Indiana Falls In Tough Battle With Top Seed USC
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INDIANAPOLIS – 9-seed Indiana gave everything it had in a tough battled with top-seeded USC in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal, falling 84-79, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
KEY MOMENTS
- Graduate student guard Sydney Parrish got Indiana (19-12) going early with back-to-back buckets in a back-and-forth first quarter that featured five ties and three lead changes. Junior guard Yarden Garzon piled on IU’s early lead with a 3-pointer on the right baseline made it 7-2.
- But USC (26-3) countered with a 7-0 run of their own to even things out but Indiana got back-to-back buckets from junior forward Lilly Meister and graduate student guard Chloe Moore-McNeil to take a 14-11 lead and force a timeout. The Trojans had another run late in the first as it pushed ahead by five, 23-18.
- Indiana’s deficit was by as many as eight early in the second but Moore-McNeil’s back door layup along with a pair of field goals from Ciezki pulled it back within two, 31-29. Garzon’s 3-pointer kept the margin at two with 1:31 to go but USC hit the final field goal of the frame and took a 38-34 lead at the break.
- Ciezki had a pair of buckets as IU started the third off on an 8-2 run to take a 42-40 lead. Sophomore guard Juju Watkins regain the lead for the Trojans, which grew to as many as seven. Late in the third, Indiana used a five-point run from Garzon to come within two, 59-57, headed to the fourth.
- Garzon kept IU’s deficit at just two with 7:25 remaining but the Trojans started to pull away as a transition 3-pointer put them up seven. Ciezki got IU back within five on her own transition three pointer but wouldn’t get any closer.
NOTABLE
- Indiana made its 23rd appearance in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals in Friday’s matchup.
- Garzon paced IU with 23 points and tied a team-high eight rebounds. She hit five 3-pointers and was a perfect 6-for-6 fat the line.
- Three others had double figures including Moore-McNeil (17 points, eight rebounds, seven assists), Ciezki (15 points) and senior forward Karoline Striplin (10 points).
- The Hoosiers were 25-for-27 at the line on the afternoon.
UP NEXT
The Hoosiers will await its postseason bid which will be announced on Sunday, March 16.