers.com/news/2016/11/...-season-with-71-37-win-over-presbyterian.aspx

Go Hoosiers!

 

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Hoosiers start fast, finish strong in season opener
by Jake Thomer

IU used a balanced scoring night and stifling second-half defense to blow out Presbyterian 71-37 in the opening game of the regular season at Simon Skjodt Aseembly Hall on Friday night.

The Hoosiers set the tone from the opening tip, getting an alley-oop layup from senior guard Alexis Gassion to score the first basket of the game. Presbyterian led just once, as they took a 4-2 lead a few minutes in before IU reclaimed the lead for good.

Coming into the game, the Hoosiers knew they had to key on the three-point shooting of the Blue Hose. With four guards in the starting lineup for Presbyterian, it was apparent they would be living on the perimeter for most of the game.

The Hoosiers held the Blue Hose to 5-19 behind the arc, but junior forward Amanda Cahill said after the game that she thought there could be even more room for improvement.

“I think there were times where we had a couple lapses and were a little bit off or low in our gaps, but I think for the most part we did a good job,” Cahill said. “We knew coming in that they’re really strong from the three-point line, so we tried to really amp up our defense and ball pressure and take that away.”

Cahill carried some of the offensive load for the Hoosiers, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive end. Junior guard Tyra Buss led the team in scoring, with 15 points. Buss now sits just three points away from 1,000 career points at IU.

Presbyterian played just seven players, and only six for a large part of the game. Junior guard Cortney Storey played all 40 minutes. The leading scorer for the Blue Hose was junior guard Janie Miles, who finished with 12 points.

Throughout the second half, IU ramped up its defensive efforts. They held Presbyterian to 16 second-half points, and only five in the fourth quarter. The Hoosiers ended the game on an 18-2 run.

IU Coach Teri Moren said after the game that there were still some communication issues that need to be worked out for the Hoosiers, but she added that she was impressed with the way her team closed the game defensively.

“Last week, I was very disappointed with how we finished the UIndy game,” Moren said. “I thought in the fourth quarter we seemed like we were a little disinterested, and I wanted to see growth even though we had a lead. I wanted to see us play the whole thing out with a sound mind and a defensive mind.”

It was largely a lineup of reserves that closed the game for IU, as 12 players saw the court, ten of which played double digit minutes. Moren has said repeatedly leading up to the start of the season that the depth of the team would help them stay fresh.

The Hoosiers will play their next game on Sunday when Vanderbilt comes to Bloomington for a 2 p.m. tipoff. Friday’s win extended IU’s home winning streak to 15 games.

With Presbyterian being an 18-win team last season and Vanderbilt coming to town as a respected SEC opponent, Moren said she likes that the early part of the schedule is testing her team.

“We’re really excited and happy with our first win here at home, but I thought Presbyterian tested us,” Moren said. “That’s exactly why we’ve built our nonconference schedule this way, because I want to be tested.”

http://www.idsnews.com/article/2016/11/hoosiers-start-fast-finish-strong-in-season-opener

Go Hoosiers!

 

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IU interior dominates in opening night win
by Josh Eastern

The size advantage on the interior for IU was evident inside the doors of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

The Hoosiers tallied 50 points in the paint. The Presbyterian Blue Hose were completely outmatched in that aspect. Just one player over six-feet saw floor time for the Blue Hose and IU took advantage.

IU outrebounded Presbyterian by 22 and ended up running away with a 71-37 win to open the regular season.

“They really didn’t have a post player back to the basket,” IU Coach Teri Moren said. “It was going to put a lot of pressure on our bigs to get out of their comfort zone and get off their blocks, and guard the three-point line. For the most part, I think we did a good job of that. I was really pleased with how all of our post players played.”

Moren said they considered Presbyterian as a group of “hybrid players.” They played many different positions, but it was hard for the Blue Hose to keep up with the size and depth of the Hoosiers. IU ended up playing 10 players more than 10 minutes.

IU sophomore forward Kym Royster set the tone and Moren was singing the praises of her play. She was the driving factor for the Hoosiers down in the post and finished with nine points and nine rebounds in 23 minutes of game action.

“I thought Kym Royster has just continued to play with more confidence,” Moren said. “Kym has really played well for us. I hope that that continues because we know what Jenn Anderson can provide for us, but Kym has been providing consistently well in practice and it’s a good thing to see.”

This game was really a game for IU’s posts players to assert their dominance. Royster was definitely one to do so, but IU junior forward Amanda Cahill and IU senior forward Jenn Anderson also turned solid games.

Cahill ended the night with 12 points and 11 boards. With another double digit scoring output, Cahill has now scored in double figures for the 26th time in 27 games dating back to the 2015-16 season.

“Coach Moren really emphasized that they really could not guard our post,” Royster said. “Our goal was to get it inside because we knew we had that advantage.”

Second chance points were another facet of the game that the Hoosiers dominated. Some of it was because of the size advantage and some of it had to do with the aggressiveness in which the Hoosiers played with on the boards.

Moren called that facet of the game one the Hoosiers had a lot of room to improve on from last season. IU ended up with 24 compared to just six for the Blue Hose.

“Something that we were really trying to improve on was not just to contact box, and own the boards, but also have more motivation to go to the offensive glass,” Moren said. “We grew in the right direction. We still have a long way to go, but I thought we did get to see really good things.”

http://www.idsnews.com/article/2016/11/iu-interior-dominates-in-opening-night-win

Go Hoosiers!