Indiana women’s basketball was hoping to rest Mackenzie Holmes during its Big Ten Tournament opener.
Holmes entered Friday’s quarterfinal game against Michigan recovering from a knee injury she suffered on Sunday against Maryland. She participated in IU’s morning shootaround, and was listed as questionable on the team’s availability report.
But IU head coach Teri Moren told Big Ten Network at halftime that the fifth-year may not enter the game if the Hoosiers could maintain their comfortable lead.
They didn’t. Holmes checked in with 6:28 left in the game. It didn’t matter. Michigan rode a dominant second-half performance to a 69-56 win.
Holmes entered the game cold off the bench and struggled to make an impact — particularly as Michigan (20-12, 10-9 Big Ten) had all the momentum. The fifth-year went 0 for 2 from the field, missing open looks a healthy Holmes would make with ease.
Indiana (24-5, 15-4 Big Ten) led at halftime, 35-21. The first quarter of the game was a defensive battle, as the teams shot a combined 9 of 32 from the field. But IU found its groove in the second quarter, outscoring the Wolverines 23-12.
But Michigan stormed back in the third quarter. Indiana’s offense dried up, with a 21.4 percent clip from the field and seven turnovers, and the Wolverine offense — led by Laila Phelia — took off. IU had no answers for Phelia, who racked up a career-high 30 points on 12-of-22 shooting.
Michigan outscored IU 19-8 in the third quarter, and it only got worse in the fourth quarter. The Wolverines surged to a 29-13 advantage in the final period, as the Hoosiers shot 35.7 percent from the field and made everything difficult for themselves. Indiana’s defense particularly fell apart in the fourth quarter, giving up straight line drives to Michigan players too many times and letting mistakes spill over from one end to the other.
Sydney Parrish left the game early in the third quarter and went to the locker room after landing awkwardly on a steal attempt. She returned later in the period, but that moment was when Michigan began its comeback. Parrish finished with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting and a team-high nine rebounds.
Sara Scalia had 11 points by halftime, but shot just 1 for 7 in the second half for three points. Chloe Moore-McNeil finished with 10 points. Yarden Garzon scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Lilly Meister was also questionable entering the game with an ankle injury, but she played 22 minutes compared to Holmes’ five. Meister recorded two points and two rebounds.
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