Indiana was defeated 69-39 by number 16 North Carolina in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game, as the Hoosiers simply couldn't keep up with the Tar Heels after halftime.
After beating both Columbia and Baylor to get to this championship game, IU was poised to take home a tournament title, but Teri Moren's squad couldn't get it done without fifth-year senior, Sydney Parrish, who missed this one after suffering an injury against Baylor.
It may have been just a six point game at the half, but UNC outscored IU 37-13 after the break, leading the Heels to a Battle 4 Atlantis title.
Yarden Garzon led Indiana with 10 points as the only Hoosier in double figures, the Hoosiers shooting an abysmal 16-for-55 from the field and 4-of-26 from three.
Indya Nivar and Trayanna Crisp both led UNC with 15, both shooting over 50% from the field, with Crisp shooting a phenomenal 5-of-9 from 3-point range.
This wraps up a 2-1 Battle 4 Atlantis weekend for IU, placing it second for the tournament after this rout at the hands of North Carolina. With all that being said, here's how it happened from Imperial Arena in The Bahamas:
IU TRAILS, BUT KEEPS IT CLOSE AFTER FIRST HALF
In this Battle 4 Atlantis championship game, Indiana found itself trailing after the first half, mostly due to North Carolina's efficient 3-point shooting in the second quarter.
The Hoosiers got out to a solid start, going on a 5-0 run to begin the game after a Yarden Garzon triple but, after that, it was a close battle for the rest of the first quarter.
Both teams didn't shoot it all that well in the first, with IU and UNC both going 4-of-16 from the field. Indiana did hit two threes in the opening quarter to North Carolina's one, but the Tar Heels ended up winning the quarter by a score of 11-10.
The second quarter started out as more of the same from these two, with neither team pulling away early in the period. Both teams started to shoot it better in the second, though, as the first quarter shooting woes didn't translate into the second.
Late in the second, UNC started catching fire from 3-point land, as the Tar Heels shot 6-of-7 from three for the quarter, making their last five shots from beyond the arc.
Trayanna Crisp, in particular, was excellent, making 3-of-4 long range shots to not only energize the UNC faithful, but extend the Tar Heel lead to nine before the end of the half.
Right after UNC took the nine point lead, though, Julianna Lamendola made a three of her own to beat the halftime buzzer and cut the lead to six before the half.
This ended the half 32-26, giving UNC a solid lead going into the second half, a lead that it did not give up as the game moved into the second half.
IU OFFENSE STRUGGLES MIGHTILY IN 2ND HALF
After shooting it a bit better in the second quarter, Indiana came out flat after halftime and struggled to get anything going offensively.
IU shot 5-for-24 from the field and 0-for-13 from three in the second half, both incredibly lackluster numbers, and truly historic lows for Teri Moren's group.
Things started turning for the worse right after the half, as IU had just two points in the first five minutes of the third quarter, allowing UNC to get out to a 10-2 run to start the second half.
After this, things didn't get much better for IU in the third quarter, as the Hoosiers scored just five points in the rest of the quarter, brining their third quarter point total to seven.
This was caused by not only poor shooting, IU going 3-for-9 with zero made threes, but also by turnovers. These have been an issue seen throughout the season for Indiana, and it was present in full force in the third, as the Hoosiers turned it over six times.
The fourth quarter was no different as well, as IU scored just two points in the first six minutes of the final period, furthering the offensive struggles of this second half.
Indiana finished the game scoring four more points in the final four minutes of the game, totaling IU at six points for the final quarter, just under the seven points the Hoosiers scored in the third.
This wraps up one of the worst offensive halves of all time for Indiana, and totaling the lowest scoring half of the season thus far.
This allowed UNC to cruise past the Hoosiers for the blowout win in this one, plus a Battle 4 Atlantis title
IU DEFENSE CAN'T CONTAIN UNC OFFENSE AFTER HALFTIME
Just like the Indiana offense, the Hoosier defense just couldn't find a rhythm after halftime, allowing 37 points which is just under Indiana's total of 39 points for the whole game.
After UNC started getting hot late in the first half, it continued its dominance after the halftime break, wasting no time in the third quarter,
It shot 8-for-16 in the third, going 3-for-5 from three and turning it over just twice. This followed up the second quarter perfectly for the Tar Heels, allowing UNC to take 21 point lead into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth, UNC shot 7-for-17 from the field and just 1-of-6 from three, cooling off a bit from the numbers seen in the second and third quarters, but it didn't matter as the Tar Heels already had a very comfortable lead.
The Tar Heels saw eight different players score in the second half, a very impressive number, as Indiana simply couldn't contain this UNC offensive attack.
While the defense in the second half wasn't quite as bad as the Indiana offense, it still allowed UNC to score at will at times, powering Tar Heels to a 69-39 beatdown over the Hoosiers and a Battle 4 Atlantis championship.
FINAL STATS
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