For the third time in the last five seasons, the Indiana Hoosiers women’s basketball program is ranked in the preseason AP Top 25. This time, however, marks the program’s highest ever ranking leading into the season at No. 16 overall.
Additionally, this season marks the first time Indiana has been picked by coaches and media polls to win the Big Ten.
Head coach Teri Moren and the Hoosiers are coming off a 2019-20 shortened season in which the team went 24-8 (13-5 B1G) overall. Both the total and conference win tallies are both program records for what was a historic season for Indiana. The Hoosiers were projected to host two rounds at home in Bloomington as a No. 4 seed in the Cincinnati region, according to ESPN’s Charlie Creme.
Last season, Indiana defeated South Carolina on a neutral court in the U.S. Virgin Islands for what would be the Gamecocks’ only loss of the year. This season, South Carolina got all but one vote for the No. 1 ranking in the AP preseason poll.
The Hoosiers return four starters from last season’s team: Ali Patberg, Grace Berger, Jaelynn Penn, and Aleksa Gulbe. Only Brenna Wise departs from the starting lineup this season due to graduation.
Patberg, entering her sixth season of eligibility, averaged 15.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 5.3 AST last season with the Hoosiers. She was one of 20 players named to the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List, given to the nation’s top point guard. Patberg was named a finalist for the award last season.
Berger returns as the team’s second-leading scorer at 13.1 PPG, behind Patberg. She averaged a team-high 1.4 steals per game last season, along with 5.2 RPG and 3.5 AST in the 2019-20 campaign. She was one of 20 players named to the Cheryl Miller Award Watch List, given to the nation’s top small forward.
This season, Indiana brings in Nicole Cardaño-Hillary as a redshirt junior transfer from George Mason. She is immediately eligible to play. Cardaño-Hillary became George Mason’s all-time leading scorer in program history after eclipsing 1,766 points.
Cardaño-Hillary started in all 30 games for the Patriots during the 2019-20 season, averaging 18.3 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 3.2 AST. She was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year during the 2018-19 season. She was one of 20 players named to the Ann Meyer Drysdale Award Watch List, given to the nation’s top shooting guard.
Other players expected to see playing time in the rotation for Indiana this season include Mackenzie Holmes, Danielle Patterson, and Keyanna Warthen.
The NCAA women’s basketball season is set to tip off beginning on Nov. 25. Indiana’s complete schedule has not been released to this point.
Be sure to follow TheHoosier.com for continued updates surrounding the women’s basketball team, as Indiana looks to begin their season later this month.
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