Whether it was making the extra pass, finding the open cutter or taking advantage of a mismatch, Indiana women’s basketball’s offense proved to be nearly unstoppable. Its defense was the same.
The Hoosiers controlled the Badgers 83-52 inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Saturday in Bloomington to improve to 2-0 in Big Ten play. The Cream and Crimson shot 53.3% from the field while holding the Badgers to 34.6%.
After trailing by 3 less than two minutes into the game, Indiana went on a 12-0 run to take a 9-point lead. The Hoosiers followed it with another spurt — this time 8-0 — but the Badgers responded with an 11-0 run as Indiana led by 4 at the end of the first quarter.
The Hoosiers pulled away in the second quarter behind a balanced scoring attack as six players scored throughout the period. Indiana went on a pair of 7-0 runs over the course of the quarter as graduate student guard Chloe Moore-McNeil capped the half with a 3-pointer with just a couple seconds left.
At the half, the Hoosiers led 42-23 after holding the Badgers to just 6 points on 2-for-10 shooting in the second period. Indiana also accumulated 14 assists across the first 20 minutes while turning the ball over just twice.
While Wisconsin pulled to within 15 in the early stages of the third quarter, Indiana seized complete control. The Hoosiers outscored the Badgers 22-5 over the last 7:11 of the quarter to take a 32-point lead entering the final quarter.
Just 16 seconds into the fourth, Yarden Garzon went down with a left leg injury after a Wisconsin player tried to corral a loose ball but took Garzon’s legs out in the process. The junior guard walked off the court under her own power and later went into the locker room.
The fourth quarter was closer than the previous three as the Badgers outscored the Hoosiers by 1, but the latter still cruised to a blowout victory.
Junior forward Lilly Meister led all scorers with 20 points while junior guard Shay Ciezki added 14. Graduate student guard Sydney Parrish added 13 and Garzon finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Indiana (10-3, 2-0 Big Ten) has another week off before welcoming No. 1 UCLA to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. The contest will tip off at noon and will be nationally televised 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.
