No. 16 Hoosiers Win Seventh-Straight In Big Ten Opener Over Rutgers
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Graduate student forward Mackenzie Holmes scored 25 points and senior guard Sydney Parrish added a double-double with a 66-56 win over Rutgers on Saturday afternoon.
KEY MOMENTS
- In a low scoring first quarter, Indiana (8-1, 1-0 B1G) pulled ahead by five, 7-2, on a transition 3-pointer from senior guard Sara Scalia. Parrish broke a nearly three-minute scoring drought on a backdoor pass as she got to the rim with 3:56 left in the first.
- Rutgers (6-6, 0-1 B1G) would hit an open baseline 3-pointer to narrowly take a 10-9 edge after the first 10 minutes of action. Parrish regains the IU lead with the first bucket of the second quarter and a dish from sophomore guard Lexus Bargesser to Holmes pushed Indiana’s lead to six, 20-14.
- Senior guard Chloe Moore-McNeil hit a pair in the bonus to keep the lead at six, but Rutgers would drill two three pointers in 45 seconds as it came within two, 24-22.
- Moore-McNeil was left wide open on the left wing for a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left in the half to give IU a 27-22 lead at the break.
- Indiana held its first double-digit lead with Parrish sticking a left side triple and Moore-McNeil hit her in the lane for two to go up 45-34 with 2:27 on the clock. The Scarlet Knights trimmed the lead to eight at the end of the third.
- The lead ballooned to as many as 12 in the fourth quarter, behind a steal from Scalia who found Garzon down the court for the transition layup at the 3:42 mark. But Rutgers continued to push back until the end, coming within six in the final minute as the Hoosiers used bonus free throws to close it out.
NOTABLE
- Indiana head coach Teri Moren secured her 100th Big Ten win on Saturday afternoon. Moren now holds a career record of 100-57 in league action in her 10 seasons at IU.
- The Hoosiers won its sixth-straight conference opener and improved to 20-21 all-time.
- IU improved to 8-6 overall in the series with Rutgers. It was the fifth-straight win in the series and have defeated the Scarlet Knights by double figures in all five wins.
- The program’s season win streak stretched to seven games.
- Holmes added her fifth game with 20-points or more this season with a game-high 25 on 12-for-15 shooting. She also pulled down eight rebounds and had an assist, block and a steal.
- Parrish recorded her second double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
- Moore-McNeil and Garzon each added 11 points in the victory. They combined for 11 assists of IU’s 19 total dishes on 26 made shots.
- On the battle of the boards, Indiana won 33-30.
QUOTABLE
Indiana head coach Teri Moren
“Well, we are pleased to be leaving here with a win on a night that our three ball was not going down for us. We had to manufacture points in a lot of different ways, from a lot of different people, at a lot of different times and segments in the game. I’m happy with the way we were able to do that. I wanted us to be able to outrebound Rutgers tonight, and we were able to do that. I didn’t care what the margin was; winning the boards was the only goal for tonight. It was a physical game. You have to give credit to Rutgers. They’re very physical, they’re a very good basketball team, they’re very well balanced and well-coached. Our kids just made enough plays and there at the end they were able to tighten the screws defensively and not give up anything easy as we approached the finish line. I’m really happy. Winning is hard, especially in this league. Any time that you can go on the road in a Big Ten game and win it’s a good feeling. I’m just proud of our guys.”
UP NEXT
IU will pause action for final exams and return to play on Monday, December 18 against Evansville at 7 p.m. ET.