With under four minutes remaining in the first half, graduate student guard Sydney Parrish made a wide-open layup that gave Indiana women’s basketball a 15-point lead over Iowa on Sunday — its largest of the day.
Parrish’s layup was the end of the Hoosiers’ 14-2 run. Indiana’s quick pace forced Hawkeye's head coach Jen Jansen to call a timeout.
Whether Jansen called the timeout to slow down a hot Indiana offense or give her team a reset, it did just what she needed it to do.
Right out of the timeout, Iowa junior guard Taylor McCabe made a basket from long range over junior guard Shay Ciezki. The 3-pointer started an 11-2 Iowa run to close the half. The run cut Indiana’s 15-point lead to 6 points heading into halftime. Even as the third quarter began, momentum remained with the Hawkeyes as a 6-2 run trimmed the Hoosiers’ lead to 2 points.
That’s when Indiana responded.
The Hoosiers went on a run of their own. Parrish made a 3 pointer with just over eight minutes left in the third quarter to spark an 11-3 run as Indiana regained its double-digit lead.
And although Iowa continued to put together runs and cut into Indiana’s lead, the Hoosiers never gave it up. Their resilience and ability to bounce back from Iowa’s lengthy runs allowed them to pull off a 74-67 upset and claim their third win over ranked opponents.
“We knew it was going to take a great effort from every one of us,” head coach Teri Moren said postgame. “There were moments where we gave up some stuff, but they’re really good. They’re really good offensively, and they’ve got great tradition and Jan’s doing a terrific job.”
But even though Indiana was able to leave Carver-Hawkeye Arena with a win, Moren said she was disappointed in her staff’s decisions late in the game as Iowa continued to rally, but she highlighted her team’s effort to play tough.
“Really proud of our guys, how hard they played,” Moren said. “We kept the lead, we built the lead, we kept it, we didn’t lose the lead, but obviously they came clawing back at us, and I felt like we just made big play, after big play, after big play.”
The Hoosiers' ability to maintain their lead was in large part because of their veterans. Parrish, graduate-student guard Chloe Moore-McNeil and junior guard Yarden Garzon led Indiana in scoring. Garzon scored 21 points, went a perfect 5-5 from beyond the arc and recorded five rebounds and four assists in her performance against the Hawkeyes. Moore-McNeil and Parrish tallied 18 points and 15 points, respectively.
“(Moore-McNeil’s) our leader,” Moren said. “There’s nobody, she and Syd (Parrish) both, that were more determined today to come in here and not go home without a win. So, she’s our heartbeat, she’s our leader and she was really good.”
Even though Parrish was tagged with multiple fouls early in the game, she didn’t let that stop her from making plays for the Hoosiers. She made three 3-pointers in the third quarter, which helped Indiana preserve its lead when Iowa came within 2 points early in the second half.
“There’s a lot of trust there with Syd,” Moren said. “Just trusting that she’s not going to be reckless and pick us some cheap foul, that she can play within herself, but still help us and still be aggressive for us.”
The Hoosiers (12-4, 4-1 Big Ten) are now set to face Illinois (12-4, 2-3 Big Ten) at 7 p.m. Thursday inside of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The contest will stream on Peacock.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Savannah Slone (@savrivers06) and columnist Ryan Canfield (@RyanCanfieldOnX) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
