Lilly Meister Is Third Indiana Women’s Basketball Player To Enter Transfer Portal

Lilly Meister is not only the third Indiana women’s basketball player to go into the transfer portal; she’s the third to enter on Tuesday alone.

Indiana Hoosiers forward Lilly Meister (52) shoots over North Carolina Tar Heels guard Lexi Donarski (20) during the first half at the Atlantis Resort. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The exodus from the Indiana women’s basketball team continued on Tuesday as a third member of the team entered the transfer portal.

Post player Lilly Meister entered the portal. On3Sports.com reported her entry into the portal on Tuesday evening.

Meister joined Indiana teammates Julianna LaMendola and Lexus Bargesser in the portal. Their intentions were also announced or reported on Tuesday.

Like Bargesser, Meister played for three seasons with the Hoosiers. A Rochester, Minn., native, Meister played 96 games over her Indiana career, starting 18 of them.

She averaged 4.3 points and 2.8 rebounds. She made 58.4% of her field goal attempts.

Meister was the understudy to program great Mackenzie Holmes during her first two seasons. She took on increased importance in the postseason in both 2023 and 2024 when Holmes suffered injuries late in those seasons.

With Holmes exhausting her eligibility after the 2024 season, Meister was the heir apparent to play in the post. Indiana also recruited Karoline Striplin out of Tennessee to play the position.

Meister started the first 17 games of the season, but her production fell off once Big Ten play began. She scored 20 points in a game against Wisconsin on Dec. 28, but wouldn’t reach double-figure scoring again for the rest of the regular season. Striplin assumed the starting role, and Meister’s minutes dropped into single digits late in the regular season.

Meister had a one-game revival in the NCAA Tournament. She was 5 of 5 from the field in Indiana’s 76-68 win over Utah in the first round of the tournament at South Carolina. She scored eight of her 11 points in the first half to help the Hoosiers get the upper hand against the Utes.

“When Lilly is confident, Lilly is a really good basketball player, and I think throughout the season she kind of lost that throughout,” Moren said after the game. “One thing I know about her teammates is they've continued to pour (confidence) into her and encourage her and give her good juice as we call it.”

With Meister’s departure and Striplin’s eligibility exhausted, the only post players left on the roster are 6-foot-4 Faith Wiseman, 6-foot-3 Sydney Fenn and 6-2 forward Sharnecce Currie-Jelks. None have played regular minutes for the Hoosiers.

Indiana coach Teri Moren expressed a desire to get bigger and more athletic to contend with the new teams that have entered the Big Ten. Certainly, Indiana will have to work the transfer portal to get that accomplished.

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• BARGESSER GOES INTO PORTAL: Three-year Indiana player Lexus Bargesser went into the transfer portal on Tuesday. CLICK HERE.

• LAMENDOLA INTO PORTAL: Two-year Indiana guard Julianna LaMendola has entered the transfer portal. CLICK HERE.

• SOUTH CAROLINA USES BIG THIRD QUARTER TO BEAT INDIANA: The Gamecocks pulled away after halftime to end Indiana's season with a NCAA Tournament second round victory. CLICK HERE.

• WHAT MOREN SAID: Teri Moren's postgame thoughts on the loss and the 2025 season after it came to a close on Sunday. CLICK HERE.

• MOREN ON INDIANA'S BLACK JERSEYS: Teri Moren gives her thoughts on Indiana's alternate black jerseys. CLICK HERE.

• PARRISH, PAOPAO REUNITE: Indiana's Sydney Parrish and South Carolina's Te-Hina Paopao reunite in the NCAA Tournament. CLICK HERE.

• MEISTER IS WHAT MARCH MADNESS IS ALL ABOUT: Indiana post player Lilly Meister had a tough Big Ten season, but her productive game against Utah is the kind of story March Madness is all about. CLICK HERE.