Just three days after a historic 33-point blowout against Purdue, No. 14 Indiana women’s basketball hit the road to take on Wisconsin on Wednesday. The Hoosiers led for all but four and a half minutes, notching their third conference victory in a row with a 68-54 win.
The Badgers jumped out to a 3-point lead nearly two minutes into the contest before Indiana graduate student forward Mackenzie Holmes drained her second 3-pointer of the season to tie the game at six.
Fifth-year senior guard Sara Scalia hit a 3-pointer on the Hoosiers’ next possession to give them a 3-point lead. Despite leading for the rest of the first quarter, Wisconsin hung within 3 until tying the game with just under a minute left.
The Hoosiers turned it on in the second quarter, going on an 11-0 run to outscore the Badgers 21-6 in the frame and take a 41-25 lead going into halftime. Holmes and Scalia led all scorers with 12 points apiece in the first half.
Despite it looking like Indiana would cruise through the second half, Wisconsin responded in the third quarter. The Badgers went on a 10-2 run to open the half before both squads began struggling to get shots to fall. In the final five minutes of the frame, the teams combined for just seven points while the Hoosiers went 3-of-13 from the field compared to Wisconsin’s 6-of-9.
While Indiana made just three shots in the quarter, Scalia drained her 79th 3-pointer of the season to break the program’s single season record for most 3-pointers in a season. Amanda Cahill previously held the record with 78 in 2017-18.
The Hoosiers bounced back in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Badgers 20-15 despite being held scoreless for nearly three minutes in the middle stages of the frame. While Wisconsin pulled to within 13 points in the latter moments of the final quarter, Indiana emerged victorious.
Holmes led all scorers with 28 points, going 11-of-19 from the field. Scalia followed with 15 points, draining four 3-pointers while senior guard Chloe Moore-McNeil went 4-of-4 from distance.
Indiana (21-3, 12-2 Big Ten) will return to action against Illinois at 2 p.m. Feb. 19 at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. The matchup will be televised on FOX.
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.
