A long layoff appeared to serve Indiana well.
Playing for the first time since a Dec. 8 road win over Penn State, the No. 3/4 IU women made life miserable for Morehead State on Sunday afternoon in Bloomington.
The Hoosiers (11-0) took the first quarter 28-4 including a 22-1 run to close the opening stanza — and never let their foot off the gas.
When it was finally over for the Eagles, Indiana had recorded its third largest margin of victory in program history with an 87-24 win. The win marked the 18th time the Hoosiers have held an opponent under 30 points.
“The challenge for our group was to come out of the gates early and to be enthusiastic and play with a bunch of energy,” IU coach Teri Moen said.
“We have had 10 days off, so there was a concern that we would be a little bit flat coming out of the beginning of the game. We challenged them at shoot around and once in our pregame talk just to come out and get off on the right foot. I was proud how they responded to that.”
Freshman forward Yarden Garzon led IU with a 16-point effort that included a 4-of-6 day from 3-point range. Sara Scalia (13), Mackenzie Holmes and Sydney Parrish (12) joined Garzon in double-figures.
The Hoosiers shot 55.9 percent from the field while holding Morehead State to just 17.6 percent. The Eagles had 25 turnovers and scored just .353 points per possession.
IU will close out non-conference play with a Wednesday afternoon matchup with Butler.
NOTABLE
- IU improved to 11-0 for the third time and first time under ninth year head coach Teri Moren. It’s the first time since 2013-14, when the program started its program best 14-0. Additionally, the program went 11-0 in 1992-93 and the program’s inaugural season of 1971-72.
- It’s the largest margin of victory since IU defeated Illinois by 60 (76-16) on Dec. 6, 1974.
- Morehead State’s 24 points are the fewest points allowed since 1975 against Taylor.
- Freshman forward Lilly Meister finished with seven points, eight rebounds and set a new career high with two steals in 16 minutes.
- Freshman guard Lexus Bargesser recorded a new career high in assists with six.
- Sophomore guard Mona Zaric recorded a new career high, seven points on 75 percent shooting from the floor.
- Graduate student forward Alyssa Geary finished with six points, five rebounds and set a new season high in blocks with three.
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