Best Indiana Women’s Basketball Players Of The 2020s So Far: No. 13 Karoline Striplin

One of the hardest things to do in comparing players is assessing one season of performance versus players who played multiple seasons in the same sample size.

When comparing Indiana women’s basketball players of the 2020s so far, this problem arises frequently.

One way to give credit to a one-year player is to determine whether they got better as they went along.

In the case of women’s basketball player Karoline Striplin? She passes the test.

Striplin was a transfer from Tennessee who arrived for the 2024-25 season. Her role was to compete for the starting center spot vacated by all-time program great Mackenzie Holmes. She competed with Lilly Meister for the position.

Meister had a bit of an advantage with two years spent in the program as Holmes’ understudy. Meister won the starting job and held it through the nonconference portion of Indiana’s season.

Striplin showed what she could do in fits and starts. After just one double-digit scoring game in her first nine, Striplin turned heads with a 27-point explosion in a win at Penn State on Dec. 7. She was 12-for-12 from the field in the 75-60 Indiana victory.

Meister’s production fell once Big Ten action resumed for good in January, and Striplin got her chance to prove she deserved the minutes in the post.

She took advantage as she immediately improved Indiana’s production in the paint. From the time Striplin first entered the starting lineup on Jan. 19 to the end of the season – a total of 16 starts – she averaged 11.4 points and 3.3 rebounds.

One thing that stood out about Striplin is that when she got hot from the field, she was blazing hot. The Penn State outburst in December was her best of the season, but Striplin also topped 60% from the field seven times as a starter, including a 12-of-19 performance for a season-high 28 points in a 70-67 loss at Michigan in February.

While Indiana finished eighth in a very competitive Big Ten, Striplin helped the Hoosiers advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Columbia Regional. Indiana defeated Utah 76-68 before the Hoosiers fell in a competitive 64-53 loss to defending national champion and eventual runner-up South Carolina.

Striplin averaged 10.1 points and 3.5 rebounds for the season. Her Big Ten-only numbers were 11.4 points and 3.8 rebounds, a reflection of her larger role.

Striplin ranked no worse than 13th in any of the categories used to determine the best of the 2020s so far as she comfortably made the cut in the top 16.

Previous women's basketball top 16 players of the 2020s

No. 14 - LIlly Meister
No. 15 - Kiandra Browne
No. 16 - Julianna LaMendola