Indiana's Nicole Cardaño-Hillary and Aleksa Gulbe celebrate after IU's win over Princeton in the NCAA Tournament Monday night.
(Indiana University Athletics)
While the Indiana women’s basketball team may still be considered an up-and-coming program, Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma thinks the Hoosiers have already arrived.
And if anyone would know, it would be Auriemma. He’s been at UConn since 1985, is the second winningest women’s coach in the nation and has captured a record 11 national titles.
“They’ve been really good since Teri (Moren) got there, and just steadily getting better and better,” Auriemma said Friday. “And getting to the point where people now expect them to be at the level they’re at, because they’ve earned it.”
Auriemma will get a first-hand look at the Hoosiers Saturday when the teams meet in the Sweet 16 in Bridgeport, Conn., about 90 minutes from the UConn campus.
The Hoosiers will be playing in the Sweet 16 for the second straight season – and just the second time ever. UConn is in a record 28th straight Sweet 16.
Auriemma said women’s basketball has progressed to the point that all 16 teams remaining in the tournament have a chance to win the national title.
“I don’t think we’re quite to where the men are, where an 11 and 10 (seed) are playing against each other (in the Sweet 16),” he said. “But we’re way ahead of where we were 10 years ago in terms of who has an opportunity to play in these games. It used to be those opportunities were limited to only certain schools.”
Like a UConn, Tennessee, Notre Dame or Stanford.
But not anymore.
“All around the country, you heard a lot of people talking about a lot of teams throughout the season, but Indiana wasn’t necessarily at the tip of everyone’s tongue,” Auriemma said. “Don’t be shocked if, I wouldn’t be, if they win this whole thing.”
To do that, third-seed Indiana will have to get past second-seeded UConn, which is 27-5 and finished the season ranked No. 5.
“They’ve been the bar in women’s basketball for some time,” Moren said. “And if you’re not having to compete against them, you really enjoy watching them play, because they play what I think is pretty basketball.”
Indiana was in the nearly the identical situation last season when, as a No. 4 seed, they knocked off top-seed N.C. State in the Sweet 16.
“I’ve got a veteran group and experienced group,” Moren said. “So, I don't know if it does matter that it's UConn, but it could be any other name across the chest. We just know that we want to keep this thing going as long as we can.”
All five starters return from the team, led by All-American senior guard Grace Berger, who’s averaging 16.3 points per game. Junior forward Mackenzie Holmes averages 15.4 points and a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game. Senior forward Aleksa Gulbe (11.9), graduate guard Nicole Cardaño-Hillary (11.7) and graduate guard Ali Patberg (11.5) also average in double figures.
Berger and Patberg have been at the forefront of the rise of Hoosier basketball. They’ve led IU to the NCAA tournament three of the past four years. It would be four straight, but the 2020 tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. They’re tied for the most career victories by an IU women’s player with 90.
“We've been in these big games, and these be these big moments,” Moren said. “And so, the only thing we're thinking about is if we win the next game, we get to a second Elite Eight.”
Fifth-seeded Notre Dame and top-seed N.C. State play in the first game Saturday at 11:30 a.m. The winners meet Monday at 7:30 p.m. for a spot in the Final Four.
