No. 14 Indiana women’s basketball (12-1, 3-0 Big Ten) handed Nebraska (11-3, 3-0 Big Ten) its first loss in conference play Sunday afternoon. Following Thursday night’s 80-59 win over Michigan which featured a 15-for-15 start from the floor, the Cream and Crimson hoped to carry that red-hot shooting into Lincoln in a battle between two of the Big Ten’s best.
Senior guard Sydney Parrish once more guided the Hoosiers to an early lead, knocking down four straight shots from beyond the arc to give Indiana a 19-12 lead with two minutes to go in the quarter. The Oregon transfer, in her second season with the Hoosiers, shot 7-for-7 in the first quarter of the Hoosier’s last two games.
Nebraska’s leading scorer, junior center Alexis Markowski, kept the Cornhuskers within reach, with 8 paint points in the opening frame. Additionally, s As the first quarter of play concluded, she showcased her ability to knock down the 3-pointer, drilling a buzzer-beater to cut Indiana’s lead to 20-15. as the first quarter of play concluded.
The Hoosiers graduate student forward Mackenzie Holmes had a quiet first quarter, scoring just a midrange jump shot, but she heated up when play resumed. The AP Preseason All-American began the second quarter with two early baskets in the paint to give the Hoosiers a 24-17 lead.
With Holmes garnering the attention inside the paint, Indiana looked again to its shooters from beyond the arc as sophomore guard Yarden Garzon and Parrish found the bottom of the net with long-range shots. Indiana rode a 7-0 run to extend the Hoosiers lead to 34-21 midway through the second quarter.
The remainder of the second quarter offered a back-and-forth affair as the Hoosiers entered the half with a 42-29 lead. Nebraska’s Markowski had 14 of the team’s 29 first-half points.
Although the Hoosiers didn’t have a perfect 13-for-13 quarter from the field like against Michigan, Indiana finished the half shooting a red-hot 8-for-13 (57.1%) from beyond the arc. Parrish headlined the performance with 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting.
Indiana looked certain to pull away as Holmes started the half with 4 straight paint points to extend the Hoosiers' lead to 17. On top of that, Markowski picked up a pair of early fouls, giving her four total, which forced Nebraska head coach Amy Williams to sub her out of the game to protect against fouling out. However, the Cornhuskers were able to surge back with the help of some perimeter shooting.
Four of Nebraska’s seven made field goals in the second half came from behind the arc, as the Cornhuskers cut the deficit to as few as 7 at 55-48. Indiana answered by ending the third quarter on a 14-1 run as they entered, entering the fourth with a 69-49 lead. Holmes headlined the run as she scored 11 of her 22 total points in the frame, all while Markowski sat on the bench with foul trouble.
Indiana’s sharpshooting Scalia added the exclamation mark on the Hoosiers' win with three made three-pointers in the final quarter; she finished with 19 points on the afternoon. The final whistle blew with the Hoosiers on top 91-69.
Next up for Indiana is a mid-week matchup with Penn State before the Saturday night primetime showdown against Caitlin Clark and the No. 4 Iowa Hawkeyes. The Hoosiers will host the Nittany Lions Wednesday night with the tip-off set for 7 p.m. inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall and the game will be broadcast on Big Ten+.
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.
