Best 2020s Indiana Women’s Basketball Players So Far: No. 16 Julianna LaMendola

When it was decided to extend the top 16 of the 2020s series to women’s basketball, there was a conundrum.

Were there 16 Indiana women’s basketball players from the 2020s worth ranking?

Even with six seasons to choose from, it was very difficult to compile a list of women’s basketball players who fit the minimum standard for inclusion. The standard that needed to be met was at least one season averaging 15 minutes per game, or, a 64-game career within the 2020s.

Why was it difficult? It was for the best of reasons. Coach Teri Moren’s roster was remarkably stable until just recently. The 2020-25 period constitutes the Ali Patberg-Grace Berger-Mackenzie Holmes era, and the players surrounding them rarely changed.

When the initial run through was complete, there were exactly 16 players that were eligible, but I wanted a pool of 20 to choose from. A few of the players who qualified were players who barely played, but stayed on the roster for several seasons. So the women’s minutes per game standard was lowered to 10 minutes per contest.

Even with a pool of 20 it was tough. Let’s just say the women’s basketball top 16 is very top heavy.

Julianna LaMendola, who played at Indiana from 2023-25, was able to get into the top 16 despite being a reserve player her entire career.

Of the categories used for inclusion, LaMendola didn’t rank 16th or better in any of them. That’s in contrast to the men’s list, where no one in the top 16 ranked 12th or worse in any one category given the larger pool of players to choose from.

However, given that Indiana has only had nine players who were starters for two years or more in the 2020s, there’s plenty of room at the tail end of the top 16 for bench contributors.

LaMendola, who transferred to Grand Canyon in the offseason, was a solid reserve player for the Hoosiers. She averaged 2.1 points and two rebounds in her two seasons.

LaMendola was kind of a tweener. Listed as a guard, she was big enough (6-foot-1) to occasionally mix it up in the paint, but she was also a good enough shooter to have to be accounted for by opposing defenses. LaMendola converted 35.1% from 3-point range in 2025.

LaMendola’s two best career games came in December 2024. She scored a career-high 10 points against Bellarmine on Dec. 15, 2024. She had eight points and three rebounds against Maine on Dec. 1.

She reached her Big Ten career-high of eight points three times in the 2024-25 season in games against Wisconsin, Purdue and Northwestern.

LaMendola has moved on to what will likely be a larger role at Grand Canyon, In many ways, it’s appropriate that she and a few other role players made the cut. It’s emblematic of how hard it was to break into a starting lineup that was largely rock solid in the 2020s.