They are back! The #25 Indiana University Hoosiers were back in action at Simon Skojdt Assembly Hall on Wednesday evening against the Maryville Saints. This was an exhibition game in which the teams can shake off the cobwebs before the start of the season, next week.
Maryville, a small school located in St. Louis, MO, is coming off of an impressive 81-66 opening exhibition win against SIU Edwardsville. While the Saints give up much size to Indiana, they offered quality defense and plenty of energy during their first appearance at Assembly Hall.
Indiana was down 3 players during the game, as both Junior Guard Lexus Bargasser and Freshman Forward Sydney Fenn were on crutches, and Sophomore Guard Lenee Beaumont was also not active for the match-up.
Indiana won the tip-off and went to work . . .
Great ball movement from the Hoosier to start off the game, as Graduate Guard Sydney Parrish dished inside to Junior Forward Lily Meister for the quick bucket. Meister would prove her worth on both sides of the court in her new starting role debut. IU continued their selfless style of play and were aggressive on the boards, going up 12-6 and accumulating 8 rebounds in the first 5 minutes of play.
At the halftime break, IU was up 50-14, scoring about half of their points in the paint and half from outside. The team was a bit rusty from beyond the arc, hitting just 5 of 14 of their triples in the first 20 minutes. There were also a few moments of poor communication on the court, most notably when Junior Forward Yarden Garzon threw away a pass intended for Sophomore Forward Jules Lamendola. But, shaking off the cobwebs is why exhibition games are played.
The second half was when things got scary, not for threat of a Saints comeback, but when Parrish got tripped up and needed to be escorted off of the court, limping on her right leg. She was upright, but gingerly made her way to the locker room with the assistance of the team trainer.
Meanwhile, her teammates were up 50-some-odd points, and Head Coach Teri Moren had the opportunity to see several different combinations of players on the court.
“Really wanted to share the ball. I thought we did a good job [of sharing the ball] and just our balance,” said Coach Moren. “You guys got to see some different pieces out there tonight.”
And to start off the 4th quarter, Indiana had a 55-point lead and Garzon was running the offense, playing Point Guard.
“You know, the thing about Yarden, she’s a fun player in the respect that she can really play one through five because of her size, her passing, her ability to shoot,” said Moren of Garzon. “She loves the ball in her hands . . . you know, it’s fun to have a kid like her that’s so diverse and versatile.”
The Hoosiers dominated start to finish, as expected. They put up 95 points and held the Saints to just 27.
Leading the scoring for Indiana was Garzon with 20, Meister with 19, Junior Guard Shay Ciezki scored 14, and Parrish had a double-double with 12 points and 13 boards before her early exit. IU shot 53% from the field and 37% from 3-point land. Indiana out rebounded Maryville 60-34 and had 21 team assists.
Tonight, every Hoosier that played was able to record points. During the game, Freshman Forward Faith Wiseman, a native Hoosier from Indian Creek High School, scored her first points at the Hall.
We hope to provide an update on Parrish and the other injuries next week.
Next up, IU hosts Brown in the season opener on Monday evening, November 4th, with a 7pm tip-off.