Indiana Women's Basketball Takes Down Nebraska in Thrilling Overtime Win
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — To welcome the new year, Indiana women's basketball defeated Nebraska 74-62 inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in a thrilling overtime fashion where the Hoosiers outscored the Cornhuskers 12-0.
The Hoosiers redeemed themselves from a recent loss to Michigan State and now improve to a 3-1 Big Ten record while handing Nebraska its fifth loss of the season.
"You never get too high over a win and never get too low over a loss," Indiana head coach Teri Moren said. "This morning, we talked about bounce back ability...I was as curious as the rest of you guys in terms of how we were going to bounce back."
A win is a win, but the Hoosiers struggled in regulation to hit anything. However, they still managed 39 percent from the field at the final buzzer. The stats didn't reflect a poor shooting night as senior guard Mackenzie Holmes posted 22 points followed by three other double-figure scoring Hoosiers.
"We didn't shoot it well," Moren said. "I know that, but we hit the shots we needed to hit in overtime."
Perhaps it was free throws that saved the Hoosiers' offense as Indiana sunk 24 from the charity stripe off of 30 visits. Nebraska, however, only hit five out of nine free throws.
"I was so excited that we got to the free throw line," Moren said. "That was one of the challenges that I gave to our group."
In the first quarter, the Hoosiers started off slow and at one point went 2-for-7 from the field while Nebraska hit three consecutive shots. Freshman guard Lexus Bargesser got the cream and crimson scoreboard rolling again draining two free throws.
Junior guard Sydney Parrish was then fouled for the and-1 completing the three-point play with about three and a half minutes to go in the frame.
She followed this up with a triple off of Holmes' assist to put the Hoosiers within one. Nebraska responded with a three of its own to keep it close.
"Transition defense is what we talked about," Moren said.
"Their arsenal is they get a lot of threes. A lot of those threes happen early in offense in transition. It was reminding (Indiana) in transition you have nobody. You just can't run back to your player. We got to cover up the three point line."
Freshman guard Yarden Garzon then ended the first quarter with a fadeaway jumper to keep the score within three points.
In the second frame, Holmes made a swift pass to Bargesser open under the basket to tighten it up at a one-point difference. The freshman also had plenty of opportunities to lead the offense up top.
"She's now able to run our offense," Moren said. "Whether it's prep, whether it's practice grooming her to become a point guard in our system."
Then, Indiana started struggling again as it couldn't hit a three-pointer, missing four consecutive field goals. Finally, junior guard Chloe Moore-McNeil worked the ball down the court to Holmes open in the post for two.
Holmes' defense was sharp as she got a huge block and then passed it down to senior guard Sara Scalia for a layup. Indiana's overall defense started sparking as Nebraska committed four turnovers and entered a scoring drought for nearly four minutes.
With just over a minute to play in the half, Scalia hit two free throws followed up by a fast break layup to give Indiana a 31-30 advantage at the break.
Nebraska opened up the third frame with a three-point basket while Holmes laid one in to keep the score neck and neck. She then drew the foul after a layup for a complete and-1 play.
The Huskers were quick to respond with a 5-point lead off of buckets and a couple fouls. With six and a half minutes to go, Garzon drew the foul and hit both free throws followed by Moore-McNeil's pair after the next possession that led to a foul as part of a 9-0 run for Indiana.
Nebraska took back the one-point lead off of a three-point basket with less than a minute in the third frame while Garzon tried to get a shot up before the buzzer, but sound Huskers defense stopped her.
"It felt like there for a minute, they were hitting everything," Moren said. "We would dig. We would blitz, and then they would kick it out and another three would drop."
After going 1-for-7 from beyond the arc, Parrish finally hit a huge triple with just over four minutes to play to give Indiana the advantage.
"We have repped that play over and over again in practice," Parrish said. "The fact that Coach Moren was willing to have the confidence in me to run that play to me, it just gave me more confidence to shoot it and know I could knock it down. It really starts with her."
The Huskers then started paying more attention to Moore-McNeil, who hit three of four free throws in back-to-back plays to make it a two-point game as opposed to the one-point game it had been for so long in the second half.
Nebraska hit a big three with around two and a half minutes to play and followed it up with a steal and layup. Parrish made a clutch layup to tie it back up. With the whole Hall on its feet, the Hoosiers got one final stop to keep the score tired at 62 and earn an invite to overtime.
"We take a lot of pride in being the better-conditioned team when the game is going down the stretch in the fourth quarter and it's an overtime situation," Holmes said. "We take a lot of pride in our ability to shift into that extra gear. I thought we did a really good job of that today."
Parrish opened up overtime with a big three-pointer while Nebraska couldn't hit one and Moore-McNeil got open for a layup.
"I want them to take open shots," Moren said. I want them to take open threes. I want them to shoot with confidence."
Garzon then drew the foul and showed tons of emotion on her face as she took her spot at the line sinking both free throws for a 7-point Hoosier lead. The Israel native later sealed the deal with a three-pointer with just over six seconds to go.
"There were moments where there was some emotion," Moren said. "You want them to play with emotion."
Up next, Indiana will head to Evanston, Ill. to face Northwestern on Sunday, Jan. 8 at 3 p.m. ET.
"We are four games in now in the Big Ten, and we can't take anyone for granted," Holmes said. "Every win is important, especially with the strength of the conference this year."
Related stories on Indiana women's basketball
- GRACE WITHOUT THE BRACE Ahead of the Nebraska game on New Year's Day, Hoosier senior point guard Grace Berger was spotted at warmups without her right leg brace. CLICK HERE
- HOOSIERS TO PLAY NEBRASKA AT HOME The Hoosiers will look to bounce back from their loss to Michigan State by welcoming Nebraska to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on New Year's Day. This broadcast is Indiana's first game of the season featured on the main ESPN. CLICK HERE
- HOLMES MOVES UP NO. 15 LEADING SCORER IN PROGRAM HISTORY Senior forward Mackenzie Holmes posted 32 points in the Hoosiers' loss to Michigan State on Thursday, which bumped her up to No. 15 on Indiana's all-time leading scorers list. CLICK HERE
