COLUMBIA, S.C. — With senior forward Karoline Striplin’s open layup off a pass from graduate student guard Sydney Parrish, Indiana women’s basketball tied the University of South Carolina with just under a minute and a half to go in the first quarter.
Gamecocks sophomore guard Tessa Johnson missed a 3-point attempt on the other end of the floor and Parrish secured the rebound for Indiana. The Hoosiers had the chance to take the lead for the first time.
Graduate student guard Chloe Moore-McNeil took the opportunity to capitalize on the error from South Carolina. As she grabbed a pass from Striplin, she took a step, then rose up to shoot a 3-pointer, which she drained.
It gave Indiana its first lead of the game, one it didn’t give up until just over three minutes remained in the second quarter. And even then, the Hoosiers stole it right back.
The Hoosiers had outplayed the Gamecocks in the first half, but basketball games are not won in the first 20 minutes.
And South Carolina came out of the locker room roaring after halftime.
Junior forward Chloe Kitts made a basket within the first 30 seconds of the second half to take the lead for South Carolina, and the Gamecocks put their foot down the rest of the third quarter as they outscored the Hoosiers 26-14. After the period, South Carolina led by 11 points.
While Indiana attempted to make runs of its own, it wasn’t enough to upset No. 1-seeded South Carolina. The Hoosiers fell to the Gamecocks 53-64 Sunday at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina, in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32.
“You’ve got to hang with them each quarter,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said postgame. “That's, again, what's disappointing. That we didn't come out with the same sort of focus probably, ability to take care of the ball that we needed to, knowing that they were going to come out with more intensity.”
South Carolina left the halftime break with a new energy, one that was sparked by a halftime message by senior guard Te-Hina Paopao. Paopao said she told her teammates at halftime to “keep it simple” when they returned to the court.
Her words calmed down the rest of the Gamecocks, Kitts and South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said.
The Gamecocks’ composure made way for their strong third quarter. The scoring deficit for Indiana was created by long South Carolina runs, including a 9-3 run and a 10-3 run shortly after that.
But it wasn’t just a newfound intensity from the Gamecocks in the third quarter that led to the Hoosiers’ fall, as Indiana also suffered from its own careless mistakes.
“We knew that they were going to make runs,” Parrish said. “Like I said, they’re South Carolina. It’s hard for them to turn over, it’s hard to get them to turn over. They just came out with a lot of energy in that second half ... and we had some timely turnovers that led to easy layups on the other end.”
Indiana had five total turnovers in the third quarter alone compared to South Carolina’s one. But along with the turnovers, the Hoosiers were unable to make the same types of shots the Gamecocks were making, as Indiana shot 46.2% in the third quarter while South Carolina shot 68.8%.
While the Gamecocks’ third quarter allowed them to cruise to victory in the fourth, the Hoosiers showed their fight till the last second, which stuck out to junior guard Yarden Garzon despite the loss.
“I feel like I need to watch the game again to know exactly what happened there, but a few turnovers and a few bad shots that let them go for a little run,” Garzon said. “And I feel like we tried to do our best the whole game and we gave everything out there, so I’m really proud of my teammates.”
The sentiment was shared by Moren after the loss — not just “proud” about how her team played till the end, but about the season as a whole. With the 11-point loss to South Carolina, Indiana ended its season at 20-13.
“I'm really, really grateful, really proud of the group that wore the Indiana jersey this year,” Moren said. “In spite of all the ups and downs, we still had some really special moments, great moments that we will take from this, and hopefully, it will serve as motivation as we move forward.”
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Savannah Slone (@savrivers06) and columnist Ryan Canfield (@RyanCanfieldOnX) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
