Todd’s Take: Indiana’s Lilly Meister Is What March Madness Redemption Is All About

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The best moments in the NCAA Tournament are the redemptive ones.

Whether it’s a team or a player that overcomes adversity, it’s what keeps us coming back to every NCAA Tournament for more.

Closely related are those games where someone unexpectedly steps up to help a team win.

Indiana’s women’s basketball team got the benefit of both of those things on Friday during its 76-68 victory over Utah in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.

Mixed in among the five Hoosiers who reached double-figure scoring against the Utes was Lilly Meister. The Indiana post player had 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting.

Most of that production came in the first half when Indiana’s other scorers were struggling. Meister led the Hoosiers with eight points at halftime.

You might be asking yourself why 11 points is a big deal. Players routinely reach that total.

That hasn’t been the case for Meister in the last two months. She last reached double-figures on Dec. 28 in a home win against Wisconsin, when she scored 20 points.

Since then? The season has been a challenge for the junior from Rochester, Minn.

She had the unenviable task of following all-time legend Mackenzie Holmes as the heir apparent in the post. Meister’s own production as Holmes’ understudy – particularly her performances in the 2024 season – gave rise to the belief that Indiana wouldn’t miss a step in its paint production on Meister’s watch.

In the preseason, Meister was willing to embrace the spotlight that came with being the one who came after the other.

“I think I thrive when I’m a leader, and I thrive when there’s expectations for me. It’s a spot I love to be in,” Meister said in September. “It’s just something I’ve been waiting for, and I really appreciate it.”

However, that pressure put on Meister was unfair in hindsight. I was part of it. Most of those who wrote about the Indiana women’s team were, too.

Meister started well, but struggled at times to remain productive. Indiana coach Teri Moren noted one issue Meister had was being able to play bunches of minutes at a time. She only played 30 or more minutes in a game once this season.

Meister certainly wasn’t bad. She averaged 11.6 points in the first nine games of the season, but after that she tailed off.

She started the first six Big Ten games of the season. She reached double-figures in the first two, but had seven, eight, four and one point in her next four games.

After that, she lost her starting job to Karoline Striplin and the rest of the regular season was a struggle. She never played less than seven minutes in any one game, but confidence was not high. Her field goal percentage dropped to 38.2% in the final 14 games, and her scoring average dropped to 2.4 points per game. With Striplin playing well, it seemed Meister was only going to have a supporting role in Indiana’s postseason fortunes.

But that’s what makes the NCAA Tournament so great. Meister stepped out of the shadows in a big way.

She hit three shots in a row at a time where every other Hoosier was ice cold. She was able to score at the rim and hit her mid-range jumper.

The best thing about her performance was her assertiveness. This was the Meister seen earlier in the season. As you might expect, she seemed to be lifted by her own performance. She was smiling on the sideline as if the weight of the last two months had been lifted.

“I’m so happy for Lilly. I think we all are. But I think what you’ve seen today was a confident Lilly. We gave her good juice, and once she got going, I mean, the rest was history for her,” Indiana point guard Chloe Moore-McNeil said.

Moren echoed Moore-McNeil’s comments. She said they’ve been trying to get Meister’s confidence up, and Friday’s game was the reward for those efforts.

“When Lilly is confident, Lilly is a really good basketball player, and I think throughout the season she kind of lost that throughout,” Moren said. “One thing I know about her teammates is they’ve continued to pour (confidence) into her and encourage her and give her good juice as we call it.”

A productive Meister makes Indiana all the more dangerous. It means consistent production in the post and takes pressure off of Indiana’s backcourt.

A combined 21 points from Meister and Striplin is exactly what Indiana needs to keep its season going. If the Hoosiers can get that level of production against South Carolina on Sunday, They have a chance.

“Those two were coming in and out for each other, and every time either one of them got into the game tonight — or this afternoon I thought they impacted it. So it was great to see,” Moren said.

It goes to show that anyone can step up in March. In Meister’s case, sticking with it paid off in a big way.