Parrish, Holmes Power Indiana Women to Road Win at Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The No. 4-ranked Indiana Hoosiers took care of business on the road Wednesday night as they defeated Minnesota 77-54 in a not-so friendly homecoming for senior guard Sara Scalia.
“We are happy to get the victory tonight, but collectively we feel that we didn’t play our best basketball," Indiana coach Teri Moren said.
"Seventeen turnovers is just way too many for this basketball team that really prides itself in taking care of the basketball. Obviously, Mack and Syd had big nights for us on a night where our guard play struggled."
Senior forward Mackenzie Holmes led the charge with 28 points for her sixth game above 20 while junior guard Sydney Parrish added 23 and also led the team on the boards with eight rebounds.
The rest of the guards struggled as freshman Yarden Garzon uncharacteristically didn't attempt a three-pointer, and senior Grace Berger went 2-for-10 from the field. However, Berger contributed in other ways as she set her new season high with nine assists.
Yes, Indiana committed 17 turnovers but also helped force a hefty amount of the Golden Gophers' 29 turnovers as a result of the team not being as experience as the Hoosiers.
"I think we're mindful that this is a very young Minnesota team, and with that comes some hiccups in just learning and gaining some experience," Moren said.
"The thing I was frustrated with though, is you force 29 turnovers, but yet you only have 10 fast-break points."
Still, Indiana shot 50.8 percent from the field compared to Minnesota's 33.9 percent all while playing through some emotions for Sara Scalia as she faced her former team.
Scalia came off the bench to score 10 points adding four rebounds on the night, but her entrance to the game wasn't met with applause.
"We're behind her," Parrish said. "We love her. We knew this was going to be fun for her, a good environment, but I was disappointed by the Minnesota fans of how they kind of treated her, booed her when she went into the game.
"She did a lot for that program before she came into the IU uniform, and it just made me really upset to see that."
In the first quarter, Holmes took over on offense as she put up eight of the Hoosiers' first 10 points in the match. The team shot 52.9 percent from the floor in the frame as part of a 20-6 lead over a struggling Golden Gophers squad.
"It just comes down to seeing how the defense is going to guard me," Holmes said. "Every single game is different, so if I'm single covered, I'll try and make a play and go score, but if the double comes, I know I can kick it out to some really great shooters."
Early in the second, Parrish went off for two consecutive triples as nine of her 23 points came in the second frame relieving Holmes of producing all the points. Minnesota improved to shooting 60 percent in the frame, but the Hoosiers' previous lead would give them a 21-point cushion at the break.
Indiana was outscored in the third quarter but still managed a double-digit lead thanks to a push from Holmes and Parrish off of three straight baskets.
To close out the game, Indiana built back up a 20-point lead to hand the Gophers their thirteenth loss of the season and ninth in conference play.
"Again, defensively we did some good things," Moren said. "That is the one thing that always keeps us in games and wins us a lot of games, and these guys know that. Tonight, I would have loved to have seen our offense be a little bit better.
Despite the Hoosiers' 21-point lead tying for the largest halftime advantage of the season against a Big Ten team, there's still some work to do before Indiana faces rival Purdue on Saturday that just came off a huge win against Ohio State.
"They know," Moren said. "They're not by any stretch of the means down there in that locker room right now high-fiving. They don't think they played well. We didn't play well in our opinion. The scoreboard may reflect something different."
"We got to fix that before we go into the month of February for sure."
Related stories on Indiana women's basketball
- INDIANA-MINNESOTA NOTES: The Hoosiers will head to Minnesota on Wednesday to begin a two-game road stretch after a successful two wins at home over Ohio State and Rutgers. The Golden Gophers have been struggling this season and will surely be awaiting the return of their former teammate Sara Scalia, except she's now in cream and crimson. CLICK HERE
- HOLMES ON WOODEN AWARD LATE SEASON TOP 20: Monday evening, it was announced Indiana women's basketball forward Mackenzie Holmes was named to the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 comprised of 20 athletes most suitable for the John R. Wooden Women's Player of the Year award presented after the NCAA Tournament. CLICK HERE
- HOLMES, GARZON SWEEP BIG TEN WEEKLY HONORS: For the second time this season, Indiana women's basketball forward Mackenzie Holmes and guard Yarden Garzon have swept the Big Ten weekly honors while Holmes also earned ESPN Player of the Week. CLICK HERE
