Coming off a rivalry game win against Purdue on Saturday, Indiana continued that momentum, dismantling the 8th ranked Ohio State Buckeyes with a 71-61 win.
Behind an impressive Assembly Hall crowd, the Hoosiers played one of their most complete games of the season. Both its offense and defense shined during different parts of the game, particularly early on.
IU got out 12-point halftime lead, allowing it to retain a double-digit advantage throughout the second half, paving the way for the upset against a top-ten team.
Sydney Parris was terrific and was a part of a three-way tie to lead Indiana in points with 16. Shay Ciezki and Yarden Garzon also scored 16 in what was a three-headed monster that allowed IU to break Ohio State's press that had given the Hoosiers issues in previous meetings.
The Hoosiers shot 25-for-46 (54.3%) for the ballgame and went 9-of-17 (52.9%) from 3-point range en route to victory, while the Buckeyes shot just 24-for-57 (42,1%) from the field.
While the fourth quarter wasn't the prettiest stretch of basketball Indiana played all game because of this press, the way Indiana played the Buckeye defense to begin the game paved the way for this resume-boosting win.
With IU in the thick of the NCAA Tournament bubble, this was a game circled on the Hoosiers' schedule as a major opportunity to show the nation Indiana belonged, and Teri Moren's group responded tremendously.
With all that being said, here's how it happened on a very chilly Thursday night:
EARLY OFFENSIVE BURST GIVES IU LEAD OUT OF THE GATE
Ohio State threw a full-court press at the Hoosiers, but Indiana didn’t miss a step, breaking the press without fail and taking an early lead.
On the first four possessions of the game, Indiana turned the Buckeyes’ press into fast-break layups, giving the home crowd plenty to cheer about before the game had fully settled.
While Ohio State’s defense didn’t start as hoped, its offense did, as the Buckeyes went toe-to-toe with Indiana early on.
The Hoosiers started 9-of-10 from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, while Ohio State opened 6-of-9 to nearly match IU’s blisteringly hot start.
The score was tied 11-11 less than three minutes in, but that’s when the Hoosiers began to pull away. IU went on a 15-6 run to close the quarter and took a nine-point lead as the buzzer sounded.
Ohio State made just one of its final seven field-goal attempts, finishing 7-of-16 in the first quarter and enduring a three-minute, eight-second scoring drought.
Indiana ended the quarter shooting 10-of-16 from the field, with Parrish giving her team a major boost by scoring 12 points in the first 10 minutes.
With its defense coming together late in the quarter, Indiana built a strong foundation that paved the way for an upset against the eighth-ranked team in the country.
HOOSIERS RESPOND AFTER OSU STARTS 2ND QTR WITH A RUN
After Indiana took a 26-17 lead into the second quarter, Ohio State responded immediately with a 9-0 run to start the second period.
This tied the game at 26 just two and a half minutes into the quarter, prompting a Teri Moren timeout and silencing the home crowd for the first time all game. However, Indiana didn’t bat an eye after that.
The Hoosiers answered with a run of their own, closing the quarter—and the first half—on a 14-2 surge to take a double-digit lead into the break.
While Indiana’s offense clicked again, its defense was the driving force during the run, holding the Buckeyes to just 1-of-8 shooting in the final 7:30 of the second quarter and 5-of-12 for the period overall.
The Hoosiers, meanwhile, caught fire during the same stretch. They shot 5-of-7 to end the quarter, including three 3-pointers, giving IU a 3-of-5 mark from beyond the arc in the 10-minute period.
Indiana finished the second quarter shooting 5-of-8 from the floor, making up for the six turnovers it committed during the period—those being the main reason Ohio State climbed back into the game in the first place.
Despite the turnovers, IU brought high energy and excellent shot-making in the final minutes of the first half, reenergizing the home crowd that proved to be a major advantage throughout the rest of the contest.
IU USES STRONG DEFENSE TO CRUISE TO VICTORY
While the Buckeyes surely had plans for a second-half comeback, the Hoosiers prevented that—and then some.
Indiana was simply dominant in the final 20 minutes of play, turning a 12-point halftime lead into a runaway victory. IU never took its foot off the gas, particularly on defense.
Ohio State had put together a solid run to tie things up in the second quarter, but IU wasn’t having any of that in the third. The Hoosiers held the Buckeyes to just one made basket in their first four attempts of the second half.
The defensive effort didn’t stop there, as IU continued to stifle Ohio State throughout the quarter, holding the Buckeyes to just 4-of-12 shooting from the field and preventing any chance of a run.
On the other end, the Hoosiers shot 7-of-15 in the third quarter, marking their first period below 50% shooting. However, their 3-of-5 mark from beyond the arc allowed them to maintain momentum.
By the end of the third, Indiana’s 12-point halftime lead had grown to 18 points, giving the Hoosiers plenty of breathing room heading into the fourth.
While the Hoosiers couldn’t extend their lead in the final quarter due to offensive struggles, their defense and overall control of the game ensured they maintained a comfortable advantage.
The Buckeyes shot 8-of-17 in the fourth quarter and helped Indiana’s cause with two costly technical fouls—one on head coach Kevin McGuff and another for an intentional foul on Cotie McMahon.
Indiana capitalized, making 7-of-8 from the line in the fourth quarter, which helped offset their 3-of-7 mark from the field.
With superb defending and clutch free-throw shooting, the Hoosiers cruised to a one-sided victory in what may have been their best performance of the season.
FINAL STATS
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