No. 14 Indiana women’s basketball returned to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Wednesday to take on Penn State, seeking its 13th consecutive victory. Although the Hoosiers faced a nine-point deficit, they pulled out a 75-67 victory over the Nittany Lions.
Graduate student forward Mackenzie Holmes won the tipoff for the Hoosiers before play was stopped just three seconds into the contest. Senior guard Sydney Parrish forgot to remove her earrings prior to the start, leading freshman guard Julianna LaMendola to check into the game — who then promptly turned the ball over leading to being substituted out.
The Nittany Lions took advantage of LaMendola’s turnover, striking first with a layup from senior forward Ali Brigham. Indiana responded with a 7-0 run with layups from Holmes and sophomore guard Yarden Garzon alongside a 3-pointer from fifth-year guard Sara Scalia.
While the Hoosiers went 13-of-13 from the field in the first quarter against Michigan on Jan. 4, made baskets proved to be harder to come by Wednesday. Indiana went 6-of-16 in the first frame against the Nittany Lions while committing six turnovers, finding itself trailing by 4 points at the end of the quarter.
Although a 7-2 run to begin the second quarter allowed the Hoosiers to regain the lead, Penn State surged ahead with a 3-pointer from senior guard Taylor Valladay.
The Nittany Lions led by as many as 4 points throughout the quarter until they went on a 5-0 run to end the quarter, headlined by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from sophomore guard Shay Ciezki to take a 39-34 lead into halftime.
Coming out of the locker room and beginning the third quarter, Chloe Moore-McNeil wasted no time getting to the charity stripe. The senior guard knocked down a pair of free throws to bring the Hoosiers within 3 points.
After a minute and 10 second scoreless drought from both squads, Brigham scored her 11th and 12th points of the game on a layup. The Nittany Lions followed that with a pair of fast break layups to go on a 6-0 run and take a 9-point lead.
Facing their largest deficit, the Hoosiers needed someone to take over and will them back into the game. Parrish did just that, going on her own 9-1 run to give the Hoosiers a 1-point lead.
With the game tied with under a minute remaining in the third frame, Moore-McNeil drained a midrange jumper to give the Hoosiers a 2-point lead. Just seconds later, after a defensive rebound from sophomore forward Lilly Meister, sophomore guard Lexus Bargesser found Scalia for a fastbreak layup to give Indiana a 4-point lead after three quarters.
After they outscored the Nittany Lions 21-12 in the third, the Hoosiers continued to widen their lead in the early moments of the final frame.
Following a made free throw from Penn State junior guard Leilani Kapinus, Indiana went on a 5-0 run over nearly 50 seconds to extend its lead to 8.
While the Nittany Lions pulled to within 6 in the waning seconds of the contest, Parrish and Moore-McNeil sank clutch free throws as the Hoosiers reigned victorious 75-67.
Holmes led Indiana with her fourth double-double of the season, scoring 21 points and corralling 13 rebounds. Parrish tied her season-high with 20 points while Moore-McNeil scored 16 alongside dishing four assists.
Indiana now sets its sights on a matchup against the NCAA’s leading scorer in Caitlin Clark and Iowa at 8 p.m. Saturday inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. The contest will be televised on FOX.
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.
