CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — No. 14 Indiana women’s basketball entered its matchup with Illinois on Monday with an opportunity to notch another crucial victory for the Big Ten regular season title race ahead of hosting No. 4 Iowa on Thursday.
Instead, the Hoosiers fell 86-66, their third loss by at least 20 points this season. In 2022-23, they finished 28-4, losing four games by an average of 3 points.
This season, however, they’ve already racked up four losses by an average of 21 points.
In each loss this season, Indiana has crumbled in the middle two quarters. The Hoosiers were outscored 28-11 in the second quarter against Stanford University on Nov. 12, 22-11 in the third quarter against No. 4 Iowa on Jan. 13 and 23-10 in the third quarter against No. 2 Ohio State on Feb. 4.
The defeat at the hands of Illinois was no different. The Fighting Illini outscored the Hoosiers 26-11 in the second quarter.
Why is Indiana getting dominated in middle quarters in its losses?
“I don’t have an answer for that,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said postgame. “I don’t know why our second quarter, sometimes we come out and we’re flat — I have no idea.”
The Hoosiers went 3-of-12 from the field in the frame compared to the Fighting Illini going 12-of-17. Illinois junior guard Adalia McKenzie led the team in scoring, racking up 10 of her team’s 26 points in the quarter.
Illinois held a 22-4 advantage over Indiana in points in the paint, driving towards the basket time and again as the Hoosiers couldn’t respond.
Not only did the Fighting Illini control the paint, but they did the same thing on the boards, outrebounding Indiana 10-4.
In the Hoosiers’ prior three losses, they averaged 17.6 turnovers per game. Turnovers continued to plague Indiana on Monday, giving the ball away six times in the second quarter and 14 times total.
“We cautioned our guys,” Moren said. “We got to go in and we got to be disciplined. We got to be able to execute. We got to be able to guard better. We got to be able to outrebound them.”
When the buzzer sounded to commence the second quarter, the Hoosiers failed to enact Moren’s warnings about Illinois.
While the defense struggled to guard the Fighting Illini, the offense sputtered. Although graduate student forward Mackenzie Holmes notched 7 points in the second quarter, sophomore guard Lexus Bargesser and fifth-year senior guard Sara Scalia each chipped in only 2 points.
Monday marks just another chapter in Indiana’s mid-game struggles.
“We’ve tried to switch some things ... in the third quarter out of halftime to get out there a little bit earlier and get us warmed back up,” Moren said. "Today was all about Illinois.”
Although there were two quarters left to play coming out of halftime, Indiana dug itself a hole that proved too deep to climb out of.
The Hoosiers outscored the Fighting Illini 19-17 in the third quarter, pulling to within 14 points at the start of the fourth quarter. And while Indiana pulled to within 8 with 3:17 left in the contest, Illinois finished the game on a 15-3 run to seal the Hoosiers’ fourth loss of the season.
With the loss, Indiana’s likelihood of winning the Big Ten regular season title outright is likely gone, barring considerable help from Big Ten foes. If the Hoosiers win their remaining three contests, Iowa defeats Ohio State on March 3 and the Buckeyes falter in another game, the Hoosiers will earn a share of the title.
To do that, though, recovering from the 20-point shortcoming on the road is a necessity to compete with Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes. Moren explained that her squad must flush the loss and move on.
Although the Hoosiers have yet to defeat a ranked opponent in three tries this season, Thursday provides an opportunity to shift the narrative and defeat the No. 4 Hawkeyes at 8 p.m. inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
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.
