After losing the championship to the Battle 4 Atlantis last Monday, Indiana got back on track and defeated the Maine Black Bears 78-53.
This was a bounce back game for Teri Moren's group, as the 39 points seen in the B4A final against North Carolina were doubled, showing just how improved the offense was today.
The Hoosiers got out to a fast start from three, allowing it to shoot 11-for-22 from 3-point range for the game, also shooting 30-for-57 from the field for another impressive number.
Chloe Moore-McNeil led all scorers with 22 points for a season high for the fifth-year senior, with Lilly Meister right behind her with 18 points.
All this scoring, coupled with some solid defense, allowed Indiana to get the win against Mains, so here's how it happened:
INDIANA STARTS OFF ON FIRE FROM THREE
To start out the game, Indiana was lights out from beyond the arc, making 7-of-13 threes in the first half, allowing the Hoosiers to have a 36-28 lead at halftime.
While the over 50% mark for the first half as a whole is impressive, the way IU was shooting it in the first minutes of the game was even better.
The Hoosiers didn't miss a three until their sixth attempt, starting the game off going 5-for-5 on long range jumpers, getting the Assembly Hall crowd into it early.
Chloe Moore-McNeil started the 3-point barrage in the opening minute, knocking down a three that forced a Maine timeout not even a minute into the ballgame.
This didn't stop IU, as Moore-McNeil would hit another three, Yarden Garzon would make two and Julianna Lamendola added one more for all five of the threes seen on Indiana's 5-for-5 stretch.
The Hoosiers would cool off, going making just one of their next seven 3-point attempts, allowing Maine creep back into the game.
The Black Bears never ended up tying it up in the first half, but they got within two. Right after, though, IU weathered the storm with five straight points, including a Yarden Garzon long range jumper.
To end the half, Moore-McNeil added another three, bringing her to 15 points with three made shots from beyond the arc, a very solid start that gave IU a halftime lead it wouldn't give up.
While Indiana was solid in other aspects of the game, particularly on defense early on, but the success from beyond the 3-point line allowed the Hoosiers to get ahead and stay ahead early.
HOOSIERS START OUT HOT, THEN CRUISE IN 2ND HALF
While it was still a single digit game at halftime, even with IU playing well early on, it wasn't one for much longer. This is because Indiana got out to a fast start out of the half, powering it to a win against the Black Bears.
The Hoosiers immediately went on a 15-4 run to start the half, as IU simply dominated the first five minutes of the third quarter, shooting 6-for-8 in that span.
Ciezki and Lamendola hit threes, while Meister scored the rest of the points during Indiana's run, giving the Hoosiers all the momentum early in the half.
Indiana would end the third quarter up 61-41, a much more comfortable margin than what was seen at halftime, all thanks to this great start to the second half.
Meister ended the third quarter with 14 points, not missing a shot from the field, and being the dominant force inside that allowed IU to go on such a run.
As a team, IU shot 8-for-11 from the field and 3-of-5 from three in the third, a quarter that let the Hoosiers to be on cruise control for the final ten minutes of action in the fourth quarter.
In the fourth, Indiana would keep up its lead, not letting Maine get back into the game due to continued great play from Teri Moren's group.
IU shot 8-for-18 from the field and 1-of-4 from three in the fourth, though still not letting up and keeping a 20+ point lead throughout the half.
The defense from IU was also very solid in the fourth quarter and throughout the second half as, with IU shooting as well as it did early on in the half, the combo of offense and defense was just too much for Maine.
This wrapped up what was an all around solid game for IU, as 3-point shooting early on and an impressive run to start out the second half powered it to the 78-53 win over Maine, moving the Hoosiers to 5-3 on the season.
FINAL STATS
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