While No. 25 Indiana women’s basketball throttled Maryville University 95-27 on Wednesday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, it did so without four Hoosiers.
Junior guard Lexus Bargesser, sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont and freshman forward Sydney Fenn all missed the contest due to injuries. Graduate student guard Sydney Parrish suffered a right ankle injury just over three minutes into the third quarter and did not return.
Junior guard Yarden Garzon and sophomore guard Julianna LaMendola helped Parrish off the court before she went into the locker room.
Parrish returned to the Hoosiers’ bench approximately nine minutes later with an ice pack wrapped around her ankle. She finished the contest with a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
“She probably could have gone back in,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said postgame. “We just held her out for precautionary (reasons). She tweaked her ankle."
Bargesser sported a boot on her right foot, using crutches to walk before the contest began. During the game, however, she did not utilize the crutches. She wore a boot on her left foot for much of the second half of last season but did not miss any games.
“Lexi Bargesser is dealing with a foot injury right now, but she will be back,” Moren said. “Timeline –– not quite sure.”
Bargesser is expected to play a critical role in the Hoosiers’ season as she played 22.1 minutes per game last season. She reworked her shot in the offseason with assistant coach Ali Patberg’s guidance after averaging just 4.4 points per game in her sophomore campaign.
Beaumont donned a black Indiana T-shirt and black Indiana sweatpants Wednesday but didn’t show visual signs of injury. Moren explained postgame that Beaumont was out for precautionary reasons for a nagging injury.
“Beau is dealing with a little bit of a nagging knee that happened towards the end of the summer,” Moren said. “But again, expected to be back.”
Fenn wore a brace on her right knee and, like Bargesser, used crutches to walk. During the contest she sat in the front row of the north bleachers, elevating her right leg on a red Indiana folding chair.
Fenn was practicing with pain, and so she opted to have surgery on her knee for a preexisting injury before she arrived at Indiana, according to Moren.
The Hoosiers begin their regular season at 7 p.m. Nov. 4 against Brown University inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The matchup will stream on Big Ten+.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Savannah Slone (@savrivers06) and columnist Ryan Canfield (@RyanCanfieldOnX) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
