No. 17 Indiana traveled east to Portland, Maine, on Thursday night to take on the University of Maine Black Bears on a neutral court.
The match up marked the homecoming of All-American graduate forward Mackenzie Holmes. The star’s return to her home state was highly anticipated in the week leading up to the game.
As soon as the team touched down in Maine on Wednesday, the emotions for Holmes were certainly a talking point, as senior forward Sydney Parrish tweeted, “Just landed in Maine and I have never seen Mackenzie this happy.”
A crowd of 5,983 came to watch the Hoosiers and Black Bears, with lots of cheers for 54 in crimson.
But beyond all of the build-up there was still a game to be played.
While the Hoosiers escaped with a 67-59 victory, not much went right for Indiana in the first half.
The Hoosiers faced a 10-point deficit at the half, but Indiana rebounded in the second half to secure the victory as the Hoosiers moved to 6-1 on the year.
The Hoosiers came into the contest on a four-game winning streak and picked up two of those wins against quality opponents—Tennessee and Princeton
So, what went wrong for Indiana that kept the contest closer than expected?
Here are three things that the Hoosiers struggled with in Portland:
Slow starts for first line
Outside of Holmes, who tallied 15 points in the first half and 22 total, there was not much else to show for Indiana in the first half. Luckily for the Hoosiers, Parrish came alive in the second half, finishing with 18 points after going for only just 2 in the first half.
But the three other starters — sophomore forward Yarden Garzon and senior guards Chloe Moore-McNeil and Sara Scalia — shot a combined 8-for-30 from the floor. The Hoosiers cannot afford these kinds of on and off games against better competition, especially for Garzon, who was the star versus No. 20 University of Tennessee and Scalia, the star of the game versus Princeton University. Their totals were 24 and 28 points in their standout games, respectively.
Early rebounding differential
The Hoosiers finished the night winning the rebounding battle 36-35. The bad news is the Black Bears outrebounded the Hoosiers 29-25 through three quarters of play.
The Hoosiers, although the taller team, were clearly not ready for the physicality Maine presented. Indiana corrected its mistakes late in the game, outrebounding Maine 11-6 in the fourth quarter.
Anne Simon scorching the Hoosiers
Sometimes, players will start hot and stay hot. For Maine, that player Thursday night was graduate student guard Anne Simon, who finished with 34 points — including 25 in the first half. The Hoosiers got a little taste of a hot scorer, which they must adapt to and be ready for, especially with the star caliber players in the Big Ten.
Head coach Teri Moren spoke postgame about the parity in women’s college basketball and how the Hoosiers will get the best every opponent has to offer.
“It was going to be a tough challenging road game and that’s why we did it, it was intentional,” Moren said. “I am not surprised that we were behind, I’m not surprised we had to fight to win.”
Still, the Hoosiers completed the task and will return home with a 6-1 record. Indiana will take on Stetson University at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Sunday at 2 p.m on Big Ten Plus
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.
