She’s already one of the Hoosier faithful’s favorites. On Sunday, they cheered even louder for her during pregame introductions — all while she grinned ear to ear even more so than usual.
It had been 29 days since Indiana women’s basketball graduate student guard Sydney Parrish took to the floor with the Hoosiers. And 35 days since she was introduced in front of Indiana fans inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
On Sunday, Parrish returned from her five-game absence due to a left knee injury. In 19 minutes on the floor, she scored 11 points and hauled in seven rebounds in the Hoosiers’ 90-55 victory over Oakland University.
“I think she was really excited to be back and be with her team,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said postgame. “She’s the ultimate competitor. So, for her to be out there today and play the minutes she did and play aggressive like we’ve seen Syd play was a really good sign for us.”
Parrish began the first possession of the game with a turnover, which proved to be her only of the day. Just over two and a half minutes later, she drained her first 3-pointer of the game.
Despite failing to convert on her other shot of the first half, Parrish contributed elsewhere: on the glass. She hauled in three of her seven rebounds in the first half while also notching an assist and a block in the 10 minutes she was on the floor.
Indiana led by just 8 points at halftime over a team that entered the contest with a 4-6 record. But the Hoosiers went on a 19-0 run over nearly four minutes, which Parrish kickstarted with a 3-pointer and added to with another, to take a commanding lead.
The Fishers, Indiana, native took four more shots in the second half, making just one before she was subbed out with just under six minutes left in the contest to end her day.
“She was super excited,” junior guard Shay Ciezki said. “We’re competitors at heart and no one wants to sit out ... and she’s a big part of this team and the wins that we have.”
The Hoosiers now have nine wins. They also have three losses — two coming in blowout fashion to Butler University on Nov. 13 and then-No 16 University of North Carolina on Nov. 25, which was the only game they lost during Parrish’s absence.
Indiana handled Penn State on Dec. 7 in its Big Ten opener. With full conference play beginning against Wisconsin on Saturday, the Hoosiers couldn’t get ahead of themselves — and they didn’t.
“Sometimes these are interesting games right before the holidays,” Moren said. “You can be sloppy. They can check out a little bit, but I thought for the most part, our kids did a great job staying focused in on what we were trying to do.”
Now Indiana can turn its focus to Wisconsin, which it defeated by 14 points last season in Madison, Wisconsin.
For Parrish, who’s in the midst of her final season in Bloomington, missing nearly a month certainly wasn’t ideal, but it gave numerous Hoosiers valuable experience ahead of their 17-game Big Ten slate.
Sophomore guard Julianna LaMendola started in place of Parrish in all five games and averaged 22.4 minutes and 5.8 points per game. Although she scored 8 points in two different conference games last season, she minimally impacted the Hoosiers.
Junior guard Henna Sandvik notched a career-high 13 points against Bellarmine University on Dec. 15 as she played 26 minutes.
“So I think it's given those kids that we have on our bench that are waiting to come in and have an impact,” Moren said. “I think it's been really good to see those kids get a lot of time and meaningful time.”
Eight of Indiana’s 17 conference matchups are slated to come against ranked opponents. Not only will the Hoosiers need Parrish at her best, but they’ll also need the bench players to contribute.
But now with Christmas on Wednesday and the Hoosiers having six days until their matchup with the Badgers on Saturday, Indiana finished with an 8-3 nonconference record.
“It's been good for us to grow as a team and I think improve as a team,” Moren said. “We still have a lot of improvements to make, but it feels good to be able to take a break right now feeling like we can all catch our breath and be somewhat satisfied that we've finished non-con in the right way today.”
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Savannah Slone (@savrivers06) and columnist Ryan Canfield (@RyanCanfieldOnX) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
