BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Wednesday night, the Indiana Hoosiers hosted the Northwood Timberwolves for an exhibition matchup at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Indiana dominated from start to finish, winning 111-68.
By the end of the first quarter, Indiana was out to a 37-10 lead. The Hoosiers never looked back, leading by as many as 54 in the third quarter.
All-American Mackenzie Holmes led the charge for the Hoosiers with 28 points. The birthday girl shot a perfect 14 for 14 from the floor. Holmes, the Big Ten's reigning Defensive Player of the Year, added three blocks and three steals as well.
There's a lot to takeaway from Indiana's first and only exhibition of the season. Here's the three biggest takeaways from Indiana's win over Northwood.
3-point Shooting
As a team, Indiana went 11-22 from behind the 3-point line on Wednesday. They continued to rain down threes from all over the court throughout the game.
Sara Scalia made her first four 3-pointers of the game, ending with 17 points on 5 of 8 shooting from distance.
"It was really important, as a shooter to see your first couple go down is really big," Scalia said postgame. "Definitely a good game for me today."
Scalia's teammates took notice of her impressive season debut too.
"I don't think I was surprised at all with how she played," Holmes said. "Our whole team knows Sara, we all know what she's capable of. It doesn't surprise me at all the way she shot the ball tonight"
Yarden Garezon picked up right where she left off a season ago, knocking down her only two attempts from distance. Sydney Parrish added two 3-pointers of her own as well.
As a group, the Hoosiers' starting lineup combined to go 9-13 from downtown against Northwood.
It wasn't just the starters that got in on the hot shooting from 3-point range. Lenée Beaumont and Henna Sandvik both hit threes off the bench for the Hoosiers.
The Hoosiers shot 37% from 3-point range as a team last season. If they can improve on an already impressive figure, Indiana's inside-out threat with Holmes in the post could prove to be lethal for opposing defenses this season.
Indiana has a lot of quality depth
In Wednesday's win at home over Northwood, 11 different Hoosiers scored.
Lexus Bargesser was a standout off the bench for the Hoosiers. The sophomore had 11 points and seven assists in 20 minutes off the bench for Indiana.
"(Bargesser) had a great preseason," Moren said. "We expect a lot from her."
In her first game at the college level, freshman Lenée Beaumont added nine points, three rebounds and three assists off the bench.
"I think Lenée (Beaumont) is going to bring a lot for us, especially of the bench," Scalia said. "She's always in the gym, working to get better. She played good tonight and she's only going to keep improving."
Lily Meister provided the Hoosiers with great minutes off the bench tonight as well. The sophomore scored 10 points and added 14 rebounds in 17 minutes of play off the bench.
"Lily is an extremely hard worker, so it's bound to show in games," Holmes said. "She's shown a tremendous amount of progress."
After Holmes struggled with injuries down the stretch last season, the Hoosiers are going to need production from their depth -- especially in the front court -- to keep their All-American healthy for the entire season.
There's still work to do on defense
Teri Moren talked all offseason long about defense. If her team wants to get farther in the NCAA Tournament than they did a season ago, they need to improve on the defensive side of the floor.
"There was too many times where we gave up direct drives," Moren said. "It seemed like every time I looked up, somebody was driving down the (lane)."
Against Indiana, Northwood shot 40% from behind the 3-point line. A large portion of the 3-pointers came off of the Northwood guards getting into the lane and forcing the defense to collapse.
In the paint, Indiana was able to utilize its size advantage, leading to 10 blocks. The Hoosiers also forced nine steals and turned Northwood over 15 times on the night.
There's a lot for Indiana to improve upon defensively, but for the Hoosiers it starts on the perimeter at the point of attack and keeping opposing teams out of the paint.
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