#14 Indiana (17-2, 8-1) dismantled Northwestern (7-13, 2-7) on Sunday, January 28th at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The near capacity crowd came out wearing pink to support their Hoosiers and those that have survived their fight against cancer.
IU Announcer Jeremy Gray did his thing to pump up the crowd of 10,776 as the starting line-up walked out accompanied by survivors of cancer for the IUWBB Annual Breast Cancer Awareness game. The Hoosiers wore their white home uniforms with pink trim, along with pink basketball sneakers to commemorate the occasion.
Moments later, Grae Gosnell, an IU Women’s Volleyball player, graced the Hall with a heartfelt rendition of our national anthem. Her patiently metered acapella singing was incredibly moving.
And then the game . . .
Indiana got right down to business from the opening tip-off. They got off to a 16-2 run from the gate, finding no problem getting the ball inside. All-American Graduate Guard Mackenzie Holmes had 10 points by the 4:07 mark, when the Wildcats were forced into taking a timeout.
The Hoosiers were in complete control, and came out of that timeout with only one starter, and 4 players from the bench. This would be a similar story to what was yet to come.
Just before the end of the quarter, Senior Guard Chloe Moore-McNeil took the inbounds pass and speed dribbled coast-to-coast to drive for the buzzer beating lay-up. That bucket put IU up 27-8 after the first 10 minutes of play.
The Halftime score was 50-24.
Indiana came out of the locker room with continued enthusiasm, as the first 3 possessions were drives for layups. 2 by Moore-McNeil and the next by Holmes, assisted by Moore-McNeil.
The Hoosiers piled onto their lead throughout the third quarter, expanding it to 45 points. Indiana’s ability to get the ball into the paint was unstoppable. In addition to the 20 something Holmes had to this point, Sophomore Forward Lily Meister would put up 11 by the start of the 4th quarter.
At the 8-minute mark in the final quarter, Indiana sat their starters for the rest of the contest. They played well, keeping the energy high for Hoosier Nation.
The final score was 100-59
Indiana was led by Holmes, finishing with 27 points and 11 rebounds in her 5th double-double on the season. Garzon added 15 points and a pair of assists, Graduate Guard Sara Scalia put up 11, Moore-McNeil hit for 10 and assisted 3 times, and Meister, from the bench, scored 13 and pulled down 3 boards, while Julianna
Collectively, IU shot 54% from the field, 35% from 3-point line, and 91% from the free-throw line.
Next up, Indiana takes to the road, heading to College Park to take on Maryland. The game will tip-off at 7pm on Wednesday and will be streamed live on Peacock. Northwestern will host #2 Iowa for a 7pm showdown on Wednesday evening, also broadcast on Peacock.
