IU women’s basketball added 2 players through the portal. How will they fit?

BLOOMINGTON — IU women’s basketball coach Teri Moren didn’t waste time in the transfer portal.

The Hoosiers announced late last week that two transfers — center Karoline Striplin from Tennessee and guard Shay Ciezki from Penn State — will join the program for the 2024-25 season.

These transfers come after the Hoosiers lost all-time leading scorer and fifth-year senior center Mackenzie Holmes and single-season 3-point record-holder Sara Scalia.

These two transfers seem like they can fill the holes — if not all the production — Holmes and Scalia left. Here’s how:

Finding post depth, 3-point shooting

Holmes was the anchor of IU’s offense, averaging 19.8 points per game throughout her fifth season. She shot 65% from the floor, forcing defenders to focus on her. She also led IU’s defense, averaging 6.7 rebounds per game, racking up 50 blocks, and making it on the All-Big Ten Defensive team.

More: IU women's basketball bolsters frontcourt with Tennessee transfer Karoline Striplin

While not many players can replicate what Holmes was to IU, Striplin was a good pick to keep IU dominant in the paint. She started 39 games over her three years at Tennessee, playing alongside 2024 No. 4 draft pick Rickea Jackson.

Striplin started 11 games in the 2023-24 season while appearing in all of them, averaging 7.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. In a difference from Holmes’ game, Striplin took 58 3-point shots, shooting 31% beyond the arc.

But Striplin wasn’t head coach Teri Moren’s answer for 3-point shooting. That came in Penn State transfer Shay Ciezki. Spending two years with the Nittany Lions, Ciezki comes to Indiana with a career .398 shooting percentage. Ciezki averaged 11.5 points per game in her sophomore season, earning All-Big Ten honorable mention status.

Ciezki made 74 3-pointers last season, which would have been second on IU’s roster — only behind Scalia’s record-breaking 103. With those numbers as a sophomore, Ciezki could be IU’s next great 3-point shooter.

IU women’s basketball potential starting lineup for 2024-25

It’s still only April, so consider this a way-too-early look at a potential Indiana starting lineup.

Three starters — Sydney Parrish, Yarden Garzon, and Chloe Moore-McNeil — are returning. Each of those three have been starting for the past two years, so it is unlikely that Moren will take them out of the lineup this upcoming season.

Moore-McNeil has locked down the point guard position, while Garzon usually plays at the 3 and Parrish at the 4.

So, the Hoosiers need an off-ball guard and a center — both of which can score at a high volume. Holmes and Scalia were IU’s two highest scorers, making up for 47% of IU’s scoring in 2023-24.

More: Indiana women's basketball lands commitment from Penn State guard Shay Ciezki

Ciezki will probably slot into the starting lineup off the ball, as she is the 3-point shooter that IU needs. She will be able to help space out the floor for Parrish and Garzon — who shot 40% and 42% from 3-point range, respectively — to also have open shots beyond the arc.

Incoming junior Lexus Bargesser also could be a starting option at the 2 — she started nine games when Parrish was out with an injury last season. As Moore-McNeil’s direct backup, though, she plays more as a facilitator than a scorer.

The center position became a bit more of a tossup with the addition of Striplin. Incoming junior Lilly Meister has essentially been a center-in-waiting behind Holmes for the past two years, playing significant minutes in the rotation and starting in case of an injury.

Meister, at 6-3, played in all 32 games last season, averaging 10.6 minutes and 3.7 points per game. Striplin, at 6-4, averaged 14.4 minutes and 7.2 points per game.

Striplin does have the height advantage, however slight it is. But Meister has been in Moren’s system for two years now, and already knows the ins and outs of the program. With Holmes gone, though, someone will need to step up to score in the paint.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How will Indiana women's 2 transfers fit in the lineup?