Under Teri Moren, the Indiana Hoosiers women’s basketball had grown used to hearing their name called on Selection Sunday. That kind of success was rare before she took over in 2014. But this season tells a different story. The Hoosiers will not be part of the Big Dance. And for fans hoping to see them compete in another postseason tournament, Lenee Beaumont recently delivered a message that may come as a huge disappointment.

“I don’t know if it’s public or not, but it will be, so we will not be at any WNIT or anything,” Beaumont said, fighting back tears. “Just because, I mean, for a bunch of reasons. But obviously, a lot of these girls came here to go play in March and (the) March Madness tournament, as well as myself, and, you know, that’s the standard.”

As we said earlier, the Indiana Hoosiers will not be making the NCAA tournament this year. They finished the season with an 18–14 overall record, while their Big Ten campaign ended at a disappointing 6–12. We saw the Hoosiers try to keep their postseason hopes alive in the Big Ten tournament. But their run came to an end in the second round after a loss to Ohio State.

Since 2019, Teri Moren and the Indiana Hoosiers have become regulars in the NCAA tournament. But this year, they will have to look elsewhere for postseason basketball as the streak finally ends. Teams that miss the NCAA tournament can still compete in events like the WBIT, run by the NCAA, similar to the men’s NIT, or the WNIT.

But if Lenee Beaumont’s tearful statement is anything to go by, the Hoosiers will not be playing in any other postseason tournament.

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That said, there might still be a bit of hope for fans. According to Chloe Peterson from The Indy Star, an IU women’s basketball spokesperson said the program is still evaluating its postseason options. We also heard something similar from Teri Moren during the postgame press conference, which only adds to the possibility.

“We haven’t even thought about that,” Moren said. “We really, honest to goodness, have just put our head down, and we’ve just focused on especially finishing out the season the way we wanted to finish it out because we wanted to get into the tournament, this tournament, the Big Ten Tournament. Then our focus has just been on the Big Ten Tournament. … We’re a little bit beat up. So I don’t know what they’ll decide. For some of those kids, we got some end-of-the-season things we’ve got to get them healthy.”

In the NIL era, we have noticed a growing trend. Programs that fail to make the field of 68 often choose not to play in other invitational tournaments. Instead, they turn their attention to recruiting and keeping their own players from entering the transfer portal. That is something the Indiana Hoosiers may also have to prioritize if they want to remain competitive moving forward.

A Pivotal Offseason Awaits the Indiana Hoosiers

Back in 2019, the Indiana Hoosiers won the WNIT — a run that helped spark six straight NCAA tournament appearances. So you might ask why they would not consider playing in the WNIT or WBIT again to build momentum. But things are different now. For Teri Moren, the focus may be on keeping her players and strengthening the roster. In the NIL era, players have the freedom to leave if they do not feel like staying.

Leading scorer Shay Ciezki and key reserve Jerni Kiaku will both graduate this offseason, meaning the Hoosiers will have to turn to the transfer portal to bring in quality players. But there is also another concern. If the roster does not improve, Indiana could even risk losing players of its own, which would only make things worse.

Luckily for Moren, one player who won’t be leaving anytime soon is Beaumont. “I have a lot of excitement just because I can’t wait for a healthy offseason, 
I can wait to get in the gym,” Beaumont said in the postgame press conference. “A lot of things have been exposed, but a lot of things I’ve grown from, and I’m going to learn from, and I can’t wait to just honestly just get to work and have the whole spring, whole summer, whole preseason be healthy, and, you know, be ready to lead this team next year.”

Beaumont staying is huge for Teri Moren as she was the second top scorer for the Hoosiers this season, averaging 13.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists. With Ciezki gone, the Hoosier guard is expected to take on a bigger offensive role next season, and she is already looking ahead.

To help her out, head coach Moren has already signed a four-player recruiting class that currently ranks sixth in the country. The Indiana Hoosiers now have a chance to correct the mistakes from last season and become competitive again. But should that come at the expense of skipping postseason play altogether? What do you think? Let us know in the comments down below!