No. 15 Indiana Gets Back on Winning Track in Big Ten Opener

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Coming off two-straight losses in the nonconference slate, No. 15 Indiana took Sunday as a fresh start.

The Hoosiers played their first Big Ten game against Nebraska, where the record is 0-0.

Indiana took the losses to Kentucky and Tennessee as learning experiences, and the Hoosiers were ready to go in Assembly Hall against the Cornhuskers, rolling to an 81-45 victory.

"It was a good win for us," head coach Teri Moren said. "Great to be back on the floor so quickly after how poorly we shot it against Tennessee the other night. It was nice to see some of those shots go down."

Jaelynn Penn got into some early foul trouble in the first quarter, and her absence on the floor with two fouls caused some problems for Indiana's offense.

The Hoosiers struggled to shoot the ball at the start, but still managed to take a 13-9 lead after the first 10 minutes.

The second quarter is when Indiana started to look like the powerhouse program it expects to be.

Indiana outscored the Cornhuskers by 15 in the second quarter, getting out in transition and dominating inside the paint.

Aleksa Gulbe and Mackenzie Holmes were the dynamic duo in the contest. Gulbe had her first-career double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Holmes finished with 15 points.

"I gotta admit it's pretty amazing," Gulbe said on playing alongside Holmes. "We love playing with each other. I know where Mac is gonna be, she knows where I'm gonna be... I just love playing with her."

Moren didn't have to play her starters much minutes in the second half and didn't have to play them any minutes in the fourth quarter.

It allowed the bench players to get some quality minutes and get acclimated to playing with one another, which is the kind of depth Indiana will need as this season wears on.

"We have to have a bench," Moren said. "We have to have production from those guys that are gonna come in and give some of those other guys a blow. They gotta give us energy."

Nicole Cardano-Hillary looked really comfortable in only her second appearance in the cream and crimson.

Moren said Cardano-Hillary is a high-volume shooter, and she has a short memory if her shots don't fall.

She only shot 2-for-9 from the field Sunday, but the pace she showed in transition and the way she orchestrated the second unit was impressive.

"We were just trying to give her some room," Moren said. "I thought she was aggressive, she stayed aggressive and she remained aggressive even though the shots weren't falling."

Freshman Kiandra Browne was another player who made a big impact in just her second game.

Browne recorded her first-career double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 boards.

"One thing about KB is every time she steps on the court, she's gonna give 100 percent effort," Holmes said. "I think her ceiling is really high, and it's only going to go up from here."

Indiana, now 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten, will travel to Minnesota for a game Wednesday afternoon.

Moren hopes the Big Ten schedule feels a little more rhythmic than the nonconference slate.

"This is what we've been wanting and needing is some rhythm," Moren said. "I know our group is excited just about the Big Ten starting. Hopefully there will be some normalcy for us moving forward."

Below is the full box score for the game:

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