With shots hitting from long range and open looks inside, Indiana women’s basketball was efficient and dominant offensively against Wisconsin on Saturday.
The Hoosiers’ balanced scoring attack created success as they shot 53% from the field and 50% from 3-point range in their 82-53 victory over the Badgers.
Indiana’s offense found junior forward Lilly Meister continuously open underneath the basket against Wisconsin. Meister led the Hoosiers in scoring with 20 points, which tied her career high, and shot 69% from the field.
After the game, Meister said that after watching Wisconsin on film, the Hoosiers knew that Meister would have the opportunity to get open looks.
“We knew that was going to be open,” Meister said. “And we just read that really well.”
But Indiana also found ways to attack Wisconsin outside with its guards. Junior guard Shay Ciezki scored 14 points for the Hoosiers, while graduate student guard Sydney Parrish and junior guard Yarden Garzon each added 13 points.
Parrish was 5 of 6 from the field and recorded her second double-digit performance in her second game back from a left knee injury she sustained Nov. 24.
“Coming into these first two games back, coach just reminded me to always have confidence when I get the ball and have an open shot,” Parrish said postgame. “And she just really instills that in us, to have confidence and she has confidence in us.”
While Garzon left the game with a left leg injury early in the fourth quarter, she was able to record seven rebounds and five assists to go along with her 13 points.
“She’s very unselfish,” head coach Teri Moren said. “There are times where I want her to shoot the ball more and she’ll give it up. She’ll make the extra pass because she feels like her teammate it is more open or has a better shot.”
Efficient passing like Garzon’s was what created successful scoring for the Hoosiers against the Badgers’ defense. Indiana tallied a total of 25 assists with just eight turnovers.
“We talk about how much better of a basketball team we are when we’re playing in space, when we’re playing with pace, when we can get the ball out of our hands,” Moren said. “You heard me say it a lot of times, there’s moments when the ball sticks, we just hold onto it, and so we’ve really talked about our ball and getting the ball out of our hands quicker.”
Indiana’s passing efforts were led by graduate student guard Chloe Moore-McNeil, who recorded a game-high seven assists. While she was not one of the four players to score in double figures, her efforts on offense were crucial to the Hoosiers.
“I think you saw it from Shay and Chloe today, especially,” Parrish said. “Just trying to get the ball up, high assists, low turnovers, and that’s going to win us basketball games in the long run.”
Parrish added that if the Hoosiers can continue to put together high assist, low turnover performances, they will continue to find success.
And with Big Ten play in full swing and a matchup against No. 1 UCLA on Jan. 4, Indiana will need to continue to bring a complete and efficient offense to competition.
“There is a reason why they are the number one team in the country right now,” Moren said. “They are really good, and they have a lot of different weapons, and then they have great depth off the bench.”
The Hoosiers will face the Bruins at noon Jan. 4 inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall with the contest being broadcast on Fox.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Savannah Slone (@savrivers06) and columnist Ryan Canfield (@RyanCanfieldOnX) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
