Having worked the ball around the perimeter and across the baseline in search of a scoring opportunity, a pass found Mackenzie Holmes with two defenders between her and the basket. The sophomore forward gathered the ball as she turned toward the rim and absorbed the contact to draw a foul on what became an and-one layup.
The ensuing free throw gave the Hoosiers a 27-19 lead, and before long No. 11 IU women’s basketball led by double digits for the remainder of its 77-49 win over Wisconsin on Wednesday.
“We kept our foot on the pedal,” head coach Teri Moren said at a post-game press conference. “Give our kids credit for finishing the job that they had to do.”
Wisconsin sophomore forward-center Sara Stapleton was inactive with an injury and junior forward Imani Lewis, the team’s second leading scorer, dealt with foul trouble all game after drawing two early whistles.
The Hoosiers had the clear advantage down low with Stapleton and Lewis sidelined, but Holmes and the other forwards were dominant no matter who was on the floor for the Badgers. IU outrebounded Wisconsin 50-22, including 18-6 on the offensive glass, and Holmes produced as many blocks as her opposition combined.
“The other thing that we haven’t had in our program in some time is a rim-protector like we have in Mack,” Moren said. “That certainly helps your second, third line of defense when you have a kid like Mack that can rotate over and alter shots and/or block shots.”
But Holmes wasn't just effective on defense Wednesday.
The Hoosiers have made a habit of feeding Holmes in the post as much as they can but those opportunities were limited their last two games. Against Wisconsin, however, Holmes had no problem making her presence felt around the rim on both ends of the floor. She shot 8-of-14 from the field and cashed in on all seven of her free throw attempts.
“It felt good,” Holmes said. “I was just kind of taking what the defense was giving to me. Against Michigan, they were kind of packing it in so I wasn’t able to get the ball.”
Holmes finished with 23 points, added nine rebounds and recorded five blocks. The sophomore forward was held to single digits in IU’s previous two games but notched her seventh 20-point outing of the season Wednesday.
With Holmes playing again like the reliable scoring option she’s been for so much of the season, the entire offense opens up for the Hoosiers down the stretch in Big Ten play as the postseason looms.
“She needed a game like this where she could see the ball go in,” Moren said. “Our ball movement generated some energy there and she got some easy, little pitch-ins with just single coverages that she was able to capitalize.”
