Hoosiers move to 16-1 after crushing Wisconsin in front of 10,422 at the Hall

Energy was high from the crowd of 10,422, the largest in the history of regular season play for Indiana University Women’s Basketball, as the Hoosiers dismantled Wisconsin 93-56 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Sunday afternoon.

Wisconsin won the opening tip, but Indiana started off the game on a 9-2 run, causing the Badgers to call their first timeout, just 2 minutes and 20 seconds into the game. At the end of the first 10 minutes, Indiana led 24-18. 14 of their first quarter points were in the paint, as the Hoosiers had no problem finding All-American Senior Forward Mackenzie Holmes, who contributed 10 points in her first 9 minutes of play.

The second quarter was when Indiana really pressed the accelerator and blew open the game by a 21-point margin, including a 19-2 run to close out the last 7 minutes of the half. It was a festival of sorts, with every Hoosier finding creative ways to assist Holmes down low. At one-point, Junior Guard Sydney Parrish was passed the ball at the top of the key, and simply one-time tapped the ball over her shoulder to a wide-open Holmes. Holmes ended the half with 21 points (her season average), and 7 rebounds. Indiana was up 47-26 at halftime.

Yarden Garzon (12) shoots against Wisconsin on 1/15/23 (photo by Jeremy Hogan)

Freshman Guard Yarden Garzon was on fire throughout the 3rd quarter, sinking two 3-pointers, providing 4 assists, creating a steal, and forcing 3 additional turnovers. It was a timely day to have such an incredible game, as Garzon is being visited by her mother and sister from Israel, and they were in the audience to cheer her on. Garzon would end up with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and a steal.

Indiana was never daunted in this match-up, owning the pace of the game from early on. The Hoosiers worked the ball inside to Holmes with ease, created 31 points off of turnovers, and scored 21 points off of fastbreaks. The margin of lead also afforded Indiana to play some interesting combinations of bench players in the fourth quarter.

Indiana had 19 points from their bench, including 8 from Freshman Forward Lilly Meister.

“Lilly was great, she’s grown so much in these 16 games,” said Holmes of her freshman protégé. “She’s working hard every day, in practice, out of practice, so it’s really nice to see that translate into a game for her . . . “

 “We feel like this is a team that has some depth,” said Indiana Head Coach Teri Moren. The nation was able to witness that Hoosier depth when Grace Berger was injured; plenty of team members stepped to the table and gained valuable playing experience.

“But now that we’re back to full strength, we’ve got to figure out how to manage Grace Berger’s minutes, but also Chloe [Moore-McNeil], Syd [Parrish], and Yarden [Garzon], and all of them, really,” Coach Moren explained about the team’s abundance of talent. “It’s nice to see a kid like Lilly Meister, who’s just come on, against Maryland I thought she was great” added Moren. “The minutes she provided today, another fantastic performance, coming off of the bench and giving Mack [Holmes] a break.”

“It’s nice when you can not play your starters so many minutes because you can rely on your bench,” Coach Moren added upon the discussion of player development within the program. “Tonight was a nice opportunity for us to get the lead, build the lead, and get some of those kids in there.”

Grace Berger (34) plays against Wisconsin’s Brooke Schramek (3) on 1/15/23 (photo by Jeremy Hogan)

Hoosier Nation also roared with excitement as fan favorite Kiandra Browne entered the game with 2 minutes remaining. Browne had been sidelined most of the season with a thumb injury. Her first play of the game, she received a pass inside the key, made a nice move in the post, and laid in the basket. The ensuing defensive stand, she forced a Wisconsin turnover.

All-American Senior Forward Mackenzie Holmes led the Hoosiers with 29 points, shooting 11-15 from the field, and 7-9 from free throw line. Holmes maintains her second nationally rated field goal average of 68.5%. Freshman Guard Yarden Garzon added 19 points (including 4-5 from beyond the arc), 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. All-American Graduate Guard Grace Berger added 11 points, and Junior Guard Sydney Parrish scored 10 points.

Wisconsin, who falls to 6-12 overall and 2-5 in the Big Ten, was led by Brooke Schramek, who put up 13 points, and Serah Williams, who scored 10 points. As a team, the Badgers were held to 35% shooting and made only 4 of 20 attempts from the 3-point line. Wisconsin, who averages 70 points of offense this season, were stifled by the Hoosiers defense, which caused 21 Badger turnovers.

Next up, IU plays three ranked teams in the next 10 days. The Hoosiers hit the road to challenge #24 Illinois (15-3 / 6-2) on January 18th, and then #17 Michigan (15-3 / 5-2) on January 23rd. On January 26th, Indiana returns home to host #3 Ohio State (17-0 / 7-0).

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