Indiana women’s basketball returned home to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Wednesday night fresh off a loss to No. 3 Iowa on Saturday. The Hoosiers looked to bounce back against Minnesota, who sat at 13-3 (3-2 in the Big Ten) entering the contest – and did exactly that, winning 85-62.
It was the first meeting between the two teams at Assembly Hall following the transfer of current Indiana fifth-year senior guard Sara Scalia, a Stillwater, Minnesota, native who spent the first three years of her career with the Gophers.
“Minnesota is always going to be home to me,” Scalia said. “That's where I grew up and it’s special to me for sure, it’s definitely a different feeling being on the other side of the bench, but I was just happy to go out there and play with the team I am on now and come out with the win.”
Scalia has been fantastic for Indiana so far this season, being the Hoosiers’ most consistent backcourt scorer with an average of 14.7 points per game entering Wednesday’s contest.
Scalia and graduate forward Mackenzie Holmes combined for 34 points in the first half and carried their dominance into the second half.
Beyond the arc, Scalia made her presence felt, and Holmes did the same from inside the paint, be it with her back turned to the basket or driving to the cup off the dribble.
Holmes scored the Hoosiers' first points of the second half on a dribble-drive, working her defender and illusively maneuvering to the rim for an easy two.
Holmes finished with an astounding 32 points on 15-of-17 from the field. Her performance was the Hoosiers’ fourth and her second 30-plus scoring output this season, the first coming Dec. 31 against Illinois, and sixth of her career. She joins Scalia on Dec. 22 against Bowling Green and sophomore guard Yarden Garzon from Dec. 18 against Evansville.
With the Iowa loss looming over the Hoosier program, Indiana desperately needed an offensive outburst from its star – and received precisely that.
“I said this in media and on T.V. – the Big Ten doesn’t wait for anybody,” Holmes said. “We gotta move on. We have to learn from the Iowa game, but we can’t let it effect us in the next game and let it become a snowball effect.”
The Hoosiers are 6-0 in conference play when Holmes and Scalia combine for 30-plus points.
In sync with Holmes and Scalia, senior guard Sydney Parrish got the Hoosiers going early with yet another dominant first quarter, nailing three 3-pointers.
The Hoosiers are 5-0 when Parrish totals five or more field goals in conference play. Additionally, in those games, Parrish has accrued 17 3-pointers on 29 attempts --- an impressive 58%.
Whether it's just for one quarter or the whole game, Parrish’s impact when setting the tone gets this team off on the right foot – but it's about how the Hoosiers build off that. Wednesday night, the Hoosiers went up, up and away.
If Indiana continues to have Holmes in the 20-plus point range every game, which certainly is possible given her 19.6 points per game average, followed by a complementary guard matching that total, the Hoosiers will continue to be a dominant offensive force as the season goes on.
In the post-game press conference, head coach Teri Moren reflected on what went wrong in Iowa City Jan. 13 and how this performance was a nice step forward.
“When you have performances like we had the other night at Iowa, the best remedy for that is to get back on the floor as quickly as you can,” Moren said. “I liked their focus, I liked how they came out today and executed. Quite frankly, they executed the things we have been talking about.”
After a great home win off a bad road loss, the Hoosiers head north to West Lafyette in a battle for the Barn Burner Trophy against the in-state rival Purdue Boilermakers. The Hoosiers will make their debut on the NBC streaming service, Peacock at 2 p.m. Sunday.
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.
