IU women's basketball has stars, but bench's mentality, consistency propel Hoosiers, too.

BLOOMINGTON — It's one of the IU women's basketball team's biggest strengths: players' willingness to embrace their roles and their ability to flourish when called upon.

As a team, the No. 1-seed Hoosiers, who will face No. 9-seed Miami in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Monday (8 p.m., ESPN2), picked up 17 points off the bench Saturday against Tennessee Tech and are averaging 14.7 points off the bench over their past 11 games.

"Everyone is so supportive and selfless and that's been huge," said Alyssa Geary, a grad transfer forward from Providence. "Everyone wants everyone else to do well and succeed, and I've been very fortunate to be part of that with this team."

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Sara Scalia, a transfer from Minnesota, has done it all season, averaging 9.6 points and 3.1 rebounds in 27 minutes per game off the bench, as has the freshman Lilly Meister, who performed admirably starting in place of Holmes on Saturday.

"We have a lot of offensive threats on this team," said Scalia, who totaled 35 points and nine rebounds over two games at the Big Ten tournament earlier this month.

"I usually don't know how long I have to sit before I come in," she continued, "but once I'm in there, getting myself involved on offense — setting up my teammates and finding open shots — and getting engaged defensively are the biggest things."

This all applies to players further down the bench, too. Freshman Lexus Bargesser, who plays about eight minutes per game, delivered over a key stretch in the second quarter, assisting on Meister's game-tying basket then breaking the 22-all stalemate with back-to-back buckets. Geary averages seven minutes off the bench, but clocked 17 minutes Saturday, and will continue helping fill in for Holmes alongside Meister.

"We always try to be consistent mentally coming in," Geary said. "When it's our time, we want to perform and execute the way the coaches have communicated with us. And the way we prepare really helps us feel confident when our name is called to go on the floor."

"Both of us are also cheering and always on our feet on the bench," Bargesser added. "Pouring into each other helps us stay engaged in the game, so when our name is called, we can go out there and execute."

Mackenzie Holmes expected to play Monday

After sitting out Saturday's first-round game, IU forward Mackenzie Holmes practiced Sunday and is expected to play Monday, according to coach Teri Moren, but they may limit her minutes.

Asked if her game plan will be altered at all based on Holmes' availability, Miami coach Katie Meier shook her head no and replied: "We're going to be prepared."

Canes respect IU, but they're not intimidated by top-seeded Hoosiers

Meier began her news conference by recalling a moment following last season's game against IU in The Bahamas, specifically the conversation she had with Moren afterward. It was a meeting between two coaches who "just really admired each other," Moren said, with the two taking turns complimenting the other's late-game tactics before agreeing to discuss Xs-and-Os in the future.

"(Moren) is special. She's very, very good and I love the way her teams play," Meier continued. "We're excited to play them Monday. It'll bring out the best in us."

The top-seeded Hoosiers made quick work of No. 16-seed Tennessee Tech in the opening round, while the No. 9-seed Hurricanes rallied from a 17-point deficit (tied for fifth-largest in tournament history) to stun No. 8-seed Oklahoma State.

"Maybe the best (halftime) adjustment I made was to just stay calm and say, 'Believe in what we're doing, but you have to play better than this,'" Meier said. "If I had pulled the plug and changed the scheme, I think we would have lost by 30."

Noted for its athleticism and rebounding prowess, Miami averages nearly 71 points per game (shoots 43% as a team) and boasts a pair of double-digit scorers in Haley Cavinder and Destiny Harden, with five players who log at least four rebounds per game.

The Hurricanes — who lost to No. 1-seed and eventual national champion South Carolina in the second round last year — arrive with some serious momentum, and pose a formidable foe for the Big Ten regular-season champions. But they recognize the mammoth task in front of them. Meier described IU as a "prolific team" offensively, citing specifically its 18 assists per game as a team. "That threatens us," she continued. "It's very difficult to defend a team like that, no matter what your defensive style is. They share the ball and that's what makes them great."

Asked if Indiana is comparable to any of their ACC opponents, Lola Pendande pointed to conference champion Virginia Tech, drawing a comparison between the top-seeded Hokies' bigs to senior forward Mackenzie Holmes and IU's assortment of shooters.

"We've beaten (VT) before, so we've already been in this situation," Pendande said. "We have to play hard and we have to follow the game plan. … This is another challenge and I think we can overcome it."

"Hey, anytime you can reference a competitive memory that's a good competitive memory, you're going to do it. That's just coaching, right?" Meier added. "We're going to reference our good competitive memories and then we're going to reference and fix the things that didn't go our way (in the rematch at the ACC tournament)."

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana women's basketball vs. Miami in NCAAw tournament second round