Published Nov 25, 2021
IU women's basketball ready for tough test against No. 7 Stanford
Alec Lasley  •  Hoosier Huddle
Senior Writer
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Indiana travels down to the Bahamas to face off against two tough opponents -- No. 7 Stanford and Miami (Fl).

First up is defending National Champion Stanford. The Cardinal enter at 3-1 this season with a loss to No. 25 Texas.

Returning for Stanford are all five starters, including two All-American guards Haley Jones (13.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists) and Lexie Hull (11.3 points and 6.5 rebounds). While Jones is the main ball handler, Hull is the main shooter. She is shooting 46.2 percent from three on the season.

Up front for the Cardinal is 6-foot-4 forward Cameron Brink (11.3 points and 6.5 rebounds). She will be tasked with a tough matchup with All-American Mackenzie Holmes (18.0 points and 6.0 rebounds).

Overall, the Cardinal shoot 48.2 percent from the field and average 36.3 rebounds and 5.8 blocks per game. Height is one of their main assets, with 11 players standing 6-foot-1 and taller.

"They don't beat themselves," IU women's head coach Teri Moren said. "We try not to do that, as well. It's a great matchup, a great challenge. They will test us in every way with the way their size and the way they move and cut."

Indiana enters this matchup 4-0 with a ranked win over No. 13 Kentucky. Sitting at No. 4 overall, it is IU's highest ranking in program history.

"We will be a team that continues to grow. Young kids don't know what they don't know," Moren said. "They have to play some of the best of the best. We've been in some real dogfights. We've really been tested."

Indiana and Teri Moren have definitely been part of signature wins and games for this program, but this will without a doubt be the program's most signature moment.

"They are a little bigger and probably deeper than we are," Moren said. "They've got talent off their bench. They are so talented at all five spots. They are so good at running their offense. They play in a pretty way in terms of their cutting and spacing and back-cutting."

Behind Holmes, Indiana has multiple different options offensively. Grace Berger averages 15.0 points and 5.3 assists per game while Nicole Cardano-Hillary adds 13.0 points per game, shooting 62.5 percent from three.

IU also adds Forward Aleksa Gulbe, averaging 11.5 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds per game. Ali Patberg joins Berger in the backcourt, adding 13.0 points and 5.8 assists per game.

"We're here in the Bahamas, and it's incredible, but we're here for basketball," Patberg said. "We're focused."

"We're locked in a ready to go," Moren added.

Indiana is set to take the floor against the Cardinal today at 1:30 pm ET.

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