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Early years

Maxwell era (1891–1928)

The Maxwell Era of Women's Basketball at Indiana University saw the expansion of athletic opportunities and acceptance of women as athletes. Basketball was integrated into the physical education curriculum followed by interclass competition and intramurals. Juliette Maxwell dedicated her career to the advancement of athletics for the women at Indiana University.

The 1922 Arbutus reported women's athletics had taken hold of the co-ed especially basketball: "Basketball, the most popular sport of the Indiana coed, attracted more attention this year than ever before. More than two hundred from the freshman class alone tried out for team membership. Closely matched teams from all classes played a hotly contested tournament, which was won by the freshman without a single defeat."

In 1927–1928, the program was expanded to include within the Department of Physical Education for Women an Intramural Association, with a program geared to encourage participation in sports by the less highly skilled women students.

Departmental era (1928–1949)

The Departmental Era concentrated on the expansion of athletics by increasing the sports offered, hiring more faculty, and expanding the interclass and intramural programs sponsored by the department. Edna Munro oversaw the expansion of the intramural program, Collegiate and High School Play Days, Women's Athletic Association, Women's Recreational Association, and basketball interest groups.

Around 1928–1930, the national "Play Day" program of non-coached intercollegiate sports competition for women was initiated as part of the National Women's Athletic Association's program. Indiana University's WAA supported the program and created opportunities for Play Days to occur for the next several decades. It entered its contestants in the annual state-limited gatherings which rotated yearly from one campus to another. These programs provided the opportunity for women to experience competition in a wholesome healthy atmosphere, devoid of bias and strong emotion. The success of the college-sponsored competitions influenced the Indiana University faculty to initiate "Play Days" for high school girls under their Girls’ Athletic Association organizations.

Women's Recreational Association era (1949–1961)

During the Women's Recreational Association Era in women's basketball, the intramural program was changed to incorporate more women into athletics on campus. By the end of this era, 70% of women on Indiana University – Bloomington's campus were active in the WRA and athletics.

Extramural era (1961–1971)

The Extramural Era saw regional competition grow. Teams representing Indiana University began playing in tournaments and series with other universities in the region including Butler University, Marion College, Purdue University, and Indiana Central College. A small budget helped keep these budding basketball teams afloat during this time.

The Indiana University Nurse's Team competes in regional competition. "In spite of their busy schedules of classes and ward duty, student nurses take time out for basketball. The Nurses Basketball Team this year aspired to regain the championship of the Indianapolis Schools of Nursing Basketball Tourney. The team lost the championship in 1959 for the first time since the beginning of the tournament. The players compete with other girls’ teams in the area in addition to participating in the tournament."

By 1961, the extramural women's basketball team had begun to travel throughout the state to play in competitions. The basketball team was coached by Dr. Kay Burrus who helped expand the extramural sport system at Indiana University. The funding for women's basketball or women's athletics in general was meager at Indiana. This forced Burrus's teams to sleep in teammates homes and be responsible for their own transportation and food. Additionally, the women had to share uniforms among sports teams.

By 1969–1970 basketball season, the Hoosier women began to play by the "men's rules" for the first. In order to keep the basketball program within the budget, faculty served as game officials, referees, seamstresses, manages, and coaches without additional compensation for their time.

Varsity basketball

In 1971, Bea Gorton became the first head basketball coach for the Indiana University women's basketball team. Like other faculty members, Gorton did not receive compensation for her coaching position. It was considered part of her graduate assistantship while she worked towards her degree. In their inaugural season, they went 14–2, winning their first 12 games of the season before losing at Nationals to Immaculata University. In 1982, Indiana joined the Big Ten Conference for women's basketball, and the Hoosiers won the conference title with a 15–3 conference record, under Maryalyce Jeremiah (who was later named Big Ten Coach of the Year). Their season ended with a second round loss in the NCAA tournament to #8 Georgia.

Teri Moren was hired as the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers women's basketball team on August 9, 2014.

The 2015–2016 season was a historic one, despite having only one senior and a second year coach. The Hoosiers finished with a 21–12 record with a 12–6 record in conference play under Moren in her second year as head coach. She was named Big Ten Coach of the Year, the first Indiana women's basketball coach to do so since Maryalyce Jeremiah in 1982. Sophomore Tyra Buss was named to the All-Big Ten first team, with fellow sophomore Amanda Cahill receiving honorable mention. The Hoosiers finished a perfect 14–0 at home and finished fourth in the Big Ten conference, behind #5 Maryland, #9 Ohio State, and #16 Michigan State. After regular season play was over, the Hoosiers received a #9 seed and were able to participate in the NCAA tournament for the first time in 14 years. Indiana defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 62–58 for their first NCAA tournament win in 33 years before falling to #1 seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

The Hoosiers' 2017–18 season proved to be another historic season. Lead by seniors Tyra Buss and Amanda Cahill, the Hoosiers compiled a 23–14 record and won the 2018 WNIT in front of a program record-breaking crowd of 13,007 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Considered to be one of the greatest basketball players to ever come through IU, Buss holds programs records for points, assists, steals, and free throws made, along with ranking third in Hoosiers history with 2,204 points behind only Steve Alford and Calbert Cheaney.

For the 2020–21 season, the Hoosiers advanced to their first ever Elite Eight of the 2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament before being eliminated in a 66–53 loss to Arizona. The Hoosiers finished the season with a 21–6 record.