No. 16 Indiana women’s basketball returned to action Monday against the University of Evansville, concluding a nine-day gap in its schedule. The Hoosiers improved to 9-1, dominating the Purple Aces on their way to a 109-56 victory.
“For a week that is weird, always, when you come off of finals week, to come out and just sort of try to get back in rhythm I thought it was a good night,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said postgame.
Although Evansville scored first, Indiana quickly responded with a 12-3 run. Sophomore guard Yarden Garzon and senior guard Sydney Parrish led the way for the Cream and Crimson in the opening frame, going a combined three-for-three from beyond the arc.
After a first quarter in which the Hoosiers went nine-for-14 from the field, they continued their dominance in the second frame. Indiana notched another lengthy run, outscoring the Purple Aces 14-3 five minutes into the quarter.
A balanced scoring attack in the opening half allowed Indiana to attain a 51-28 lead at halftime. Nine Hoosiers scored points in the half with Garzon and Parrish leading the way with 12 and 8, respectively.
The Purple Aces closed to within 20 points early in the second half, but Indiana responded quickly with a quick 8-0 run in less than a minute.
After a relatively quiet first half for graduate student forward Mackenzie Holmes — scoring 7 points — she scored 11 in the third quarter alongside Garzon’s 11 in the frame. The duo combined to go nine-for-11 in the third to give the Hoosiers an 85-47 lead with a quarter remaining.
Already holding a substantial lead, the Hoosiers returned for more in the fourth quarter. Indiana went on a 19-2 run over the first six minutes of the final frame behind a balanced scoring attack. While the Hoosiers were up big throughout the fourth quarter, Moren kept Garzon and Scalia in the contest until pulling them with three minutes left.
While Indiana forced 20 turnovers in the blowout win, it committed 16 turnovers — an unsatisfactory mark for Moren.
“Too many turnovers,” Moren said. “Some of those were charges with [Parrish] and [Julianna LaMendola]. Yarden I think also had one.”
Garzon led the way for the Cream and Crimson with a career-high 30 points while Holmes notched 22. Parrish and fifth-year senior guard Sara Scalia scored 12 points apiece en route to the Hoosiers’ ninth victory of the season.
“I didn’t realize until after the game and I looked at the stat sheet — that was a very quiet 30 that Yarden had,” Moren said. “Very efficient tonight, she and Mackenzie both.”
Indiana now sets its sights towards a 6 p.m. tip Friday against Bowling Green State University at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The contest will serve as the Hoosiers’ final tune up before beginning Big Ten play Dec. 31 against Illinois.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa), columnist Ryan Canfield (@_ryancanfield) and photographer Olivia Bianco (@theoliviabianco) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
