'We got some soul searching to do.' What's next for IU women after Iowa blowout loss?

It might be too late for another wake-up call, but IU will have some soul-searching to do after its second loss of the season — one that looked just as disheartening as the first.

No. 13 IU women’s basketball entered this weekend as one of two undefeated teams in the Big Ten, sharing the distinction with No. 3 Iowa. On Saturday, the teams met in Iowa City to find out who was tops in the league. 

On paper, it shaped up to be a huge game for the Hoosiers. It was aired nationally on FOX, and the past 10 matchups had each been decided by 10 points or fewer. IU had the chance to re-enter the national conversation with a win, or even with a quality loss.

Instead, the Hoosiers were blown out. IU lost to Iowa by 27 points, 84-57, for its first Big Ten loss, and completely lost steam. 

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“Tonight was all about Iowa, Iowa had it going, their crowd was tremendous,” IU coach Teri Moren said. “ And I don't feel like the moment was too big for us. I just don't think that we played our best basketball.”

The Hoosiers have only lost two games this season, but they were both complete blowouts — and it’s kind of uncanny how similar the two losses are.

IU’s first loss came against then-No. 9 Stanford, when the Hoosiers traveled to Palo Alto for the second game of the season. The Hoosiers lost by 32 points, 96-64, and were completely outmatched. IU hit only five of 32 3-point attempts, grabbed just 27 rebounds and committed 15 turnovers.

Fast forward to Saturday, when the Hoosiers fought through a snowstorm in order to get to Iowa City on time. In another top-ranked matchup, IU was again totally outplayed. IU made five of its 20 3-point attempts, grabbed just 28 rebounds and turned the ball over 15 times.

“I think it's just as simple as when teams punch us first, we have to respond,” senior Chloe Moore-McNeil said. “That goes for any team. Most games, clearly when we win, we have responded, but not in this game or the Stanford game.”

The problem? IU was supposed to be better this time around. The Hoosiers’ wake-up call should’ve already happened. 

“I’m disappointed, I didn't think that I would be sitting here and have to answer that question,” Moren said about the similarities between the loss to Stanford and Iowa. “We have to regroup. It's not the second game of the season where you can say, ‘Well, this is a good wake-up call for us.’ That should have already been done. So, I think all of us, we got some soul searching to do.”

Saturday was a disconcerting loss for the reigning Big Ten regular-season champions — Indiana lost just two conference games last season. But the Hoosiers are a different team this season, and there are multiple things plaguing them.

First, Grace Berger's graduation was a bigger loss than anyone could have imagined. Outside of her sheer production (she averaged 12.9 points and 5.8 assists per game last season), IU is really missing her ability to calm down the Hoosiers on the floor. She was the floor general, and she was another ball-handler to Moore-McNeil. Berger could shoot off the dribble, and set the tone for the Hoosiers defensively — something they’ve struggled with all season.

Second, IU has been constantly rattled by subpar free-throw shooting. The Hoosiers are 12th in the Big Ten with a 70.5% mark from the free-throw line, and misses in games like the one against Iowa have killed momentum.

On Saturday night, IU shot 6-of-11 (54.5%) from the charity stripe. Mackenzie Holmes was responsible for all five of those misses, going 4-of-9 from the line. But IU’s struggles from the line aren’t solely on Holmes — she was just the one to get to the line most often Saturday.

IU is by no means a bad team — the Hoosiers came into Saturday’s game with a 13-game win streak. 

But what IU has shown is right now, it is not a team that is in the national conversation. The Hoosiers have the ability to be good and beat who they need to beat, but when it comes to top-ranked matchups, they stumble.

“Adversity is all about how you respond to it, and at the end of the day, it should be something that brings you closer together,” Holmes said. “I think that you know, we're gonna have some tough conversations, rewatch this game, and have to get better and have to become tighter on it. Something like this, as hard as it is the moment you know, I think there's a lot to be learned from this. It was unacceptable, and we just have to go back and not let it snowball.”