INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana fell to 1-2 on the season after a 56-46 loss to Butler Wednesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

The Hoosiers shot 34% from the field and turned the ball over 16 times, leading to their second straight loss.

Here’s what coach Teri Moren and senior guard Sydney Parrish said after the loss.

Opening statement

Moren: “Disappointed once again. “Some of our issues continue to be some of our issues. We’re not taking care of the ball. We’re not shooting the ball particularly well. I thought, defensively, there were moments that we were really good, but we couldn’t finish plays, gave up 11 offensive rebounds. I thought Butler, give them credit, they played with a greater sense of urgency, which we knew that they would. We’re not naive to think that teams like Butler, like Harvard aren’t gonna gives their very best. So give them credit. I thought they played well tonight. We did not. We still have a lot of things that we have to work on in order for us to continue to get better and want to do the things we want to do. Once again, disappointed, but I still love this group and I think that we have a ton of potential. We’re just having to work through some things right now, so we’re gonna continue to fight and get back to Bloomington and continue to do that work that’s required and know that we know that we need to play better than we have been playing and we will.”

On if the team’s lack of urgency is more concerning than its shooting woes…

Moren: “Well I mean, you have to play with a level of urgency and especially coming off the loss to Harvard. So it’s disappointing that that lacked tonight, because it’s always – I used the word perplexing last time, too. But I’d say we had a great shootaround this afternoon, kids were locked in, had tremendous energy. The six days off were good for us. We could go back and watch a lot of film, talk to them about how much better we needed to be. They were receptive to that, and it’s just disappointing that we came in here tonight and had moments where, you know, we had the lead, then let it go and then just down the stretch there couldn’t get the stops we needed and/or the scores.”

On why the team has had so many simple turnovers…

Moren: “It’s a good question. I want everybody to keep in mind we are short the two guards, with Lexi and Beau, so those guards – Shay and Chloe and Yarden – are playing a lot of minutes for us out on the perimeter and they do a lot of chasing around with teams like Butler that run a lot of actions. So whether you want to call it focus, lack of, or fatique creeps in, but we still I think are mature enough and old enough to know better and know how important taking care of the ball is.”

On how surprised they are at the last two games based on Indiana’s past success…

Moren: “Let’s don’t get ahead of ourselves. It’s only game three now.”

Parrish: “It’s game three. We’re fine. It’s game three. It sucks. It hurts. It hurt last game. We’re about to face a really good Stanford team, and we gotta be better.”

On Butler’s defensive pressure on the perimeter taking Indiana out of its offense…

Moren: “Absolutely, and I think Harvard did the same thing. We just talked to the kids about it, and that is so bothersome to our staff and I know our players. You could use the term soft. You could use it. That’s part of the game plan for Indiana, is to be super physical with our guards. They don’t like that. But we have to recognize that, and we gotta bow up and be better. We just gotta be tougher. We gotta be more physical, embrace it, and realize that’s what teams are doing to us. They really try to be physical, especially in the first couple minutes of the game, and it’s really stifling. They stifled us. So yeah, it’s a problem.”

On how Indiana will go about fixing offensive struggles…

Moren: “We gotta remain confident, right, that we still have an old team, and the things that we have in, we gotta, offensively, look a lot better. Again, it starts with taking care of the ball. It starts with embracing the physicality. But it starts with we gotta shoot the ball better. We had some great looks tonight that just didn’t go down. You know, when was the last time this group had six assists and shot 34%, 35 from the 3-point line. We have a – we’re not connecting right now on shots. It’s a hard game when you can’t score. It’s a hard game.”

On how much of an adjustment it’s been to play without Mackenzie Holmes…

Moren: “Well, certainly you miss Mackenzie, but I miss Sara Scalia too, right. Lilly has to be better. Striplin has to be better. There’s no other way to say it. Those two have to be better for us. We have to have great balance. We have to have an inside presence, and Lilly, this was not one of her best games and she knows that. But Strip has to give us something, too, when we go to our bench.

On how Indiana can stay positive after this loss…

Parrish: “We talk a lot in the locker room, so that’s good. Make sure we hold people accountable when it’s needed. At the end of the day, like coach said, we have to shoot better. We know that. We’re due. I’m due. Lilly knows she has to be better. Our guards know that we have to take care of the ball better. But we also have to get stops and offensive rebounds, and that’s just hustle and grit and playing tough, and we don’t want that to be our identity as a team. I think in the past, people have been scared to play us because of how gritty and tough we are and how we’ll knock people on their butts and blocked people out and push it. And I don’t think we saw that tonight. But it starts with Chloe and I being leaders of this team, shooting it much better, facilitating it much better, boxing out. I had a huge loss of a box out at the end of a free throw. It’s all of us. But we’re gonna stay together, we’re gonna be good, and we’re excited to show everyone that we can bounce back.”

On her approach to being a leader during the team’s slow start…

Parrish: “Yeah, I think there’s also so much we can say, but also Yarden, Karoline, Shay, they’ve played three-plus years of college basketball in the SEC, the Big Ten. We’re a veteran group and this should really make us mad, because we are so much better than that. So much better than that.”

ORLANDO, Fla. – For already the third time this season, the Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers square off on Wednesday night. Tipoff between the two now-very familiar rivals is set for 7 p.m. ET inside the Kia Center.

It’s the second leg of a back-to-back for the Magic, who have won all three games on this five-game homestand so far by 25+ points. Following Orlando’s 114-89 win over Charlotte on Tuesday, it’s the second time in franchise history that the team has won three consecutive games by at least that margin (Dec. 3-7, 2001).

Indiana hasn’t been in action since Sunday evening, when the Pacers bested the New York Knicks inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse 132-121. Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin combined for 73 points in the rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals.

Who: Orlando Magic (56-6) vs. Indiana Pacers (5-5)
What: Regular season game
When: Wednesday, November 13, 7 p.m. ET
Where: Kia Center, Orlando, Florida
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida
Radio: 96.9 The Game, Magic Audio Network
Point Spread: Indiana -1
Last Meeting: Indiana 118, Orlando 111 on 11/6/24

Orlando Magic

Indiana Pacers

Jamahl Mosley, Orlando Magic: Mosley tipped off his fourth NBA season as a head coach this season, all of which having come with the Magic. He’s 109-149 in the regular season all-time, and 3-4 in the playoffs. Before Mosley was named the head coach of the Magic, he was an assistant with Dallas, Cleveland, and Denver. He’s a Colorado alum, and played four years of professional basketball in Mexico, Australia, Finland and South Korea.

Rick Carlisle, Indiana Pacers:Carlisle is in his 23rd season manning NBA sidelines as a head coach and his eighth with the Indiana Pacers – the fourth of this second stint. Prior to being the man in charge in Indianapolis, Carlisle spent 13 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, including the 2010-11 title year. Before Dallas, he spent four more seasons with the Pacers and two with the Detroit Pistons. Before being a head coach, he was an assistant with the Pacers, Portland Trailblazers and New Jersey Nets. Carlisle is alone in 11th in all-time wins as an NBA head coach (948).

Follow ‘Orlando Magic on SI‘ on Facebook and like our page. Follow Magic beat reporter Mason Williams on Twitter/X @mvsonwilliams. Also, bookmark our homepage so you never miss a story.