BLOOMINGTON — Indiana women’s basketball coach Teri Moren spent much of her media day press conference breaking down her new-look roster.
She’s optimistic the group will jell together in the coming weeks as they get additional practice reps. It’s a more athletic squad than she’s had in recent years, but it lacks some of the 3-point shooting depth that’s been one of the program’s hallmarks.
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Moren expressed excitement about some of those new pieces IU’s coaching staff brought in, from true freshman Nevaeh Caffey’s defensive prowess to UCLA transfer Zania Socka-Nguemen’s unique skill set in the front court.
Before wrapping up the 17-minute presser, Moren offered an interesting aside about last year’s team while discussing who she thinks will step into a leadership role this season.
“We always talk about protecting our locker room,” Moren said. “A year ago, our locker room was not in very good shape.”
The reveal was an extension of what Moren told The Herald-Times over the summer about 2024-25 being one of the most challenging seasons of her career.
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Indiana women’s team culture took a hit amidst last year’s struggles
Moren didn’t offer any specific details about last year’s locker room dynamics, but IU guards Shay Ciezki and Lenée Beaumont, the team’s veteran-most returners, didn’t shy away from the topic on Tuesday.
Ciezki, who joined IU as a transfer from Penn State last season, described an interesting dynamic in the locker room where the players were friendly off the court, but struggled with having “hard conversations” as the losses piled up during the season.
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“Losing puts strain on teams,” Ciezki said. “When we go on the road and lose two, it puts an automatic strain on the locker room. I don’t think we were able to bounce back good enough from the losses, and just forget about it. I think that puts a stain on a lot of the relationships. I think it’s tough, I don’t think people understand the pressure we all put on ourselves, the team, the coaches, and our game.”
Indiana went two straight seasons from 2022-24 without losing back-to-back games. The Hoosiers lost at least two consecutive games on four separate occasions last year.
Beaumont saw cracks surfacing after IU lost back-to-back games to Harvard and Butler right out of the gate. The Hoosiers turned it over 27 times in the loss to the Crimson that ended their 18-game win streak at Assembly Hall.
“We are a program used to success and winning,” Beaumont said. “We had a lot of games that didn’t go our way, games that we dropped. It’s not typical for Indiana to drop. Everyone says it, winning games helps fix all your issues, losses people can tend to fall apart a little bit and not always stay together.”
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Indiana’s struggles down the stretch also gave rise to players worrying about their individual performance and roles on the team. The Hoosiers managed to reach 20 wins for the tenth straight season, but barely finished above .500 in the Big Ten.
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Head Coach Teri Moren speaks to reporters during the media event held at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025.
Indiana women’s basketball guard Lenée Beaumont steps into the spotlight
Beaumont, who is a former Illinois Ms. Basketball, admitted she felt “helpless” at times, especially in the back half of the season when she wasn’t traveling with the team. She suffered a preseason knee injury that sidelined her for the entire year.
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She also spent long hours away from her teammates when they were in Bloomington as her rehab ramped up. They would be practicing while she spent much of her time working with the training staff.
“It was an experience that I was grateful to have gone through because I got to learn, OK, a year from now if I’m the leader of this locker room or the voice people are going to turn to, how can I make sure we are all on the same page?” Beaumont said.
With Sydney Parrish and Chloe Moore-McNeil graduating, Moren knew IU needed someone to step up and get all the new faces on the roster on the same page. She pushed Beaumont to fill that void.
The early returns have been extremely positive.
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“I think a lot of it has to do with Lenée Beaumont and her making sure that this is a healthy environment, a healthy locker room, and we are all in alignment with our goals and what our standards are,” Moren said.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana women’s basketball eyeing improved locker room dynamics for 2025-26
