Indiana women’s basketball among programs ‘in the early mix’ for top transfer target

Indiana women’s basketball is entering a new era in its program as a few key members of its roster will no longer be on the floor moving forward.

Indiana will graduate all-time winningest and all-time leading scorer Mackenzie Holmes in addition to All-Big Ten Second Team guard Sara Scalia — two incredibly big pieces to the success of the team over the last two years.

Because of that, filling in the roster with some key pieces in the transfer portal is critical.

And, that’s what Indiana women’s basketball is trying to do.

According to Full Ride Network women’s college basketball insider Skim Milkey — the women’s basketball insider account that is associated with Trilly Donovan — Indiana is ‘in the early mix’ for a top transfer guard.

Villanova transfer guard Lucy Olsen entered the portal earlier this week and will be one of the most highly-sound out guards.

As of right now, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Stanford and West Virginia are the teams to watch, while Iowa — who loses superstar guard Caitlin Clark — is ‘prioritizing’ Olsen.

As a junior, Olsen averaged 23.3 points per game while shooting 43.8 percent from the floor. She shot 48.9 percent on 2s. Olsen also averaged 4.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.9 steals per game.

She was the third leading-scorer in the NCAA. She had nine 30+ point games and 21 games with at least 20 points. Olsen shot above 45 percent from the field in 15 games.

While Olsen can convert from the perimeter, she is much better attacking the rim and finishing in the mid-range and in the paint. She shot just 29.4 percent on 5.3 attempts per game this season on 3s. She is a physical guard who averaged 4.9 free throw attempts per game — shooting 80.7 percent from the line.

Though Olsen took 20.3 shot attempts per game, she also ranked fourth in the Big East in assist rate and seventh in assists per game.

She had the third best player efficiency rating in the Big East and ranked third in overall win shares.

Olsen was on the All-Big East First Team this season as well as being named the league’s Most Improved Player.

As a sophomore, Olsen averaged 12.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game while shooting 41.1 percent from the floor and 35.6 percent from three.

Indiana women’s basketball returns guard Chloe Moore-McNeil, wing Sydney Parrish and forward Yarden Garzon from the starting lineup the past two years. While all three are very important and key pieces to the success of the program, Indiana needs to find a way to land a big-time scorer in the portal — and Olsen fits that mold.

SEE ALSO: ‘Fight until the end’: Effort shown by Indiana women’s basketball in Sweet Sixteen loss encapsulates this season and how this program was built

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