While Indiana women’s basketball’s defense made stops and effectively guarded the 3-point line, its offense struggled to put the ball in the hoop and limit turnovers. The Hoosiers got off to a slow start offensively against Columbia University in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament at Imperial Arena in Nassau, Bahamas on Saturday.
Junior guard Yarden Garzon’s 3-pointer provided Indiana with a spark offensively in the second quarter. And one minute after her first 3-pointer, Garzon made another and scored 10 of the Hoosiers’ 17 second-quarter points.
On her 21st birthday, Garzon recorded her first double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds in the Hoosiers 72-62 win over the Lions. Garzon shot 42.9% from 3-point range and was perfect from the free-throw line.
“On Yarden’s 21st birthday today, for her to come out and have a double-double for us was huge,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said postgame.
Not only did Garzon put points on the board for the Hoosiers, she also played aggressively to get rebounds for Indiana and led all players with her 10 rebounds.
“I feel like everybody understood how important (getting rebounds) is,” Garzon said. “We all want to win, and this was a huge thing for us. In order to win we had to get the rebounds, we couldn’t let them score from second chance anymore, and the coaches did a great job in emphasizing that. So, I think we all just want to win so much and if this is what the coaches want for us, we’ll be there.”
The Hoosiers tallied 42 rebounds compared to the Lions’ 30 rebounds and held Columbia to just 3 second chance points. Graduate student guard Sydney Parrish had nine rebounds and junior forward Lilly Meister notched eight rebounds.
Garzon also came up with crucial plays late in the fourth quarter for the Hoosiers when they were tied with the Lions at 60 with just over two and a half minutes remaining in the game.
With just under two minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Garzon drove to the basket and made a layup while she was fouled by Columbia junior guard Perri Page, which sent her to the free-throw line. She completed the 3-point play to give Indiana a 5-point lead over Columbia.
Then, Indiana went on a 12-2 run to finish the game and take the victory over the Lions.
Garzon’s performance in the pivotal minutes against the Lions was the opposite of her performance in the Hoosiers’ overtime loss to Harvard University on Nov. 7 and loss to Butler University on Nov. 13. Although Garzon scored 20 points during the first four quarters against Harvard, she scored zero points in overtime and only attempted one field goal. She wasn’t the experienced player the Hoosiers needed her to be in the crucial minutes of the game as a returning starter, according to Moren
On Saturday, however, Garzon was the leader the Hoosiers needed, providing them with an offensive spark and physicality in the vital moments down the stretch.
With its win over Columbia, Indiana advanced to the second round of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament and will face No. 18 Baylor University at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in Nassau, Bahamas. The winner will play in the championship game at noon Monday. Baylor is coming off a 101-55 victory over the University of Southern Mississippi on Saturday.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Savannah Slone (@savrivers06) and columnist Ryan Canfield (@RyanCanfieldOnX) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
