IU women's basketball reached new heights past 2 seasons. This year, it might be better.

BLOOMINGTON -- Grace Berger left IU’s game against Auburn early in the first quarter due to injury. It was during the first of IU’s two games in Las Vegas. How IU responded would be telling.

It was a significant loss. Berger is one of IU’s stars. She has been a large part of IU’s recent success. Last season, she averaged a team-high 16.2 points point per game.

How exactly did IU respond?

Win, win, win.

'A lot of different weapons': IU women show versatility, dominance over UNC

It beat Auburn by double-digits. Then it beat Memphis by double-digits, sweeping the Las Vegas trip. On Thursday, IU was set for a big-time matchup with No. 6 North Carolina in Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers, again without Berger, blew the doors off the Tar Heels, 87-63. The game was rarely even in question.

This is what the IU program has become. What happened Thursday, to a certain extent, is the expectation. Sydney Parrish, who is in her first season with the program, was asked about what statement IU made in its win over UNC.

"I mean, we just came out and played hard. It’s not really a statement for us. We should play like that every night," Parrish said.

How good is this IU team? Really good. Earlier this season, when Berger was still healthy, it beat Tennessee on the road. Even without Berger, who IU coach Teri Moren said is out “indefinitely” with a knee injury, the Hoosiers have kept rolling.

IU is 8-0. There's still a long way to go, but it doesn’t seem like a stretch to say this team has the potential to win a national title.

At IU’s media day, Moren said they try not to play the comparison game with last season’s team. But what has become evident early this season is this team could be better.

What has been striking this early in the season is the rate at which IU has built chemistry. A concern entering this season was how IU would fill the production of Aleksa Gulbe, Ali Patberg and Nicole Cardaño-Hillary, who helped guide IU to an Elite Eight in 2021 and Sweet 16 in 2022.

Parrish, an Oregon transfer, and Sara Scalia, a Minnesota transfer, have fit in seamlessly. Parrish started the season coming off the bench but has slid into the starting lineup following Berger’s injury. On Thursday, she had 24 points, including 4-of-7 on 3s, and six boards. Scalia was a human flamethrower from deep on Thursday, shooting 4-of-7 from behind the arc.

“This is a veteran group,” Moren said. “... I mean, you got Syd, who’s played in big games, obviously Chloe (Moore-McNeil), Mack(enzie) Holmes have played in big games. Sara Scalia’s played in big games. When you play in the Big (Ten), you play in big games. These are women that are one: mature, but two: this isn’t foreign to them, you know, playing in a big-time environment, a big-time game."

And what an impact freshman Yarden Garzon has made. She is a unicorn, the modern-day versatile player. She is listed at 6-3. On Thursday, she had nine points, seven boards and seven assists. On top of that, she’s shooting 54.1% from 3 this season.

“Yarden, even though she’s a freshman by class, she doesn’t play like a freshman, she doesn’t act like a freshman,” Moren said.

Moore-McNeil, who had 10 points, seven rebounds and nine assists Thursday, has shown admirable growth. Holmes is playing at an All-American level. She’s averaging 20.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, while shooting an eye-popping 73.4% from the field.

“She is a very special talent because she has extraordinary footwork, extraordinary hands, soft hands,” Moren said of Holmes. “And she’s a worker. I mean, she just works every single day. She wants to be the best at her position.”

Early in the season, IU has displayed both the tangible and intangible qualities of what makes teams great. How a team responds to adversity is usually telling. IU has handled it valiantly thus far. The blend of internal improvement and external additions have been impressive.

As much as anything, Thursday felt like a program win. With one of its best players out, the Hoosiers still steamrolled a high-level opponent. This feels like a group that buys into the greater good.

“There are sacrifices that have to be made day in and day out because you’re all gonna have different roles,” Moren said prior to the UNC game. “Whether you start, whether you come off the bench, whether you play five minutes, whether you play 25 minutes. Everybody has to make sacrifices."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana women's basketball has look of a real national title contender