Two of Indiana women’s basketball’s last three defeats have occurred because of late fourth quarter collapses.
On Jan. 19 against No. 4 USC, Indiana held a 4-point lead in the final quarter, but its inefficient offense and defense allowed the Trojans to put together a 12-0 run. The Cream and Crimson lost by 7.
Just five days later, the Hoosiers blew a 10-point fourth quarter lead to Oregon. They were plagued with turnovers, that the Ducks capitalized on to come away with a 54-47 win inside Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon.
And Indiana was in the same position Monday.
The Hoosiers went on a 7-0 run to end the third quarter and entered the fourth with a 13-point advantage over the Huskies. But if they learned anything from their previous two games, it was that their lead wasn’t safe. Indiana needed to stay focused to walk out of Alaska Airlines Arena with a win.
“This is a team that realized we let one slip away at Oregon,” head coach Teri Moren said postgame. “Because we had the lead, we should have been able to keep the lead. So, we got to own that, and we did.”
But even with the Oregon game in mind, Indiana began to slip. Its shots weren’t falling like 53.8% of them had through three quarters, and a pair of turnovers allowed Washington to go on an 11-0 run and a 7-0 run to make it a tie game.
The Hoosiers, desperate to snap their losing skid, realized they couldn’t blow their fourth-quarter lead again.
“I think we all just said ‘We can’t do it again. We can’t have this lead and lose it again,’” junior guard Yarden Garzon said. “We just wanted to be really focused on what we are doing and execute, not just like go rogue and have like sloppy turnovers. I feel like we just wanted each other to be focused and do our best to stay locked in into the game.”
And that’s what Indiana did. Garzon and graduate student guard Sydney Parrish each hit a 3-pointer within the final two minutes of the game to give the Hoosiers the advantage.
While Washington still has time to get a final shot up, Moren said her team’s defense played the final possession “perfectly.”
“(Junior guard Hannah Stines) still had to shoot a pretty tough shot,” Moren said. “Chloe was on her side a little bit, defending her. I think it was rushed, and she got a good look out of it. But we played it as well as we wanted to.”
Indiana defeated Washington 73-70 for its first win since Jan. 12, when the Hoosiers beat Iowa. Monday’s win over the Huskies was essential in getting Indiana back on track after a tough stretch of games, which Moren acknowledged after Oregon. She knew Washington would pose a test for Indiana coming out of its third-straight loss — and the Hoosiers passed.
“And so, give our kids credit,” Moren said. “I said we'll see what we're made of. And I thought our kids showed up in the right way. It was a hard, hard-fought win and, and so I'm really proud of them.”
The need to win was felt by Garzon, who finished the game with a career-high 35 points and surpassed 1,000 career points with a 3-pointer in the third quarter.
“I feel like right now we are just desperate to win,” Garzon said. “Doesn’t matter how, doesn’t matter who is good, just really desperate to win. We need these wins.”
A loss would have given the Hoosiers a losing Big Ten record heading into February with three currently ranked opponents on their schedule. But now, Indiana will look to build momentum when they return to Bloomington for its next match up against Nebraska (15-5, 6-3 Big Ten). Tipoff between the Hoosiers and the Cornhuskers is set for noon Feb. 2 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The contest will be broadcasted on FS1.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Savannah Slone (@savrivers06) and columnist Ryan Canfield (@RyanCanfieldOnX) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.