Indiana Women Win 12th Straight Game Over Purdue In 78-56 Triumph

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana women’s basketball coach Teri Moren – who played in the Indiana-Purdue rivalry as a Boilermakers player and a Hoosiers coach – said Saturday that Indiana needed a win and Purdue just happened to be the next team on the schedule the Hoosiers needed to beat.

Indiana guard Sydney Parrish, on the other hand, wasn’t buying the notion that Purdue is just any other game.

“We were playing Purdue. I think a lot of people know how a kid from Indiana feels about the team up north. We had to bring it today,” Parrish said.

Parrish carried her sentiment into action against the struggling Boilermakers. She had a game-high 19 points as Indiana dominated Purdue on its way to a 78-56 victory at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Saturday afternoon.

It was Indiana’s 12th consecutive victory in the Barn Burner Trophy series, and it was dominated by the Hoosiers from the start. As diplomatic and pragmatic as Moren was she credited Parrish with setting the team’s attitude to the game.

Indiana's Sydney Parrish (33) makes a three-pointer over Purdue's Rashunda Jones (2) during the Indiana versus Purdue women's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“I think Syd set the table for us today as far as this is really an important game. That we need to make sure that we keep that trophy here for another season,” Moren said.

It wasn’t just the rivalry that mattered. Indiana (16-9, 8-6) had to ease the sting of an 0-2 road trip to Minnesota and Michigan earlier in the week. A loss to Purdue would have put the Hoosiers in perilous territory as far as its NCAA Tournament aspirations are concerned.

But a loss was never a real possibility. Indiana dominated Purdue in several facets of the game. The most notable advantage was in fast-break points, where Indiana had a 20-3 edge. The majority of those points were scored by the Hoosiers in the first half. Indiana’s plan was to get down the floor quickly in transition, and the Hoosiers executed the plan without a hitch.

“Our goal going into the game was playing fast. We knew that was going to be a big priority for us, and we came out swinging,” said Indiana guard Shay Ciezki, who had 16 points.

Yarden Garzon had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Hoosiers. Four different Hoosiers had at least three assists, but the leader was center Karoline Striplin, who had five. It’s not the first time Indiana’s starting post player has been involved in facilitating the offense.

“With some of the things we're running offensively, the ball is in the hands of our fives often, and so we trust them to make the right reads and the right decisions,” Moren said. “I thought she did a really good job today of finding the open person but also delivering the pass.”

Purdue was led by Kendall Puryear, who had 15 points. Purdue (9-16, 2-12) has been injury-plagued all season as Amiyah Reynolds, Jayla Smith, Jordyn Poole, Mila Reynolds and Alaina Harper have all missed significant portions of games or haven’t played at all.

Still, Indiana was dominant, and the competitive phase of the game was over before the first quarter expired.

Julianna LaMendola. — Indiana's Julianna LaMendola (20) shoots between Purdue's Kendall Puryear (22) and Reagan Bass (34) during the Indiana versus Purdue women's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Indiana missed its first two shots, but then overwhelmed Purdue with eight makes in nine attempts, including a trio of 3-pointers. It was Indiana’s opportunism that paid off. The Boilermakers were crashing the offensive glass and slow to recover defensively. Indiana ruthlessly took advantage by releasing players out on the break. Both Ciezki and Parrish had wide open buckets from the fast break.

By the 5:11 mark of the first quarter, Indiana led 20-2. The Hoosiers’ advantage would not slip below a double-digit advantage for the rest of the game. The Hoosiers led 48-22 at halftime.

Purdue used a full-court press in the second half in a desperate effort to get back into the game. It affected the Hoosiers – Purdue outscored Indiana 34-30 in the second half – but Indiana never came close to giving up its huge lead. The Hoosiers had a peak lead of 31 midway through the third quarter and could cruise to victory from that unassailable position.

“I gave our first half performance an A, and our second half performance a solid C. I did think we took some shots we didn’t want to take (in the second half). I think it had a little to do with Purdue’s press,” Moren said.

Indiana won’t have it anywhere nearly as easy in its next game on Thursday, when No. 7 Ohio State visits Assembly Hall. With Indiana floating in NCAA Tournament bubble territory, a win over the Buckeyes would do the Hoosiers a world of good.

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