No. 14 Indiana women’s basketball took to the hardwood Tuesday against Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois. Coming off defeating No. 4 Iowa on Feb. 22, the Hoosiers throttled the Wildcats en route to an 84-64 victory.
Fifth-year senior guard Sara Scalia and sophomore guard Yarden Garzon each drained 3-pointers before Indiana went on a 7-0 run to take a 13-4 lead in the opening minutes of the matchup.
Northwestern responded, cutting its deficit to 5 points at the end of the opening quarter behind junior guard Melannie Daley’s 8 points.
After 47 combined points in the first quarter, the scoring slowed down in the second as the Hoosiers outscored the Wildcats 17-12. Graduate student forward Mackenzie Holmes scored 16 points in the first half on 7-of-7 shooting from the field.
The squads went back and forth in the opening stages of the third quarter before Indiana went on a 16-0 run to take a commanding 27 points. Holmes scored 12 points in the third frame while Northwestern scored just 12.
Despite trailing by 26 points after three quarters, the Wildcats went on a 9-0 run over less than two minutes at the beginning of the final quarter. They later went on a 7-0 run, but it proved to be too little, too late.
The Hoosiers cruised to an 84-64 win over Northwestern, capturing their 14th Big Ten victory of the season.
Holmes led all scorers with 28 points, going 12-of-13 from the field alongside nine rebounds. Senior guard Sydney Parrish and Scalia each finished with 11 points while sophomore forward Lilly Meister racked up 10.
Indiana (23-4, 14-3 Big Ten) returns home for a Senior Day matchup with Maryland at 3 p.m. Sunday. The contest will stream live on Peacock.
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.
