BLOOMINGTON — Indiana women’s basketball took care of business in its Big Ten home opener.
The Hoosiers pulled away from Wisconsin in the first half and rolled to a 83-52 victory on Saturday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. IU (10-3, 2-0 Big Ten) has now won six straight games to close out the calendar year, and has now won 11 consecutive games over Wisconsin.
IU returns to action next weekend, for a huge game against No. 1 UCLA on Saturday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Here are three quick keys to Indiana’s strong performance against the Badgers.
A big second quarter
Wisconsin (10-3, 1-1) trailed IU by four points after a roller-coaster first quarter. The Hoosiers went on a 20-2 run throughout most of the period, but the Badgers answered with an 11-0 run to close out the quarter.
But Indiana really pulled away in the second quarter, outscoring UW 21-6. The Hoosiers shot 9 for 17 in the period, while the Wisconsin went just 2 for 10. They thrived with their passing in this quarter, with eight assists on its nine made field goals. They also forced five UW turnovers in the quarter, which they turned into nine points.
This IU team has shown the capability of this sort of “kill shot” quarter, particularly in December. This one wasn’t driven by one specific player — Sydney Parrish led the team with five points in the quarter, on her way to 13 for the game on 5-for-6 shooting.
Winning the inside battle
IU faced its toughest post challenge of the season so far against Wisconsin’s Serah Williams, an All-Big Ten first team selection last season.
The team has been tested on occasion inside, notably against Penn State. But Williams is the best forward the Hoosiers have seen so far, and one of the more physical bigs they’ll go up against all year.
And IU did a solid job in that matchup. Williams finished with 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting — her second-lowest scoring output of the season so far. She also recorded 11 rebounds and five turnovers. The Hoosiers rarely gave in to her physicality and didn’t allow her to take over the game for any stretch.
Lilly Meister held her own for Indiana, with a team-high 20 points on 9-for-13 shooting, with three rebounds and one block. Karoline Striplin snapped her streak of double-digit scoring games, and was less effective than Meister. But even while shooting 1 for 5 for two points, she still played a role in limiting Williams.
Good days for Ciezki and Garzon
Yarden Garzon filled up the stat sheet on Saturday.
The Israeli shot 5 for 12 from the field and 3 for 7 from 3-point range for 13 points, and she added seven rebounds, five assists, and a career-high four blocks. She, too, stepped into the low post at times and contributed to IU’s effort inside. But Garzon was pretty effective all over the court against Wisconsin, continuing her solid start to the season.
Garzon left the game in the fourth quarter after hitting the floor hard because of a collision with Wisconsin’s Natalie Leuzinger. The junior didn’t return, though IU didn’t need her with a big lead. IU head coach Teri Moren didn’t have any update on Garzon’s status after the game.
Shay Ciezki was also impactful for the Hoosiers, putting her speed to good use. The Penn State transfer shot 6 for 10 from the field for 14 points, with two assists and no turnovers, two rebounds, and three steals.
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