In a Sunday matinee, non-conference matchup, Indiana defeated Bellarmine in convincing fashion, defeating the Knights 95-61.
This was caused by an incredibly impressive all-around first half from the Hoosiers, with both the defense and offense shining early.
The offense, in particular, was spectacular in the first half, as IU found and hit countless open looks before the half.
This led to the Hoosiers carrying a 24 point advantage into halftime, an advantage they wouldn't look back from, as IU even extended its lead in the second half.
Indiana shot 37-for-66 for the game, with several players making key contributions throughout the contest, but Karoline Striplin really stood out, scoring 18 points in just 18 minutes, shooting 7-for-10 from the field.
Yarden Garzon, Henna Sandvik, Shay Ciezki, Lilly Meister, Lexus Bargesser and Julianna LaMendola were also all in double figures, showing the extreme depth this team has, while also leading IU to this well-rounded victory.
With all that being said, here's how it happened in Indiana's fourth straight win.
HOOSIERS JUMP OUT TO LEAD WITH EARLY OFFENSIVE EXCELLENCE
In this dominant win over Bellarmine, Indiana got it going early, as it used a strong offensive first half to jump out to an early lead.
Both teams shot it well early on for what was a very exciting few minutes but, after more time passed, Bellarmine slowed down a bit, while Indiana simply didn't.
After the first quarter, IU was 11-for-18 from the field, making 3-of-7 shots from 3-point range as well, with Yarden Garzon making two of her four attempts.
It wasn't just outside where the Hoosiers had an offensive edge, as Karoline Striplin really dominated around the basket as well.
She had eight points in the first quarter to lead all scorers, shooting 3-of-4, all of which coming in the painted area.
In the second quarter, it was more of the same, as Indiana kept putting the ball in the basket, leading to the Hoosiers' lead ballooning to an over 20 point advantage.
In the second, IU shot an even more impressive 10-of-13 with, again, shots inside and out, finding the bottom of the net to finish off what was an extremely impressive offensive quarter from the Hoosiers.
From deep, Henna Sandvik was the one to really get it going in the second period, as she made both of her two 3-point attempts, allowing her team to shoot 3-of-5 from three in the second quarter.
Just like in the first, Karoline Striplin was the one doing the most work down low, as she scored seven more in the second, shooting 3-of-3, again with all her attempts coming from the paint.
This finished a 21-of-31 shooting quarter for IU where it scored 54 points en route to a 54-30, 24 point lead at halftime that paved the way for a dominant victory over Bellarmine.
INDIANA CRUISES, EXTENDS UP LARGE LEAD IN 2ND HALF
In the second half, with Indiana leading by this substantial margin, the Hoosiers cruised for the rest of the way, hanging onto the 20+ point lead for the dominant win.
In the third quarter, IU wasn't as impressive as the previous two, but it still held the advantage for the quarter because of some more solid offense, coupled with some good defense too.
The Hoosiers shot 9-for-18 in the third, making 2-of-7 from three for their worst shooting quarter of the game up to that point, although not letting Bellarmine even sniff a comeback along the way.
That was because IU forced the Knights to shoot 5-of-14 from the field, their worst shooting quarter by far, allowing for the Hoosiers to even extend their lead in the third.
This style of basketball continued in the fourth quarter as well, as Indiana wasn't nearly as impressive as it was in the first half, but controlled the game enough to keep up its convincing lead for the entirety of the fourth.
In the final quarter, Indiana shot 7-for-17 for its poorest shooting period of the contest, not really getting things going compared to what was seen early on.
While this seems incredibly weak compared to how the Hoosiers shot for the rest of the game, simply controlling the tempo and playing great defense was enough to keep Bellarmine at bay.
BU shot just 4-of-14 for the quarter showing that, even with this large of an advantage, IU wasn't going to let the Knights get any easy baskets.
This all led to Indiana actually extending its lead in the second half, turning a 24 point edge at the half into a 95-61 win over Bellarmine.
This was an all-around great game for the Hoosiers, with the dominant first half setting the tone, while the second half allowed IU to breathe and cruise for its fourth straight win, now sitting at 9-3 (1-0) on the season.
FINAL STATS
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