Indiana women’s basketball freshman guard Yarden Garzon spotted up and splashed a 3-pointer over a helplessly undersized defender. “Shalosh,” the Hebrew word for three, roared through Assembly Hall’s PA system.
Hailing from Ra’anana, Israel, Garzon came to Bloomington a unicorn-like prospect with a tantalizing combination of size and playmaking ability. For the first time in her collegiate career, her mother, Ruth, was in attendance for a game.
The call was a nice homage. In Indiana’s Sunday afternoon thrashing of Wisconsin, Ruth — and Yarden’s twin sister Yuval — saw firsthand just how much Yarden has been embraced by Hoosier nation. Garzon finished the game with 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and received a mammoth ovation after being subbed off midway through the fourth quarter.
Over 10,400 fans attended the game. It was the highest total for a regular season game in program history, and the second overall. From tipoff to the final buzzer — despite the lopsided 93-56 result — seats were packed, and voices were heard.
It was 91-52 with less than two minutes remaining. Wisconsin freshman guard Ronnie Porter was shooting free-throws in front of the Indiana student section. Clad in candy stripes, their ferocity and derision for the opponent didn’t waver.
Head coach Teri Moren, currently in her ninth season with the Hoosiers, deserves a fair share of the credit for the transformation of the program. After miring in mediocrity throughout the late 20th century and largely being overshadowed by the men’s team, Moren has culminated consistent talent that has allowed the Hoosiers to take the step from good in previous seasons to potentially great now.
Basketball-wise, Indiana’s beatdown of the Badgers was impressive for a variety of reasons. Sure, Wisconsin is near the bottom of the Big Ten.
Still, the Hoosiers didn’t fall into a precarious trap. Playing a little more complacent against an inferior team is a tale as old as time. Behind the raucous Hoosier faithful, though, the intensity was on full throttle.
There’s perhaps no other player in the nation you would take over senior forward Mackenzie Holmes if you needed a guaranteed 20 points. Her dominant 29 point and eight rebound performance doesn’t do enough justice to how easy she was getting to the rim.
The game script evidently didn’t warrant offensive outbursts from senior guard Grace Berger and junior guards Sydney Parrish and Chloe Moore-McNeil, but the trio’s 12 assists and lockdown perimeter defense paved the way for the backups to close the game out.
On the other end of the floor after Porter’s pair of shots from the stripe, junior forward Kiandra Browne checked in for the first time. Immediately, Browne dropped in a layup and dove for a steal on the other end. Some fans had begun to trickle out in attempt to beat the inevitable mayhem in the parking lot, but the bulk stayed to show their appreciation.
If there’s anything that’s valued between the walls of Assembly Hall, it’s effort. Since Moren took over, through success and tribulations, there’s been no shortage of that.
After the game, the freshman core of Garzon, guards Henna Sandvik and Lexus Bargesser and forward Lilly Meister sat at a table near the baseline to sign autographs. Ruth and Yuval looked on proudly toward Yarden as she warmly greeted each kid in line.
On the court, Indiana has the firepower and defensive capabilities to compete for a Big Ten title and a deep run in March. Off the court, Moren has helped build a culture of excitement.
Standing in the first row after the game, one young fan perused through his autographed poster of the Indiana roster. He only needed a few more signatures to complete the collection. The buzz surrounding the Hoosiers isn’t exactly new, but it’s certainly growing.
With Sunday’s win, Moren became tied for the winningest coach in program history. She deflects to her staff, and most importantly the players, for creating a standard of success. In her tenure, she has coached a bevy of outstanding and talented individuals but still come short of the ultimate goal.
Yes, there’s a lot of season left. While the Hoosiers are in a great place with only one loss on the season, they are coming up on a gauntlet in which they’ll take on Illinois, Michigan and Ohio State over an eight-game stretch.
Will they boat race through those teams? I can confidently answer no. But I know the fans will be there every step of the way for the rest of this year, eager to see Moren and her group cement their legacies.
The Hoosiers’ win over Wisconsin wasn’t earth shattering. Still, the immense fan reception served as a reminder of the Hoosiers’ growing prominence and how impressive the program’s rise has been.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misstated the name of Yuval Garzon.
