3 reasons IU women's basketball beat UNC: Sydney Parrish steps up, produces with the starters

BLOOMINGTON -- IU women's basketball was down Grace Berger. It was facing a consensus top-10 team in North Carolina.

It didn't matter.

The Hoosiers rode hot shooting and offensive versatility to nearly a wire-to-wire victory over the Tar Heels, staying undefeated and showing off how explosive they can be even while missing Berger in their 87-63 win. Here are three reasons IU handled UNC.

'A lot of different weapons': IU women's basketball shows versatility, dominance over UNC

Even without Grace Berger, IU has firepower

IU didn't miss a 3-point shot until around the 5-minute mark of the second quarter. It had made six straight before that, including two from Sara Scalia, who finished with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. She's one of many IU players who can either reliably knock down 3-pointers or create their own shot. The Hoosiers made 12-of-22 attempts from deep. Mackenzie Holmes, as usual, got to the rim from the post with 25 points and five rebounds.

Yarden Garzon hit two 3-pointers and attacked the basket for 9 points. She split ball handling duties with Scalia and Chloe Moore-McNeil, who scored 10 points. Even without Berger, North Carolina couldn't concentrate on stopping any one player. Indiana's ball movement and options were too much. Holmes passed out of double teams down low. Garzon could blow past anyone who closed out too hard on the perimeter.

IU relies heavily on its starters

Against Memphis on Saturday, IU's first full game without Berger, the starters all played between 33 and 39 minutes. The most active bench player was Kaitlin Peterson, who played 11 minutes but abruptly left the team before Thursday's game. Beyond her, Alyssa Geary and Lilly Meister each played 4 minutes. Lexus Bargesser saw the floor for 1.

That trend continued against North Carolina. The only sub to play more than 7 minutes was Henna Sandvik, who filled the lack of guards created by Berger's absence and Peterson's departure.

Production beyond the starters was always going to be a question mark, and who would contribute off the bench only got murkier when Berger went down.

Sydney Parrish has excels as a Hoosier

Sydney Parrish's move to the starting lineup has been seamless. The Indiana native and Oregon transfer started the season playing significant minutes off the bench; Moren trusted her enough to refer to her as a "sixth starter."

Parrish drained 9-of-15 shots Thursday, including four from beyond the arc, for 24 points. She also had six rebounds an assist. There were times in the second half when she appeared to favor her left leg, but it didn't prevent her from playing 36 minutes. She left to a standing ovation in the fourth quarter.

At worst, Parrish has shown she can slide into the starting lineup and smooth over the difference with Berger out. At best, Berger – who Moren has described as both day to day and out indefinitely – will come back to allow Parrish to balance out the rotations.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IU women's basketball vs. North Carolina: Hoosiers stay perfect