Despite the end of Indiana’s season, it may be looking at another Golden Age.
On Wednesday, Indiana women’s basketball completed the largest comeback during Teri Moren’s tenure in Bloomington, after erasing a 20-point deficit in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament against the University of Nebraska.
Indiana’s March magic, however, ran out earlier than anticipated, as the Hoosiers’ season ended on Thursday against the Ohio State University 83-59.
“We are certainly disappointed,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said after the game. “I thought we looked less hurried in the second half. Just still couldn’t connect the way we needed to.”
After ending the first quarter tied at 12, Ohio State made its presence known in the second period, outscoring the Hoosiers 24-12. Senior guard Chance Gray and sophomore guard Jaloni Cambridge combined for 19 points in the quarter. The two coupled for 37 points in the game.
Indiana never found an answer for Ohio State’s control on the glass. The Buckeyes outrebounded the Hoosiers 45-33, including 19 offensive rebounds, resulting in 21 second-chance points.
“We just didn’t have enough to keep them off the offensive glass,” Moren said. “There were certain areas that we just couldn’t allow a lot of extra points, and it was off the rebound, the free-throw line, and off our turnovers.”
The Hoosiers will conclude their season at 18-14 after starting 11-11 in January. Their six conference wins are the lowest amount of Big Ten victories for Indiana since Moren’s first season in Bloomington in 2014-15. It’s just the fourth time that Indiana will have single-digit Big Ten wins since Moren took over 12 seasons ago.
However, Indiana is more focused on the future of the program, rather than its shortcomings in 2025-26.
Entering the month of February, Moren and her squad found themselves 0-10 in conference play following a 95-67 home loss to the University of Michigan, which was ranked ninth in the country at the time. From that point forward, Indiana closed its season by going 7-3 and outscored opponents by an average of 12.3 points per game in those seven wins. Not only did the Hoosiers claw their way back into the Big Ten tournament, but they were able to win a game against a potential NCAA tournament team as well.
“I think it shows the grittiness that Coach Moren has installed in Indiana women’s basketball,” freshman forward Maya Makalusky said after the game. “I’m proud of the way that obviously we continue to fight till the end.”
Makalusky was one of the biggest parts of the Indiana turnaround over the course of the final month of the season. She scored 21 points in the loss on Thursday while knocking down five of her 12 three-point attempts. In the final 11 games of the season, Makalusky averaged 14.8 PPG and scored in double figures in six of the last seven games.
“It doesn’t happen without my teammates finding me and installing that confidence in me,” Makalusky said. “My teammates throughout the year have been helping me continue to get more and more confident to shoot those shots.”
Indiana’s roster isn’t expected to take the hit that it took just a season ago, when it returned just one player who appeared in 12 or more games. While the Hoosiers will be losing their leading scorer in senior guard Shay Ciezki, they have an opportunity to retain 63% of their scoring.
Along with this, the Hoosiers are bringing in the eighth-ranked incoming class in 2027, which features three four-star players.
“I couldn’t be more excited for what we have in store for us,” Indiana redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont said after the game. “We’ve got an elite recruiting class and whoever decides to come with us will be in a really good position.”
While it is unclear at the time of publishing whether the Hoosiers will be participating in postseason basketball, they feel as if there’s plenty of light at the end of the tunnel.
“I think the future is very, very bright,” Moren said. “With the addition of our incoming class that we have…I’m really excited and looking forward to what’s next for Indiana women’s basketball.”
