BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana women’s basketball coach Teri Moren spoke to the media after the Hoosiers defeated Oakland 90-55 in their last nonconference game of the season.

Here is what Moren had to say in brief comments to the press:

Opening statement …

Moren: A good win as we break here for a few days and then come back and have to prepare for Wisconsin (on Saturday). We had a few game goals throughout. I did want to get under … I felt like 10 turnovers was reasonable. We didn’t get that goal. But I wanted 20 plus assists. Got the 27 today. The kills, as you guys know, is a three stops in a row. The kids … they wanted eight of those. We got nine of those today. So lot of kids got to play. Balanced scoring.

We knew the 1-3-1 was going to be a little bit of a mystery. There’s just not a lot of rules to it that we could find, other than they just try to be disruptive and turn you over. But I thought we handled it really well. I thought we got some really good shots. They didn’t go down like we would have liked them to, especially in the first half, but I think we found a way to have great balance throughout. So pleased, I thought more pleased in the second half than I was the first half, without question, defensively. Give our kids credit. Sometimes these are interesting games right before the holidays. You can be sloppy. They can check out a little bit, but I thought for the most part, our kids did a great job of staying focused in what we were trying to do.

On what’s encouraging going into Big Ten play …

Moren: It’s given Jules (LaMendola) and Henna (Sandvik) and Strip (Karoline Striplin) has played better for us. So I think it’s given those kids that we have on our bench that are waiting to come in and have an impact. Lex (Lexus Bargesser). I think it’s been really good to see those kids get a lot of time and meaningful time. We’ve been without (Sydney) Parrish, so it’s going to be nice to have her back. But I just think overall, it’s we’ve tried to get back to being cleaner offensively. I think being more engaged defensively.

We’ve really tried to take the days that we’ve had off, when there was a six day break or a seven day break and go back and really work on the fundamentals of being a good basketball team. That’s offensively and defensively. We’ve been able to install some stuff too as well. So we’re trying to take advantage of that. I do think that this is a very motivated group as we break for the holiday and return to play Wisconsin.

On confidence in the bench and whether subbing deep into the bench will continue …

Moren: It’ll just really depend right on the game and the flow and the rhythm. I will say this. I think there’s great confidence in those kids. Lexi and Jules, Henna, Strip. I think it’s a matter of us being confident that we can count on those guys. They know what their role is. They also know what their jobs are. And again, it’s nice to be able to have some depth.

We haven’t been a team historically that has played eight or nine guys, but we feel like we can do that with this group. It’s great that Jules has gotten better. It’s great that Lexi has gained some rhythm and got back into playing shape. And I think Strip has just played really well. Maybe it was the Penn State game, but she’s playing with a tremendous amount of confidence right now, which is really good for us.

On Sydney Parrish’s return …

Moren: I think she was really excited to be back and be with her team. She’s the ultimate competitor. So for her to be out there today and play the minutes she did and play aggressive like we’ve seen Syd play was a really good sign for us. Throughout this week, with prepping and what not, she’s felt really, really good. Happy to have her back. No question.

On whether there’s been one thing to identify that has improved since the start of the season …

Moren: I don’t know that I could would pinpoint one area. I think that again, from the beginning, I think we felt like there were going to be some ebbs and flows and peaks and valleys with the new team, but I will say this, there’s no doubt that we’ve become a better basketball team in the last month and three to four weeks. And that’s good as we head into Big 10 play. It’s a daunting league with tremendous players, coaches, and we want to be playing our best basketball in March, not at the beginning of the season.

It’s been good for us to grow as a team and I think improve as a team. We still have a lot of improvements to make, but it feels good to be able to take a break right now feeling like we can all catch our breath and be somewhat satisfied that we’ve finished non-con in the right way today. Because, like I said, these games can be tricky if you’re not careful. And I thought our kids did a great job of staying focused for 40 minutes.

In his first season at Indiana, head coach Curt Cignetti did the nearly impossible. He led the Hoosiers to the College Football Playoff.

Once in the Playoff, Indiana suffered a convincing loss on the road at Notre Dame, leading to some questions about whether or not the Hoosiers belonged in the field. However, following the game, Cignetti emphasized that his team earned their spot.

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“Well, this team earned it,” Curt Cignetti said. “The right to be here, you know. I’m not sure we proved tonight to a lot of people.”

Now, the focus for Cignetti is going to be on finding a way to rebuild the team and prepare to make another run next season. That starts, as he explained, with recruiting this offseason.

“Everything is about recruitment and development and now retention. Every year you’ve got to start over now in college football. It’s not quite the NFL but it’s getting close. So, you can change a lot of things in a year,” Cignetti said.

“Now, the one thing about the way the calendar is set right now if you do make the College Football Playoff, you’re kind of penalized in the portal recruiting area because, like, we didn’t have official visits this week because I wanted 100 percent focus in preparation for Notre Dame. So, that’s time that last year we were spending on the portal. But we’ve got a good nucleus coming back, and we’ll be okay.”

Despite Curt Cignetti’s confidence that Indiana did belong in the Playoff, there have been frustrations from some thanks to the first round blowouts this season. That includes Paul Finebaum, who believes the selection committee made several mistakes.

“Oh my goodness, I’m so in on (the committee getting the teams wrong). It’s easy to say this the day after but few people were saying it the day after they made this field,” Finebaum said.

“They made so many mistakes. Let’s start with some of the most obvious like Indiana and SMU. They looked at the gaudy record and they forgot to look at have they beaten anyone? No. Neither school beat anyone. Meanwhile, schools like Miami – yes, Miami – and Alabama and Ole Miss and South Carolina were sitting at home while we had to be subjected to unwatchable games.”

Of course, not everyone agrees that the committee made mistakes. Indiana only lost one regular season game in the Big Ten and SMU played for the ACC Championships, after all. However, in the first season of this expanded format, there is plenty of debate about how things have worked out.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – When Tayven Jackson announced his intention to transfer to Indiana from Tennessee before the 2023 season, it caused a ripple of excitement.

In the end, it didn’t work out for Jackson at Indiana. After two years with the Hoosiers, Jackson is expected to move on.

On3.com’s Pete Nakos posted on X on Saturday that Jackson entered the transfer portal.

Jackson played in 13 games for the Hoosiers during the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He threw for 1,300 yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions during his Indiana career.

Jackson compiled the majority of his production during the 2023 season when he started the first six games of the 2023 season. Brendan Sorsby started the games in the second half of the season for the Hoosiers.

Sorsby transferred to Cincinnati after the 2023 season, but Jackson stuck with the Indiana program when 2023 coach Tom Allen was replaced by Curt Cignetti.

Cignetti recruited Kurtis Rourke out of Ohio University from the transfer portal and Jackson never seemed to be seriously considered as the starting quarterback. Jackson did settle in as the No. 2 quarterback ahead of Tyler Cherry and Alberto Mendoza.

Jackson played in four games in a reserve role before he got the chance to start against Washington on Oct. 26 after Rourke injured his thumb. Jackson led Indiana to a 31-17 victory over the Huskies as he completed 11 of 19 passes for 124 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Those proved to be the last passes Jackson threw in an Indiana uniform – though he did appear in two more games and had three rushing attempts in the regular season finale against Purdue.

Rourke is also out of eligibility so Indiana is in the market for a quarterback.