#18 Indiana (3-1) hosted Lipscomb (3-2) at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Sunday afternoon for a 2pm tip-off. The official reports stated that 8572 were on hand for the game, but the crowd looked much lighter than that, perhaps due to a very crowded IU Athletics weekend.
The Hoosiers played on little rest, coming off of a triple-digit win on Friday evening over Murray State. But this did not stop IU from winning the tip-off and going on a 9-2 run before the first timeout. All-American Graduate Forward Mackenzie Holmes scored twice from the paint, Graduate Guard Sara Scalia nailed a mid-ranger, and Senior Sydney Parrish hit one from beyond the arc.
The refs were calling a tight game, it seemed as if every light incidental contact was a stoppage of play and a personal foul. Lipscomb amassed 4 and Indiana had 3, all within the first 6 minutes of play.
(Photo by Jeremy Hogan)
This would continue throughout the game, with stoppages of the clock on practically each trip up and down the court.
With less than a minute in the first quarter of play, Sophomore Guard Lexus Bargesser dove across the court to scrum for a loose ball, not once but twice. With the assist on the second on a Scalia 3-pointer, Bargesser enabled Indiana to end the quarter with an 18-12 advantage.
“I’ve talked about this a lot, just about her Improvement,” Indiana Head Coach Teri Moren said of Bargesser. She went on to mention that any mistakes she seems to make on the court that she makes up for it with her hustle and heart.
“You know, I talk a lot about toughness, and I thought tonight, [Bargesser] had the toughness factor that I need them all to have.”
In the second quarter Indiana threw up 21 points, 12 of which were in the paint, 8 being from Holmes and her undeniable footwork. With 6 minutes remaining in the half, that footwork was on public display.
With a dish off in the paint, after drawing the help defense, Scalia dropped the ball in the hands of a spinning Holmes, who looked every part of Wonder Woman with the left-handed layup. Scalia would return with the 3-pointer, and then steal the ball on the ensuing Bison possession for the lay-up plus the ‘and one’ from the stripe.
Indiana would head into the locker room with a 21-point advantage, 39-18. They compiled 21 rebounds and 12 assists, but also committed 9 turnovers.
In the 3rd quarter, the Bison put up 13 points off of 6 buckets, but the Indiana lead continued to grow. At the end of 30 minutes of play, the Hoosiers were up 58-31.
Indiana would continue to increase the deficit on the Bison, earning the 75-44 victory.
Collectively, Indiana shot 48% from the field, led by Holmes’ 23 and Scalia’s 24. The Hoosiers assisted 23 times and pulled down 43 rebounds.
“My teammates found me when I was open and my confidence grew as the game went on,” said Scalia of her spectacular offensive performance today.
The Hoosiers will ride a 2-game string as they prepare to head to Florida for their match-ups in Fort Meyers, against Princeton and Tennessee later in the week. Those games will be televised on ESPN networks.