Indiana Postgame Reaction: Teri Moren, Chloe Moore-McNeil, Sydney Parrish discuss NCAA Tournament loss to South Carolina

The Indiana women’s basketball program saw its season come to an end on Sunday night, with a 64-53 loss to 1-seed South Carolina.

Teri Moren, Chloe Moore-McNeil and Sydney Parrish spoke with reporters after the game to discuss the loss, their season and their careers — with both set to graduate this year.

Below is the full video Q&A and transcript.

TERI MOREN: Well, congratulations to South Carolina. Terrific team, and we’ll be cheering for them as they move forward and advance.

Outstanding crowd. This is the first time we’ve been here, at least I’ve been here. It’s a tough place to play. They make it a tough environment. But it’s great for women’s basketball. So we are grateful for that.

Proud of our group. We’re disappointed. I thought we did a great job defensively. We wanted it to be a low-possession game. I thought we came out and really did a great job. This is a team that averages over 80 points. We held them to 64. They average 40 points in the paint. We kept them about 10 below their average. 13 second-chance points, we just gave them five tonight. It was the third quarter that kind of did us in.

14 points, I think they scored in the paint in the third. We had five turnovers. Just costly coming out of halftime.

Other than that, the first, second, fourth quarter, we were right there. So if we could have any do-overs, it would have been that third quarter. Maybe we would have got the outcome we wanted.

But really grateful for our effort from our team. I’m really proud of them. Love these two that are up here with me that represent Indiana.

Like I said, we’re disappointed, but as I said to them, there’s a legacy that these two are going to — they’ve created at Indiana, and not a lot of kids can say that.

I know the portal opens tomorrow and a lot of these kids are going to be hopping around doing different things, but Syd and Chloe have won a lot of games at Indiana. They’ve won a Big Ten championship and put us in positions during March that have been really special.

There’s no doubt that the two of these guys have left a legacy at Indiana. That’s really all you want out of your career. I’m very proud of them.

Q. Chloe, that third quarter, was it more what they started to do or was it something that you guys did not do that you were doing earlier in the game?

CHLOE MOORE-McNEIL: Think it was a mixture of both. Obviously, they’re the No. 1 team in the country in terms of transition offense and capitalizing on people’s turnovers. I think, yeah, they did have pressure on us at times, but at the same time, I think we did have some careless mistakes.

Q. Chloe, you had it going in the first half, and it seemed like you were giving them trouble. When that third quarter came, did you feel like you wanted to get your team more involved, or what was your thinking in that third quarter?

CHLOE MOORE-McNEIL: Yeah, I think it was just me just naturally making reads, what the defense was doing, and it was, like you said, more so getting my teammates going because that’s what they were giving me.

Q. For either of you, what was the difference in the way the game played out? Last year, obviously a big focus was the inside with Holmes and Cardoso. This year, neither team had exactly that focus in the post. How different was this type of game being a faster pace that was more based on the guards?

SYDNEY PARRISH: Yeah, we tried to emphasize not thinking about last year, being present in the moment. Like we said, both teams were very different from last year to this year. Just trying to be where our feet are, be in the moment. It’s a different team. It’s a different year.

CHLOE MOORE-McNEIL: Mean, yeah, we definitely had last year in the back of our heads. Like Sydney said, just trying to stay in the moment and stay present.

Q. Chloe, when you look back at your career here, what are you going to remember the most about your time at Indiana?

CHLOE MOORE-McNEIL: I’m not going to remember any of the stats, any of that. I think I’m going to remember the special moments with my team. When it started my freshman year, being Elite 8, to now just being here at South Carolina, a great arena, and even winning the Big Ten Tournament and making those deep runs.

Q. Over the course of the year, you’ve hung in there with some of the top teams in the country, beat Ohio State, as well. What does the fight of your team say about that group and what do you want that legacy to be?

CHLOE MOORE-McNEIL: Yeah, I think every single one of us take pride in wearing Indiana across our chest. Obviously, Coach Moren has turned this program around and built it from the ground up, and we’ve created a great fan base here.

