Indiana Women's Basketball to Face No. 9 Maryland in Top-10 Home Matchup
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — On Thursday, No. 6 Indiana women's basketball will take on No. 9 Maryland in a top-10 home matchup at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
The Hoosiers are coming off a road win they made look easy as they took down Northwestern 72-50 in Evanston, Ill. on Sunday. As for the Terrapins, they are on a six-game winning streak most recently over Michigan State at home.
"This is a good team," Indiana women's basketball coach Teri Moren said. "It's a different team than Brenda's had in the past, but you know it's a very balanced team. They are still athletic as they've always been."
Brenda Frese is in her 21st season at the helm of the Terrapins and boasts an impressive 548-143 record. Since joining the Big Ten conference, Maryland has made the NCAA Tournament all seven years.
Combined with Maryland's time spent in the ACC under Frese, the decorated coach has only missed the NCAA tournament two times, one of those years in Frese's first season on the job.
The Hoosiers saw Maryland three times last season, once in an overtime home win, a 3-point road game loss nearly two months later and finally in the Big Ten Tournament when Indiana knocked out the Terrapins 62-51.
"This is still Maryland, and this is the team when I got into the league was the bar for everybody," Moren said.
This season, Maryland is led by senior guard Diamond Miller who's averaging 18.7 points per game and 6.7 rebounds. She's followed by sophomore guard Shyanne Sellers with 14.7 points and senior guard Abby Meyers with 14.6.
Moren said Miller is a good three, four combo kid with versatility and plenty of athleticism. She remembers Meyers from the Hoosiers' second round game of the NCAA tournament versus Princeton. Former Tiger Meyers put up 11 points and got into foul trouble in the Hall.
As for the Hoosiers, senior forward Mackenzie Holmes is leading the charge averaging 21.1 points per game followed by four other players averaging double-figure scoring. Plus, star point guard Grace Berger is back after a month and a half of nursing a right knee injury.
Berger totaled a season-high 16 points in her return to the court versus Northwestern and became the 10th all-time scorer in program history with 1,609 points.
Maryland is just one spot behind Indiana on the Big Ten offensive leaderboard averaging 79.7 points per game compared to the Hoosiers' 81.2. The largest contrast is that Indiana is the top defensive team whereas Maryland is 11-of-14 in the Big allowing opponents 71.2 points per game.
To Moren, Maryland is still one of the best, and it will be a tough matchup to win.
"I don't know that the tradition piece of it, the moxie, the confidence ever leaves when you've built what Brenda's built at Maryland," Moren said. "I just think they play with a different kind of chip whether they're at home or they're on the road."
Following the Hoosiers' 6:30 p.m. tipoff and completion of the late game, they will turn around and welcome Wisconsin to Bloomington on Sunday.
"In order to do and achieve the goals we want to achieve, we have to beat dang near all of them," Moren said.
How to Watch Maryland Vs. Indiana
- Who: No. 9 Maryland Terrapins (13-3)(4-1) vs. No. 6 Indiana Hoosiers (14-1)(4-1)
- When: Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023, 6:30 p.m. ET
- Where: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall — Bloomington, Ind.
- Broadcast: BTN
- Radio: WHCC 105.1
Related stories on Indiana women's basketball
- INDIANA HAS MOST POTENTIAL IN SCORING POWER Indiana women's basketball coach Teri Moren has coached nine different teams, all different but sort of the same she said. The current roster has the most offensive firepower all while staying true to its defensive identity, Moren said. CLICK HERE
- HOOSIERS STAY AT NO. 6 The Hoosiers will stay in the same spot in Week 10's Associated Press Top 25 Poll following their win over Northwestern on Sunday. The full list with records is included inside. CLICK HERE
- GRACE BERGER IS BACK Indiana women's basketball star point guard Grace Berger is back after a month and a half of nursing a right knee injury. Berger earned a season-high 16 points in the Hoosiers' Sunday win over Northwestern in her celebrated return. CLICK HERE
