'Major miss': Las Vegas tourney setup criticized

Indiana Hoosiers women's hoops manager Teri Moren said Saturday that an accidental was missed to showcase her No. 6-ranked, undefeated squad and different teams astatine the Las Vegas Invitational tourney this play due to the fact that of a subpar setup for the event.

A tract coordinator for the lawsuit told ESPN that helium apologized to players, coaches, fans and referees astir the tourney conditions, which person been discussed connected societal media. The tourney was played connected a tribunal successful a ample ballroom country astatine The Mirage edifice that had nary stands for spectators. Chairs were acceptable up astir the court.

Moren confirmed that the tract coordinator, Ryan Polk, did apologize.

"I deliberation determination are different radical who astir apt request to apologize arsenic good for wanting america to travel and play successful this lawsuit and making promises, if you will," Moren said. "This is not what was described to america a acold arsenic what the venue was going to look like, what the set-up was going to look like.

"What was disappointing was the aesthetics; it's not a fan-friendly environment. As women's hoops coaches, we're trying to determination our crippled forward. It felt similar due to the fact that [this] got truthful galore ticks connected social, that we had taken a mates steps backwards. We person an work to turn our game, and we wholly missed connected this accidental due to the fact that you person a batch of truly bully teams that are here. I spot each these different tournaments going connected and footage of that, but this was a large miss."

Indiana shared correspondence the schoolhouse had successful March with the tourney director, Bryce McKey, who told the Hoosiers that the lawsuit would beryllium acceptable up with a tribunal akin to what the Athletes Unlimited nonrecreational women's league successful Las Vegas had earlier this year. But it did not lucifer that.

McKey was astatine different tourney this play successful Daytona, Florida. Polk said the tourney organizers realized excessively precocious that the set-up successful Las Vegas would not beryllium up to par.

"We're precise sorry," Polk said. "The tribunal and the lighting, that worldly hasn't been an issue. But we needed to person full-on bleachers. We person notified The Mirage we won't beryllium coming backmost again. This is simply a one-time catastrophe successful presumption of events. It decidedly did not spell the mode we thought oregon planned. We conscionable severely missed the people erstwhile comes to the spectator side."

Another contented arose Saturday nighttime astatine the tournament, though, erstwhile Auburn Tigers subordinate Kharyssa Richardson was injured aft hitting the level hard portion scrambling for a escaped ball. The crippled was delayed astir an hr during the hold for her to get aesculapian attention. According to the Auburn vigor broadcast, it took much than 40 minutes for paramedics to get to the court.

"She was alert, she was responsive to everything, truthful I truly judge it's precautionary," Auburn manager Johnnie Harris said aft the Tigers' 74-73 triumph implicit the Colorado State Rams.

On Friday, Indiana standout Grace Berger sustained a genu injury, and she did not play successful Saturday's 79-64 triumph implicit the Memphis Tigers.

Moren said she had nary issues with the tribunal itself and felt it had thing to bash with Berger's injury. However, she was acrophobic astatine the magnitude of clip it took for Richardson to person aesculapian care. The Hoosiers inactive decided to play aft that, with their crippled starting much than an hr late.

"I don't work a batch of societal [media]," Moren said. "But this conception that the level ... there's nary occupation with the floor. The wounded to Grace did not hap due to the fact that of the floor.

"[But] I deliberation immoderate bully tourney has EMT and each that, aesculapian professionals, connected site. And erstwhile again that wasn't the case. Another large miss for this tournament. There were a batch of things that should person been better, and they conscionable weren't. I was precise frustrated having to ticker that infinitesimal for Auburn."

Moren said she did talk Saturday to Indiana diversion manager Scott Dolson, who wanted to marque definite the squad thought the situation was harmless to play in. She said the Hoosiers did consciousness safe, but the Auburn wounded caused her immoderate pause.

"We've played successful ballrooms before," Moren said. "We were successful the Bahamas past year: Another ballroom script but looked acold antithetic than the ballroom we've played successful the past 2 nights. I don't privation determination to beryllium the conception that playing successful ballrooms is dangerous. But successful this peculiar event, determination were a batch of things that needed to beryllium better."

ESPN's Alexa Philippou contributed to this story.