SYDNEY PARRISH: Yeah, well, we go back to think of how kind of up and down the year was, but like you said, we competed with some of the top teams in the country, and that says a lot about our group, and we just stuck together. It’s hard to stick together when times get hard, but I think we showed that a couple times this year.

Q. For both of you, after these three or five years, what are your plans post-college?

SYDNEY PARRISH: I’m hoping to keep playing, whether that’s in the W, that would be great, and potentially overseas. And if that doesn’t go the way I want, hopefully, I can get a job in the sports media field, whether that’s analyst or broadcasting or sitting right where you guys are.

CHLOE MOORE-McNEIL: Yeah, same here. I hope to be lucky enough to continue my basketball career, but if not, you always have to have a plan B, and that’s continuing schooling in ultrasound technician.

Q. With the portal opening tomorrow, what would you say to prospective recruits that are looking at Indiana?

CHLOE MOORE-McNEIL: Yeah, when you come here, you’ve got to expect to work hard every single day. Nothing is going to come easy. Also, it’s the culture piece, as well. You’ve got to put others first and be willing to play team basketball and give up a good shot for a great shot.

SYDNEY PARRISH: Yeah, just going off Chloe, she hit the nail on the said there. Work hard every day, and if you don’t want to work hard, it’s not the place for you. If you want to play in March Madness, you come to Indiana. I think Coach Moren has made that a huge deal here.

But it takes hard work, and it takes showing up every single day. If you want to play for somebody like Coach Moren, you come to Indiana, and I think she’s shown how she’s built this program, like Chloe said, from the ground up and has made greats. Think of Grace Berger, Mackenzie Holmes, the Chloe Moore-McNeil. Those are three names nobody knew who they were in high school. Nobody. Right, Chloe? Nobody knew who they were in high school, and they came and took a chance on Indiana, and they’re pros now.

Q. Obviously, you both have very close relationships with Teri, but what do you guys value the most about playing under her for the past couple seasons?

SYDNEY PARRISH: That she wants to win for us. She puts the team first. She puts her players first. She is a player’s coach.

She’s really receptive to us in practice. She kind of lets the leaders take control in practice sometimes, as well, and she trusts us. I think that’s huge coming from a head coach. Just so grateful that she takes chances on kids in the portal, kids not in the portal, and she just wants to win at all costs.

It’s just so special to look over to the sidelines sometimes after you airball a three, and she’s clapping her hands even though she’s probably not thinking that, but she’s always instilling confidence in you no matter what the situation is, and that’s huge, and that just makes someone with maybe not as much confidence go out and play as hard as they can.

CHLOE MOORE-McNEIL: Yeah, I agree with Sydney. The confidence she has in us. She’s behind us ten toes down, and I’m just grateful she gave me another chance to come back for my fifth year.

Q. Sydney, experiencing everything you have the last few years and seeing the younger players on the roster, the players coming in, what’s your confidence level in the program kind of sustaining what’s been built the next few years, just with everything that’s still there and everything that’s to come?

SYDNEY PARRISH: Yeah, I think — I don’t know if people thought we’d be in this situation after losing Sarah and Mackenzie last year, and I think that you just have — with the transfer portal now, people come and go really quickly. It takes a while sometimes to build teams.

But I think it shows our year to year — I think we’ve made the NCAA Tournament four years in a row now, and it shows how Indiana keeps building. You lose good players, but you keep building and keep building. I have a lot of confidence in the team next year and the teams years to come, and I think that starts with our head coach and our coaching staff for bringing in the right people.

Q. Teri, you’d mentioned that third quarter. Was it more about South Carolina finding another gear, or were there things that you guys did not do that you were doing earlier in the game?

TERI MOREN: I think it was probably a little bit of both. I wasn’t in Dawn’s halftime, but I imagine she might have been a little spirited in there. She probably got after them a little bit that they needed to pick it up because, I think Chloe alluded to it, that’s kind of how it felt, that their intensity did pick up.

So some of it was them, some of it was careless mistakes, just not taking care of the ball the way we needed to. And so, like I said, I think it was a combination of the two things. But you just can’t do that against a team like South Carolina. You’ve got to hang with them each quarter.

