IU women’s basketball was treated to a plethora of good news Monday afternoon after it started its season 2-0.
The Hoosiers moved up three spots in the AP poll to No. 21 thanks to wins over Mount St. Mary’s University on Thursday and Nicholls State University on Sunday.
The new ranking is the highest in program history, and it comes after previously being ranked in the AP preseason poll for just the second time in program history at No. 24.
One of the main contributors to IU’s success was freshman forward Mackenize Holmes, who earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors, while also earning a spot on the Big Ten Player of the Week honor roll.
In two games coming off the bench, Holmes averaged 18.5 points, six rebounds and three blocks while shooting an incredibly efficient 83.3% from the floor over the two games.
In Sunday’s historic victory, Holmes led all scorers with 22 points on a perfect 9-9 from the floor. Holmes cleaned up on the defensive end as well with five blocks.
The Hoosier forward is the first to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors since teammate and junior guard Jaelynn Penn did it back-to-back weeks in January of her freshman season.
The Hoosiers return to action looking to remain undefeated and improve their program-best ranking when they face off against Jackson State University on Sunday. The Hoosiers and Tigers tip off at 2 p.m. from Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
