IU women’s basketball cruises to win over No. 19 Tennessee

Yarden Garzon’s second quarter was so good she even broke into a smile while spending her 20th birthday at the 2023 Elevance Health Women’s Fort Myers Tip-Off.

The 6-foot-3 sophomore guard scored 11 of her career-high 23 points in the second stanza including three of her five 3-pointers as Indiana cruised to a 71-57 win against No. 19 Tennessee in Fort Myers, Fla.

The normally stoic Garzon couldn’t fight back a grin just before halftime as her teammates cheered her on after a third straight make from several feet beyond the 3-point arc.

With Garzon leading the way, IU outscored the Lady Volunteers 21-12 in the second quarter to take a 33-21 lead into the break.

Garzon’s teammates joined the 3-point party early in the second half. Sydney Parrish, Chloe Moore-McNeil and Sara Scalia all connected from long range in the first four minutes of the third quarter as the Hoosiers built a 44-25 edge. They’d never look back.

Indiana made 10-of-22 shots from beyond the 3-point arc. Garzon was 5-of-6 from three and added five assists and five rebounds.

Tennessee double-teamed IU’s Mackenzie Holmes for much of the game, but the Hoosiers’ proficiency from three forced a change in strategy. But when the Lady Vols played Holmes straight-up, she scored 12 second half points and finished with 17 and a team high six rebounds. Moore-McNeil added six assists and three steals.

IU limited Tennessee to just 35.9 percent shooting from the field. The Lady Vols were shorthanded, playing without leading scorer Rickea Jackson.

The win gives Indiana its first resume boost of the young season after suffering a blowout loss to Stanford.

The No. 21 Hoosiers (4-1) will face another good test on Saturday in Fort Myers when they take on Princeton at 11 a.m. ET. The Tigers are receiving votes in the polls and defeated No. 20 Oklahoma on Friday.