That’s, again, what’s disappointing, that we didn’t come out with the same sort of focus probably, ability to take care of the ball that we needed to, knowing that they were going to come out with more intensity.

Q. When Sydney and Chloe are sitting up there talking about how much they love playing for you and Indiana, what does that make you feel?

TERI MOREN: You know, it always feels good. None of us feel good right now, but it goes far deeper than just me. I have a terrific staff that pours into these players every single day, excellent support from the top, from Pam Whitten to Scott Dolson to the support staff that we have that care about women’s basketball, that support women’s basketball.

It means a lot. But like I said, I’m most proud of what they’re leaving behind. They always say you want to leave it better than you found it. It was in pretty good shape. Maybe for Syd a little bit better shape. Chloe helped with the build, with the climb. Like I said, they’re going to be able to walk away from here and feel good about what they did in their time at Indiana. That’s probably what I’m most proud of.

Q. Teri, you mentioned the portal opening tomorrow. When you look at losing three seniors now, how do you plan to address some of the holes that have been created in your roster from that?

TERI MOREN: Well, I think we’re going to have a lot of holes to fill. I think with the portal opening, I think there’s going to be a lot of schools out there that are going to have some holes to fill.

We’ll go back — trust me, we’ve already sort of been in the process of kind of figuring out what we feel like those holes are going to be and addressing those, and then like the rest of the country, everybody will be in the portal.

But for us, it’s going to be real important because we don’t go into the portal — we’re very careful. I think — you’ve followed us; you know that there’s certain types of players that have to fit Indiana and the way we do things in our program.

We’ll have to address those and find out, but I think we’ll have probably several holes to fill.

Q. You’ve hung in there with top teams in the country. You beat Ohio State, as well. All year long, you’ve been competitive. What does that say about the fight of your team and about your team in general?

TERI MOREN: Well, again, it always goes back to making sure that we’re recruiting winners. They’re coming from places where they’ve won. They’re competitive. They love to work. They love to be a part of the process.

Chloe said it, if you’re going to come here, you’re going to be about the team. It’s the team, the team, the team. It’s not about you when you come to Indiana.

Now, we are going to help you. We’re going to help you with your player development. We’re going to help you thrive in our culture and in our — whether it’s defensively, offensively. You leave Indiana a better player.

But we will always — again, I talked about the standards the other day. There’s a certain standard that we’re going to live up to, and from the best player to the player that may not see a lot of time, eventually they will. You’ve got to stick with the process. That’s why I’m so proud of Chloe. Those Chloes are gone. They’re not saying four years. They’re not staying five years.

So she’s somebody that you write about as far as sticking with the process, being loyal. I think that’s real important.

Q. You made a comment yesterday about you and your staff kind of learning throughout the season. Now that it’s come to an end, what are some of the biggest things you’ve learned this year and some of the biggest things you can take away from the season?

TERI MOREN: Well, I think some of the things that you learn is, we have to make sure we have the right pieces in our program. So I think that’s where it starts. We will always be a team that is going to play a certain way. We will always hang our hat on the defensive side of the ball. That’s just what I believe.

I get it; we’ve got to score. But there’s just certain things that — in the way that we’ve built this, we’ve really been the gritty, the tough, no-nonsense team.

Being able to find those kinds of kids that are going to come in and want to be a part of something that’s going to be hard every day because winning is hard. I say that a lot around Cook Hall.

I know that we’re going to have a lot of work to do as we push ahead and we lose the kids that we lose, and they were so instrumental. It has been a season of change, but it’s also, I think, made me a better coach. I think it’s made our staff a better staff.

We move forward from here and find the players that are going to thrive in our environment, thrive in our culture and look forward to what’s next.

Q. Coach, while this didn’t quite reach the levels of the last few seasons, in some ways is it more critical to show you can win without an all-time great like Grace Berger and Mackenzie Holmes? A lot of teams especially have come to mind at IU where they maintained a lot of winning. It wasn’t necessarily the season with the legend, but the season after that they were able to keep winning that made it go forward. So is that more critical this year to have the season you did, to show you can continue to win at a high level regardless of who’s here and it’s bigger than the program?

