No. 21 Indiana Plays No. 19 Tennessee Thursday, Princeton Saturday in Fort Myers Tip-Off

No. 21 Indiana beat Murray State and Lipscomb last week to sweep its two-game homestand and progress to 3-1. Head coach Teri Moren wasn't satisfied with Friday's defense, said it improved by Sunday, and will have to be “much better” when the Hoosiers play No. 19 Tennessee on Thanksgiving night in Florida.

Indiana plays Princeton on Saturday to conclude its Elevance Health Fort Myers Tip-Off slate. Princeton and Tennessee are both 3-1, and their losses were by three points or fewer to ranked opponents on the road. Indiana’s only game against a ranked opponent was a 32-point blowout loss at No. 4 Stanford.

“We got to figure out a balance and prepping for both of those teams, getting ourselves ready,” Indiana forward Mackenzie Holmes said after Sunday’s win. “But I think we learned a lot in the past week (since playing at Stanford). I think we’ve had a lot of growth in one week … we weren't perfect today, but I think we definitely had some moments of improvement.”

Whilst at Stanford, Indiana’s four-guard lineup succumbed to the Cardinal two-forward post-play, as both Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen scored 20 points. Tennessee operates with two post players as well, though star forward Rickea Jackson is listed as day-to-day. Jackson scored 31 points and grabbed 17 rebounds at No. 13 Florida State but hasn’t played in two games due to injury. Point guard Jasmine Powell also missed Sunday with an injured wrist.

The Lady Vols have other options in the frontcourt, such as Koroline Striplin and Jillian Hollingshead, but Indiana would arguably have a more manageable challenge if two Tennessee starters remain unavailable by Thursday. For the Hoosiers, starter Sydney Parrish tweaked her hamstring Friday and landed awkwardly Sunday to reaggravate it. She was pulled as a precaution mid-game, though Moren said postgame Parrish told the staff “she felt fine.”

“The kind of injury that you got to be very careful of because those can linger,” Moren said.

When Indiana beat Tennessee 79-67 in the team’s fourth game last season, Rickea and Powell led the Lady Vols with 17 and 16 points, respectively. Powell also snagged 10 boards for the double-double. Two seasons ago, Minnesota lost Powell to Tennessee and Sara Scalia to Indiana. On Monday, Scalia was named The Big Ten Player of the Week after her back-to-back 20-plus-point games for the Hoosiers.

Princeton also runs with two post players in either Ellie Mitchell, Paige Morton, or Tabitha Amanze. None of them average double-figures. However, all three of Princeton's guards do, led by Madison St. Rose and Kaitlyn Chen. St. Rose was last year's Ivy League Rookie of the Year and scored 22 points in a win at San Diego on Sunday. Chen, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, scored 24 points in the team's 77-74 loss at No. 2 UCLA last Friday.

The Tigers concede about 61 points per game. The Lady Vols allow 75.

Tennessee and Princeton will look to redeem previous one-possession losses to ranked foes versus the Hoosiers. Indiana will measure itself against two quality teams after the 32-point loss to Stanford. The Hoosiers play Tennessee at 6 p.m. ET on Thanksgiving, and the game will air on FOX. Indiana’s second game will be at 11 a.m. ET Saturday and will be available to watch on [FSWBucs.com]. Fans can also listen on the radio at WBWB B97.

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IU-STANFORD GAME STORY: Indiana women's basketball traveled to Stanford for a top-15, early season road test. The Hoosiers lost for the first time this season as Stanford's Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen each scored 20 points. Indiana All-American Mackenzie Holmes was held to just eight points. CLICK HERE
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