Coming off back-to-back losses inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Indiana women’s basketball will look to rebound in its lone West Coast trip in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers will face off with Oregon on Friday before taking on Washington on Jan. 27.
The Cream and Crimson are coming off a 7-point loss to No. 4 USC on Sunday as they fell quiet offensively in the final quarter, allowing the Trojans to seize control with a 12-0 run.
After the loss to USC, Indiana head coach Teri Moren said the Hoosiers “just got to hit shots.” Just like when Indiana lost to No. 1 UCLA on Jan. 4, the Hoosiers had open looks but failed to convert them into points.
Junior guard Yarden Garzon, who scored 21 points and went 7 for 8 from the field in Indiana’s victory over then-No. 23 Iowa on Jan. 12, struggled the past two contests. In the Hoosiers’ 14-point loss to Illinois on Jan. 16, Garzon played 20 total minutes with just four of those coming in the second half as she totaled only 3 points.
Garzon totaled 10 points against USC and played 38 minutes, but she went 3 for 17 from the field and 2 for 11 from 3-point range.
“I thought she got some really great looks that didn't go down,” Moren said Jan. 19. “But we'll go back and look if there's ways, maybe, that we can get her a little loose, maybe get her going early, where she sees some of those go down. But we got to stay the course for her because we know how important she is."
While Garzon has struggled, so has junior forward Lilly Meister. After calling out Meister in the Hoosiers’ loss to Illinois for playing “OK,” Moren opted to slide senior forward Karoline Striplin into the starting lineup against the Trojans in Meister’s place.
Striplin played nearly 28 minutes, scored 10 points and corralled three rebounds. In almost 12 and a half minutes on the hardwood, Meister notched 7 points and five rebounds.
Moren plans to keep Striplin in the starting five as “there would be no reason to take her out.”
The Ducks’ details
Led by 11th-year head coach Kelly Graves, Oregon enters Friday’s matchup with a 14-5 record and a 3-2 mark in its first season in the 18-team Big Ten.
Friday’s matchup is the final game of the Ducks’ three-game homestand. On Sunday, Oregon notched a 1-point victory over Iowa, who the Hoosiers defeated by 7-points at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Ducks trailed by as many as 15 in the first half and 10 at halftime before storming back to secure the comeback victory.
Oregon has won each of its last five home games and has a 12-1 record inside Matthew Knight Arena with its only home loss coming by 13 points to then-No. 6 USC on Dec. 4.
The Ducks are led by graduate student guard Deja Kelly, who averages 11 points and three assists per game. Graduate student guard Peyton Scott adds 10.2 points and 2.6 rebounds per contest.
Oregon is playing its best defense of the year as it has held each of its last 10 opponents below their season-scoring average by an average of 14 points per game. It hasn’t allowed an opponent to reach 70 points over the 10-game stretch.
The Ducks won each of their two previous matchups with the Hoosiers as the most recent came in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
Parrish’s return
Indiana graduate student guard Sydney Parrish will make her return to Oregon on Friday after she played two seasons as a Duck from 2020-22.
Parrish entered the transfer portal following her sophomore season and transferred to Indiana, where she has since spent the last three seasons of her collegiate career.
Broadcast information
Friday’s matchup is slated to tipoff at 9 p.m. inside Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon. 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.
