BLOOMINGTON — Indiana women’s basketball knew there would be challenges going into the NCAA Tournament.
And the fourth-seeded Hoosiers were certainly challenged on Saturday. No. 13 seed Fairfield, which entered Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on a 29-game winning streak, was clearly unfazed by the big stage and the raucous atmosphere. It became clear — quickly — that IU would have to really earn its spot in the round of 32.
And that’s exactly what it did. The Hoosiers pulled away from the Stags in the third quarter and came away with a 89-56 victory. Indiana (25-5) will take on the winner between No. 5 seed Oklahoma and No. 12 seed Florida Gulf Coast on Monday in Bloomington.
Indiana led at halftime, 38-34. Fairfield (31-2) came out aggressively and turned the game into a back-and-forth affair for the first two quarters. The Hoosiers faced a big moment in the second quarter, as Fairfield outscored them 31-26 to open the period and enter the media timeout with a 31-26 lead. But IU responded with a critical 10-0 run to flip the game around.
The Hoosiers fired their kill shot in the third quarter. After Fairfield cut the score to 46-43 less than three minutes into the period, Indiana went on a 13-0 run to break the game open. The Stags were able to stop the bleeding, but couldn’t find the run they needed to get back in the game. And they simply ran out of gas in the fourth quarter, scoring just seven points in the final period on a 2-for-15 line.
Fifth-year Sara Scalia led Indiana with 27 points on a 7-of-14 clip, including a 5-of-10 mark from 3-point range. Her speed was big for IU, as she regularly blew past Fairfield’s defense on drives to the basket and broke open its defense. She started to heat up from beyond the arc in the third quarter, going 2 for 4 on triples in the period and scoring 12 points. The guard drilled two more contested threes in the fourth quarter, and her final one gave her 100 on the season.
Yarden Garzon racked up double-digit points by halftime, as IU’s best 3-point shooter in the first half. The sophomore finished with 13 points on a 4-of-8 clip, including going 2 for 6 from beyond the arc. Garzon added six rebounds and three assists with five turnovers.
Mackenzie Holmes got off to a slower start, but made her impact felt on both ends. The graduate student shot 5 for 8 for 13 points, grabbed six rebounds, and swatted three blocks.
Chloe Moore-McNeil effectively ran the point for IU and made her typical steady contributions on both ends. The senior dished a team-high six assists and scored 13 points on a 4-for-8 line. She shot 2 for 3 from 3-point range.
Sydney Parrish filled the stat sheet across the board for the Hoosiers. The senior grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, and chipped in seven points, four assists with no turnovers, two blocks, and a steal.
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