After Indiana's opener against Brown, Teri Moren described Chloe Moore-McNeil as "lethargic" saying that she "didn't have much energy as our leader" and that "she has to be better."
Moore-McNeil scored just two points against Brown, while turning it over four times, which resulted in Moren's comments, and, despite winning against Brown, Moren saw the writing on the wall for what was to come.
What was to come was two straight losses, IU facing defeat at he hands of Harvard at home and Butler on the road, Moore-McNeil disappointing in both.
She scored 10 against Harvard and seven against Butler, still not meeting the expectations as the leader of this team, but that would all change against Stanford, where the Hoosiers picked up a much needed victory, winning 79-66.
Moore McNeil scored 21 points, shooting 7-for-11 from the field and 2-for-5 from three in what was by far her best performance of the season, being that leader that Teri Moren always saw in her.
Moore-McNeil said that "there was never a doubt, and there was never a panic with this group. I think, like I said, it just took us a few games to figure out how to gel with one another."
There may not have been a doubt from her or the team, but after the first three games, Indiana needed a result like this, and bad, as Moore-McNeil provided exactly what the Hoosiers needed in their win over Stanford.
Moore-McNeil got out to a fast start, making a three less than two minutes into the game, giving the Assembly Hall crowd something to cheer about early, and setting the tone for the rest of her game.
She would finish the half scoring 10 points on 3-for-5 shooting and 2-of-3 on shots from deep, while also grabbing two steals.
These two steals came on back-to-back possessions, energizing the crowd once more, and letting everyone know that Moore-McNeil brought her A game not only on offense, but on defense as well.
Moore-McNeil attributes this to "just speaking about urgency and realizing, you know, Stanford is not a team that you can have any slippage with on offense and defense. And I think just reminding ourselves too about what happened to us last year with Stanford was also a great motivational thing."
This urgency was certainly seen by Moore-McNeil on the floor, as she had added intensity, especially compared to her first three performances of the season.
This intensity, and toughness was brought up by Moren postgame, coach saying "I always say, she's she's as tough as a $6 steak, and it's just a matter of time before she saw herself and then she responded."
This may seem like a silly way to describe Moren's team leader, but it really drives home the fact that even with the lack of production early on in the season, Moore-McNeil's toughness remained, and it was on full display against Stanford.
Moore-McNeil would finish out the first half with 12 points, which would lead all scorers, but was the undisputed leader of her team, which may not show up in the box score, but was a prime reason why IU held a 42-31 lead going into halftime.
Moore-McNeil would pick up where she left off in the second half, as she would have another solid quarter in the third, scoring seven as the highest scorer for the quarter yet again.
The most critical moment for Moore-McNeil, and quite possibly for the entire game, came with just under four minutes left in the third, as she made a cricual pass to Yarden Garzon, who knocked down a three, giving Moore-McNeil the assist and the Hoosiers a 15 point lead at the time, forcing Stanford to take a timeout.
This was a huge play, solidifying momentum in the Hoosiers' favor and extended the lead they would never give up.
While this wasn't a shot that Moore-McNeil made, passing and setting up teammates is something she also excels at, Moren saying, "she knows that she's the leader of this team, and we really depend on her, and when she plays like you know she did tonight, which was aggressive on both ends, we have a chance."
This is certainly the case as, when Moore-McNeil didn't play this way, the Hoosiers suffered severely, yet, when she played like she did today IU had its best game of its season so far.
This role as a leader continued in the fourth quarter as, while she didn't have a shot attempt from the field, Moore-McNeil ensured the win for the Hoosiers.
She had two points from her two free throw attempts, while also grabbing two rebounds, converting on an assist, and stealing the ball once.
This type of quarter, and just her performance as a whole, shows the type of player that Moore-McNeil is and how much she means to this team.
When Moore-McNeil struggles in her first three games, the Hoosiers struggled, yet against Stanford she was spectacular and led her team to an incredibly needed win at home.
Moren said it best with her comments postgame that when Moore-McNeil "shoots the balls the way she does, or did today, and she's aggressive like that. We look like a whole different basketball team. I think we can all agree with that."
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