After going 2-1 in the Battle 4 Atlantis last week, Indiana women’s basketball returned to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Sunday to take on the University of Maine.
Despite leading by just 8 points at halftime, the Hoosiers pulled away in the second half en route to a 78-53 victory over the Black Bears to improve to 5-3.
Indiana began the contest a perfect 5-for-5 shooting — four being 3-pointers — to take an early lead. As the Hoosiers began to miss their first shots of the game, the Black Bears drained six consecutive shots to pull within 6 and eventually trailed 24-17 at the end of the opening quarter.
After a rather high-scoring first 10 minutes, the second quarter was nowhere near the same. The two squads combined to go 10 for 27 from the field during the period as the Hoosiers were held scoreless for nearly five minutes.
Graduate student guard Chloe Moore-McNeil drained her third 3-pointer of the game just three seconds before halftime to give Indiana a 36-28 advantage at the break. Moore-McNeil led all scorers at the half with 15 points on 6-for-6 shooting while junior guard Yarden Garzon tacked on 9 points with her three long balls.
Out of halftime, the Hoosiers dominated the third quarter as they went on an 8-0 and 9-0 run in the first half of the period. They shot 8 for 11 from the field in the frame while going 3 for 5 from long range to take a 20-point lead with 10 minutes left.
Indiana head coach Teri Moren emptied her bench in the latter stages of the final quarter as freshman forward Faith Wiseman, freshman guard Valentyna Kadlecova and junior forward Sharnecce Currie-Jelks each played for three minutes.
Moore-McNeil led all scorers with 22 points while junior forward Lilly Meister finished with 18. The two combined to go 15 for 19 from the field in the blowout victory.
Indiana returns to action at 7 p.m. Wednesday against the University of Southern Indiana inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The contest 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.
