Indiana women’s basketball head coach Teri Moren ‘optimistic’ about health of Mackenzie Holmes, Lilly Meister

As Indiana women’s basketball prepares for the Big Ten Tournament this week, the health of its roster is still up in the air.

During Indiana’s win over Maryland on Sunday, injuries to All-American center Mackenzie Holmes (knee) and backup center Lilly Meister (ankle) were a concern. Both players fell awkwardly and had to leave the game.

For Holmes, it is the same knee that she’s injured in each of the last two seasons.

On Monday, Indiana women’s basketball head coach Teri Moren provided a slight update to both players on her weekly radio show.

“Well, they were both in today (Monday) to see (athletic trainer) Ben (Tate). I think they both feel better. I think we’ll know at the end of the week where both of them are, as far as availability for the weekend,” Moren said. “We had some — I thought there was some optimistic news today. So, I felt good about it. I think Ben feels good about it. But time will tell.”

At the 1:20 mark of the third quarter, Holmes was fouled going up for a layup and landed awkwardly on her left leg. While she tried to walk it off, there was clear discomfort. She came off the floor and went straight into the tunnel with the training staff.

Holmes is averaging 20.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this season. She become the Indiana women’s basketball all-time leading scorer and all-time winningest player earlier this season.

Meister is averaging 3.9 points and 2.8 rebounds in 10.4 minutes a game off of the bench.

Indiana, now 24-4 overall and 15-3 in conference play, begins Big Ten Tournament play this upcoming week. It will play on Friday night against either Rutgers, Minnesota or Michigan.

Tip will be around 9:00 pm ET on the Big Ten Network.

Look: Big Ten Tournament bracket revealed as Indiana women’s basketball secures 3-seed

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