No. 21 Indiana women’s basketball had a plateful of competition on Thanksgiving Thursday, taking on No. 19 University Tennessee in the 2023 Elevance Health Women’s Fort Myers Tip-off. The Volunteers entered the game without their star graduate forward Rickea Jackson — the team's leading scorer and rebounder who missed her third straight game while dealing with a lower leg injury. Regardless, Tennessee stood as a formidable, ranked challenge for Indiana, one it passed with flying colors as the Hoosiers raced to a 71-57 win.
Both teams struggled to find the bottom of the net out of the gate, shooting a combined nine-of-41 from the field in a low scoring first quarter.
Indiana was the first team to find consistent offense, finishing the half on a 17-5 run and giving the Hoosiers a 33-21 lead into the intermission.
Sophomore guard Yarden Garzon was a problem for the Lady Vols’ defense, catching fire with four 3-pointers in a 16-point first half performance. Long-range scoring is a familiar theme with the Israeli-born Garzon who shot 45.8% from behind the arc last season, good for fourth-best in Division I. However, she shot just 3-12 from deep coming into the game. Garzon ended her performance shooting 5-6 from deep and finished the game with a career high 23 points.
“We believe in her,” Moren said. “We have confidence her, and it was great for her because she needed a game like this.”
The Hoosiers long-range shooting continued to scorch Tennessee to begin the second half, extending their lead by knocking down three more three-pointers within the first four minutes of the third quarter.
In addition to the points on the scoreboard, the 3-point barrage helped the Hoosier offense by opening up the paint. Indiana had struggled to find success close to the rim in its game against No. 4 Stanford University on Nov. 12, tallying just 24 points in the paint to the Cardinal’s 44. The Hoosiers’ success from deep was a different story Thursday, as the three-point shot stretched the floor which in turn freed space for the Hoosiers to score in the paint against the Lady Vols.
When the final whistle blew Indiana outscored Tennessee 32-18 in points in the paint. The Hoosiers’ AP Preseason All-American graduate student forward Mackenzie Holmes finished the game with 17 points, as the Lady Vols were forced to keep away from the double team in favor of protecting the perimeter shooters. Holmes noted the stark improvement when compared to Stanford postgame.
“None of us were happy after Stanford,” Holmes said. “We knew we had to be better, and we knew that we would be better.”
Tennessee was never able to find a consistent offensive groove and finished the game shooting 35.9% from the field. The Hoosiers offered a stout defensive presence in the paint with Holmes and senior forward Sydney Parrish, forcing the Lady Vols to attack from the perimeter. Indiana was content giving up three-pointers as Tennessee shot just six-of-20 from deep and was unable to attack to the rim.
“I thought we came in with the right gameplan,” Moren said. “It was a great win from us in a good environment against a talented team.”
The Hoosiers will be in action again on Saturday, staying in Fort Myers to take on Princeton University. The game will tip-off at 11 a.m. and will be broadcast on FSWBucs.com.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa), columnist Ryan Canfield (@_ryancanfield) and photographer Olivia Bianco (@theoliviabianco) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
