Coming off its 4-point victory against the University of Southern Indiana on Wednesday, Indiana women’s basketball returned to the hardwood Saturday against Penn State for its first Big Ten contest of the season.
The Hoosiers defeated the Lady Lions 75-60 inside the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pennsylvania, to improve to 7-3 and 1-0 in conference play.
Just over three minutes into the opening quarter, Penn State grabbed an 8-point lead over Indiana. While the Hoosiers went just 4 for 16 from the field in the period, they went on a quick 5-0 burst before draining a pair of 3-pointers to pull within 1 point after 10 minutes.
The two squads traded buckets throughout much of the second quarter, when Indiana’s Karoline Striplin began her dominance. The senior forward scored 8 points in the period while her counterpart, junior forward Lilly Meister, scored 6. They combined to go 7 for 7 from the field over the course of the quarter as the contest was tied at 30 at halftime.
While the Lady Lions jumped out to a 5-point lead in the opening stages of the second half, the Hoosiers responded.
Striplin scored 13 points in the third quarter as she led the Cream and Crimson to a 49-43 lead with just one quarter remaining.
Indiana truly seized control in the fourth quarter as it went on a pair of 5-0 runs. Junior guard Yarden Garzon connected on four 3-pointers throughout the period as the Hoosiers led by as many as 16 and eventually cruised to a 15-point victory.
Striplin led all scorers with 27 points, going a perfect 12 for 12 from the field. Garzon trailed just behind with 23 points as she went 8 for 14 from the field, including 6 for 10 from beyond the arc. Meister also tacked on 10 points.
In her first game at Penn State since transferring away to Indiana in April, junior guard Shay Ciezki scored just 5 points on 1-for-5 shooting from the field.
Indiana now has eight days until its next matchup against Bellarmine University at 2 p.m. Dec. 15 inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. 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.
