It’s not every single day two top-10 groups face off at Simon Skjodt Meeting Corridor. It’s not every single day Yarden Garzon grins ear-to-ear after hitting a 3-pointer. It’s not every single day the No. 6 group within the nation beats the No. 2 group by over 10 factors.
For the record-setting 10,455 followers in Meeting Corridor on Thursday, Indiana’s 78-65 win over Ohio State was an evening they’ll always remember.
These in attendance witnessed the Hoosiers outscore the Buckeyes 27-6 within the third quarter. They roared as Garzon sank 3-pointer after 3-pointer from the nook. They exploded at ear-splitting ranges when Mackenzie Holmes muscled to the basket, when Sydney Parrish grabbed a rebound, when Chloe Moore-McNeil dove for a free ball.
They misplaced their minds when the ultimate buzzer sounded, and sang their hearts out to the alma mater.
However to Indiana, it was simply one other sport. And that, maybe, is the most important illustration of what the Hoosiers are all about.
“I don’t suppose that we take any opponents otherwise than the opposite,” Mackenzie Holmes mentioned postgame. “Particularly in Huge Ten play, figuring out that each opponent we face night time in and night time out goes to be a troublesome competitors.”
The Hoosiers entered the sport with the identical mentality as each different sport, despite the fact that it was in opposition to one of many nation’s finest groups. They’d a sport plan; they knew what to anticipate from the Buckeyes they usually knew what they needed to do to beat them.
“We knew the recipe,” Teri Moren mentioned postgame. “We simply needed to be dialed in and centered on what the recipe was, and we needed to execute it on each side.”
Holmes, naturally, was one of many key components within the crockpot that’s Indiana girls’s basketball. All through the primary half, when Indiana struggled in opposition to Ohio State’s lightning-fast tempo or full-court press, she was fed time and again within the submit. And as she sometimes does, Holmes got here via.
She led all scorers with 26 factors on 11-of-13 capturing, which was why Indiana stayed within the sport within the first half. At halftime, she had 18 factors whereas no different Hoosier was in double figures.
Garzon, one other staple for Indiana, was the opposite main contributor within the first half with 9 factors and 5 rebounds. Whereas Holmes didn’t want any time to preheat, Garzon needed to simmer for a short time earlier than coming into her personal.
The third quarter was when she reached her boiling level. Within the span of just below 4 minutes, Garzon was computerized from the nook, sinking three 3-pointers with out batting an eye fixed. Her third got here off a fastbreak, and resulted in a timeout known as by the Buckeyes.
“Her stage of maturity is not like something I’ve ever seen from a freshman,” Holmes mentioned. “Not even from a freshman, from any basketball participant. She simply has this knack for stepping up in massive moments, and that’s probably not one thing you’ll be able to train.”
Standing on the Indiana emblem at halfcourt, Garzon was mobbed by her teammates as a smile unfold throughout her face. Her 9 factors had been the tipping level, spurring a 17-0 Indiana run. Why wouldn’t she smile?
That smile got here again as she was a part of the celebration on the courtroom after the sport as effectively; Garzon’s remaining stat line learn 20 factors, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals. It marked her first profession double-double and her fifth straight sport scoring in double figures.
“I like to be on the courtroom to play for my teammates, play for my membership, my college, and for my coaches,” Garzon mentioned about her competitiveness. “In order that’s an enormous a part of it.”
However after all, as is the case with any good recipe, there have been greater than two components.
Sydney Parrish, ever the epitome of hustle, matched her career-high of 11 rebounds, and added 12 factors for her third double-double of the season. Grace Berger got here alive within the fourth quarter after a stagnant first half, ending with 12 factors. Chloe Moore-McNeil was once more all around the courtroom, ending the night time with 4 factors, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.
These key items got here collectively to be the elemental dish known as Indiana girls’s basketball. All the fundamental flavors had been there; 21 assists on 28 made photographs, 40 factors within the paint, 41 rebounds.
However any good dish is incomplete with out some spices, and the Hoosiers had that as effectively, with one particularly notable one.
Lilly Meister continued to spice up her fame as a dependable, composed bench participant, coming in routinely for Mackenzie Holmes. Whereas she solely performed for six minutes, she tallied 5 rebounds and two factors, and did precisely what was required of her.
“She is aware of her function, and he or she stars in her function,” Moren mentioned. “And by that I imply she realizes she doesn’t have to attain a basket to impression this sport. What she has to do is guard effectively on the low block, she must be in rotations and he or she must rebound.”
All in all, Thursday’s sport wasn’t not like some other Indiana has performed, and that’s why it was so particular. The Hoosiers merely have so many cooks within the kitchen that regardless of who the opponent is, they’ll give you the very best recipe for achievement. Even in opposition to the No. 2 group within the nation.
(Picture credit score: IU Athletics)
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