For the second straight NCAA Tournament, Indiana women’s basketball gave No. 1 seed South Carolina a tough test.
IU took USC down to the wire in the Sweet 16 last season, but ultimately fell, 79-75, in the Gamecocks’ closest game on their way to a national championship. This year, in the second round on Sunday, the Hoosiers held control for much of the first half. But South Carolina stormed out in front in the third quarter, and Indiana couldn’t recover. The Gamecocks pulled out a 64-53 win to advance to the Sweet 16.
Indiana (20-13) went to halftime with a 26-25 lead. The Hoosiers played stingy defense in the first half, holding the Gamecocks to nine points in the first quarter and making everything tough for the first two periods. That opening quarter was South Carolina’s first quarter with fewer than 10 points since Feb. 16.
Chloe Moore-McNeil gave IU a huge offensive spark in the first half with 10 points, two rebounds, and an assist. But the graduate student couldn’t sustain that into the second half, as she didn’t score any points after halftime. This marked the end of her five-year career with Indiana women’s basketball.
IU led by as much as eight in the first half. South Carolina (32-3) made an 8-0 run in the second quarter to briefly take the lead, but the Hoosiers responded well to go back ahead at halftime. But Gamecocks came out of the locker room for the second half looking more like the No. 1 seed they are. They started knocking down more of their outside shots, increased their physicality that IU had trouble matching, and imposed their will on an Indiana team that didn’t have enough counterpunches to offer. USC outscored the Hoosiers 26-14 in the third period, with a 12-3 run in the middle of the quarter to break the game open.
Indiana ultimately didn’t get enough from Yarden Garzon, its leading scorer on the season, to pull off the upset. The Israeli shot just 4 for 13 from the field for 10 points with a team-high eight rebounds, four assists and two turnovers.But the Hoosiers entered this game 3-7 on the season when the junior scored 10 points or fewer; they’re at their best when she’s knocking down more shots.
Fishers, Ind. native Sydney Parrish also saw her career come to a close on Sunday. She recorded six points, four rebounds, four assists, three turnovers, and a steal in her final collegiate game.
Junior Shay Ciezki led IU with 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting. Senior Karoline Striplin chipped in 11 points, as she joined Parrish and Moore-McNeil in wrapping their college careers on Sunday.
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