Mackenzie Holmes has made the long trek home many times since joining IU women’s basketball in 2019.
The entire program will join her on that journey in November.
IU will make the 1,100 mile trip to face Maine in late November. Holmes grew up in the town of Gorham, Maine, with a population roughly the size of the number of seats in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
“I am so excited to announce that I will be returning to my home state with Indiana to face The University of Maine at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland on November 30,” Holmes said in a video released by IU on Friday.
Gorham is a town just outside of Portland. Holmes led Gorham H.S. to two state titles, and as a senior, she was named the 2019 Maine Gatorade Player of the Year after averaging 30.1 points, 16.7 rebounds, 3.9 blocks and 2.9 steals per game on 63.1 percent shooting from the floor.
“I can’t wait to play in front of my friends and family, and I hope to see you guys there,” she added.
Holmes will have plenty of supporters in the crowd. For her family it will be the easiest IU game to attend.
But Mackenzie wasn’t the first family member to travel the long path from Maine to IU.
Holmes is the daughter of two basketball coaches and her father, Lenny, took his team in vans to one of Bob Knight’s IU team camps that used to take place during the summer. When IU started recruiting Mackenzie, he told her of that trip, and the rich history of Indiana basketball.
Lenny and Holmes’ mother Denise have traveled the Maine – Bloomington path many times since their daughter joined the IU program.
Her older brother Cameron was part of the IU program as a practice player for Mackenzie’s first three years, transferring there from Bryant to support his sister. So he’s very familiar with the long journey as well. He is now a graduate manager at Illinois State.
But on November 30th, the Holmes family won’t have to travel. Mackenzie is coming home.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- Find us on Facebook: thedailyhoosier
- You can follow us on Twitter: @daily_hoosier
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
