In 49 states, it’s just basketball. But in Indiana, it just means more.

An iconic phrase that many may associate with men’s basketball, with the historic program being known as one of the blue bloods of college basketball. An iconic phrase that is now cementing itself into Indiana women’s basketball, as the program writes its own history this season.

“What’s great about it is it’s almost like there’s a person that fits every character trait of a Hoosier that embodies this team,” senior associate athletic director Jeremy Gray said.

Whether it be All-American Mackenzie Holmes, standout senior Sara Scalia, international powerhouse Yarden Garzon, hometown Hoosier Sydney Parrish, or straight-to-business Chloe Moore-McNeil, this 2023-24 Indiana women’s basketball team is filled with players that have been accumulating both a season and a fanbase for the history books.

This season, Assembly Hall has averaged more than 10,000 fans in its women’s basketball home games. Not only is it history now set in stone in Bloomington, but also in the conference, as it is only the third time in the history of the conference to happen.

For Marilyn Behrman, however, being a Hoosier fan is nothing new.

“I’ve been a women’s basketball fan since the days of 500-1,000 [people] in the crowd,” Behrman said. “1,000 or more was a good day as far as crowd went.”

In the early 1980s, Behrman attended her first IU women’s basketball game. Not only was it entertainment for a low price, but in her words, it was fun, and it was easy.

From that day on, Behrman has gone to almost every game since. No matter the time or the place.

“[My friends and I] always do a bus trip to the Purdue game, when we’re away, and I’ve done that for years too,” Behrman said. “And unless I’m totally occupied otherwise, I will always go on the bus trip because it’s just great to go and support your team and to be there in that other atmosphere. But it’s just, it’s just fun. And joyful, and as I said before, magical.”

And magical is most certainly one word which could describe the sport making its mark in Indiana.

On February 22, magic was set in stone as the Hoosiers defeated the No. 4 team in the nation, the Iowa Hawkeyes, in front of a sold-out Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall crowd.

Led by the NCAA men’s and women’s all-time leading scorer Caitlin Clark, the Hawkeyes walked into the Hall with hundreds of people already waiting in line outside, nearly nine hours before tip-off.

“Let’s be real, this started with people in the community regularly coming to games,” Gray said. “Then it became families with a heavy dose of little girls who like to play basketball starting to come to games, and then regular season ticket holders for football and men’s basketball started to get on the women’s basketball train. And I think over the last month or two, our students have really invested into the women’s basketball program and changed the environment of the arena.”

Indiana’s Student Athletic Board (SAB) has been one of the massive contributors in the growth of student attendance within the past seasons. The growth is not slowing down any time soon, and the board has had to make some adjustments.

“Each game we see increased attendance, and with that we have to kind of expand the student section,” SAB director for women’s basketball, Jazlyn Johnson said. “Not only are we using that one south basket, we’ve kind of gone from either side of the band too on almost that entire south bleachers is all students now.”

With many struggles plaguing the men’s basketball team this season, this women’s program has created a community of Hoosier fans that is filled with unwavering support for the players, coaches, staff, and most importantly, each other.

Not only is the community filled with unshakable support, but also with an unassailable connection between its fans and players.

“I think it all starts with the players, they really play with all of their emotion, and when they’re playing passionate, it’s so easy for us to really get into it,” Johnson said. “the girls will you know kind of cheer towards the sections, so we all kind of cheer back, and it’s almost like every single play, we’re doing something compared to just watching. We’re cheering, we’re you know, yelling at the refs, it’s just so much more intense, and it just really brings the crowd alive.”

Now as the Hoosiers head into postseason play with the possibility of home-court advantage, each person within the community will need each other now more than ever.

And with no doubt, showing up is what they will do.