3 takeaways from Indiana women’s basketball’s 87-39 exhibition win over Marian

Indiana women’s basketball beat Marian 87-39 on Wednesday afternoon in the Hoosiers’ lone exhibition matchup ahead of the 2026-27 season.

The matchup provided a first look at Indiana’s largely rebuilt roster as the Hoosiers look to turn last season’s NCAA Tournament miss into a one-off rather than the start of a trend. There’s only so much you can take away from an exhibition performance but, nevertheless, we’ll try.

Advertisement

Here’s a few observations:

Morenball is as pass-happy as ever

Teri Moren’s Indiana basketball has always emphasized sharing the ball beyond the point guard position. If you’re going to be on the floor you’re going to be expected to pass to find the best shot. That hasn’t changed at all in 2026-27.

Malia Samuels, a USC transfer who joined the program this past offseason, has taken over at point following the departure of Nevaeh Caffey. But it was Lenee Beaumont and Kenzie Hare who tied to lead the Hoosiers in assists with eight apiece. Samuels was right behind them with four, Gigi Battle dished out three and three other Hoosiers tied with two each.

Advertisement

Zania Socka-Nguemen was the lone starter to finish without an assist, which I wouldn’t read too much into because, again, this was an exhibition.

The Hoosiers finished with 28 assists to 12 turnovers, numbers that Moren is probably happy with.

Freshman Addy Nyemchek earns the start

Indiana has been undergoing something of a recruiting renaissance in its recent classes, with several of the highest-rated commitments in program history pledging as members of the 2026 and 2027 classes, with the former being the current team’s freshmen.

Addy Nyemchek, one such freshman, earned the start for Indiana at forward in her unofficial debut. She finished with 14 points, six rebounds and a pair of assists while shooting 6-10 from the field, including 2-4 from 3-point range.

Advertisement

All things considered, this isn’t all that surprising of a development. Nyemchek is Indiana’s first ever high school signee to…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/3-takeaways-indiana-women-basketball-153101128.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-10-29 15:31:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.