BLOOMINGTON – Throughout the season, Indiana women’s basketball has struggled with inconsistency, especially on offense.
An upset victory at Iowa earlier in the week looked like a turning point for the Hoosiers. But, the Hoosiers hit another bump in the road Thursday night, as they fell to Illinois 68-54 inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
From the opening tip, the first half was a one-sided affair. A combination of Illinois’ physical defense and the offensive tandem of Adalia McKenzie and Kendall Bostic challenged IU. In the half alone, Bostic and McKenzie combined for 26 points out of Illinois’ 35. On the other end, the Hoosiers could not get anything to fall, finishing 9-of-26 from the field in the half. They trailed 35-22 at the break.
Indiana (12-5, 4-2) didn’t go away without a fight. Mostly on the back of Sydney Parrish, the Hoosiers strung together a few runs to cut the Illinois lead to as little as four. Shots were falling in the second half — Indiana made 63 percent from the field and converted on 3-of-5 three-point attempts in the second stanza.
Defensively, though, IU still had too many lapses to keep it close. Illinois (13-4, 3-3) continued to hit shots and put away the Hoosiers in the fourth.
Parrish, Chloe Moore-McNeil, and Shay Ciezki led Indiana’s scoring with 13 points each. After an impressive shooting performance against Iowa, Yarden Garzon was nearly invisible on the night, finishing with only three points on three attempts from the field.
Bostic led Illinois with 21 points and eight rebounds on the night, while McKenzie finished with 15.
The Hoosiers are back home on Sunday night as they face No. 4 USC.