TERI MOREN: Well, I think my players are pretty dang good. You alluded to some of those greats, but we have some really good players that are on this team now that we’ll go out, and we’re recruit, and we’re excited about the ones that are coming in to join us.

Like I said, the standards are the standards. They’re not going to change what we’re going to do. We want to continue to win at a high level. We want to continue to be a part of March Madness, and it’s hard. But you just have to find the right kinds of kids that want to be a part of the grind and the climb every single day.

It is still the team, the team, the team. Yes, would you like to have five All-Americans? No doubt. Two All-Americans. Okay, that would be great too. But we’re going to recruit the kids that fit us. That’s the most important thing to me. The wins, the success are important, yes. But there’s another piece to this, that we’re developing student-athletes, and we’re preparing them for life after Indiana.

There’s still student-athletes that want that. They want to come in, they want to have success, they want to play in March Madness, but they want a great degree from a great institution like Indiana.

Q. It seems like everywhere that Indiana has traveled this year, the fans have followed, not just at Assembly Hall. What’s your message to Hoosier fans that have gone on the road, especially in environments like these where they’re out-matched but they’re still very vocal?

TERI MOREN: I appreciate that question because that’s so important. I was remiss in probably talking about the crowd here at South Carolina but also, I should have included Hoosier Nation.

Again, it’s what we’ve built at Indiana with our fans, our women’s basketball fans that show up night in and night out for our players and our program. They make Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall a very difficult place to win. They give us great energy, they give us great juice, and we’re so grateful, whether they’re in the hall or whether they travel to Columbia, South Carolina. So again, I appreciate that question.

Q. Kind of flowing along with some of the things you’ve already said about your principles and your standards for who you want to bring in, and also the reality of the portal, what do you look at in terms of how you match that to what you may need X’s and O’s wise? Are there any traits you’re looking for maybe that you wish you had this year? How do you view that?

TERI MOREN: Well, again, I think with the addition of the four new teams from the West Coast, there’s no doubt when I look at our team, we’re going to have to get bigger. We’d like to get more athletic for sure.

But the intangible things are still really important to me, and that’s the high character piece. That’s being about the team, not being about myself or yourself.

We want competitors. We want kids that want to come in and work every single day. The willingness and the commitment that our staff has and pouring into those players and helping them develop as players is off the charts.

We’ll continue with that recipe because I feel like it has worked for us. But as the game has grown and continues to grow, we’re going to have to grow with it. So those are things that in my mind — that come to me, right, in terms of what our team — the direction that our team needs to go in.

Q. Big picture, obviously you’ve been to the Elite 8, you’ve been to three Sweet 16s, you’ve won a Big Ten title. When it comes to taking the next step as a program, do you feel like it comes down to the rolls of the dice, how the bracket plays out, a couple bounces here and there, things like that? Or is there anything you feel like you need to change or adjust about your program to kind of get you to that next level?

TERI MOREN: Well, there’s no doubt that it comes down to matchups. I think I got asked a couple days ago about playing at home, and I had to be really careful because I’ve had the luxury of playing at home and how important that is.

But going to neutral sites, would that help? The parity is so great right now, does that matter?

I think it does. I think we’ve got to get to a point where we sort of mirror what the guys do and have those neutral sites because matchups matter, but home-court advantage matters. Again, I’ve been a recipient. I’ve been on the other side of this where our players have had to come in, players have had to come into Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall and play in such a daunting place with our fans.

So I think that’s going to be something that may change as we move forward with women’s basketball, but there’s going to be other things that are going to have to change inside of our program. We’ll address those as we leave here.

But I don’t want to get lost and take anything away from the achievements that — especially this year, because this year was tough.

Again, you don’t replace an All-American. You don’t replace somebody like Sarah Scullion and think you’re going to be the same team. It just doesn’t happen. So I’m really, really grateful, really proud of the group that wore the Indiana jersey this year. In spite of all the ups and downs, we still had some really special moments, great moments that we will take from this, and hopefully, it will serve as motivation as we move forward.

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