Indiana women's basketball beats Quinnipiac, stays undefeated

BLOOMINGTON — Mackenzie Holmes was diplomatic.

Asking the senior center if this year’s Indiana women’s basketball team is better than previous years was like asking a mom to pick her favorite child.

“We’re just a different team,” Holmes said. “Different doesn’t mean we’re better or worse, we just have different pieces than last year.”

In this case, different is good.

Holmes scored a season-high 22 points on Sunday as the No. 9 (USA TODAY) Hoosiers improved to 5-0 with a 92-55 dismantling of Quinnipiac at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

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The Bobcats gave IU all it could handle before falling a year ago in Hamden, Connecticut, and it looked like it could be more of the same when the visitors made their first four shots en route to an 8-6 lead.

Indiana’s first two baskets were 3-pointers by Yarden Garzon and Chloe Moore-McNeil. The Hoosiers were just getting started.

Sydney Parrish hit one from beyond the arc to give the Hoosiers the lead for good.

Garzon followed with a second 3, then after two Bobcats free throws, the freshman from Israel drained her third 3. The tide had been turned.

“I was wondering when they were going to start getting out on Yarden, because she’s so dangerous beyond the arc, especially when she’s wide open,” said Holmes, who would take advantage of that early onslaught opening up the paint. “I think it’s just the confidence we have in each other to hit those shots is huge, and it’s always helpful to see the ball go in early in the game.

After another pair of Quinnipiac free throws, Indiana embarked on a 12-0 run to end the first quarter and never looked back.

A Holmes layup to start the second quarter made it 29-12, and the Bobcats’ bid to turn the contest into a halfcourt game was a distant memory.

“At the beginning, I thought, ‘Oh, no,’” IU coach Teri Moren said. “We looked a little lethargic, late to a few things, didn’t have the fight or the focus we needed to start.

“As soon as the ball start going down, especially from beyond the arc, it gives the crowd great energy and resonates with us.”

It resonated to the tune of forcing 27 turnovers to offset the Bobcats’ 41.7% shooting, the best mark against the Hoosiers in five games this season. It also produced 24 assists by the home team, which saw seven players score in the opening quarter and 11 total.

Indiana once again showed the ability to shift into a higher gear at both ends of the floor.

The Hoosiers revved the engine once more to cap the second quarter, using an 11-2 run to take a commanding 49-26 halftime lead with Garzon scoring all 14 of her points in the first 20 minutes.

“When the defense gets rolling, the offense follows suit,” Holmes said.

One might argue that it can also work the other way around this year with the defense following suit when the offense gets rolling.

Joining Holmes and Garzon in double figures were Grace Berger with 13 points and six assists, and Providence transfer Alyssa Geary with her first double-figure game as a Hoosier with 11 points.

Next up is a trip to the Las Vegas Invitational, where Indiana will play Auburn on Friday and Memphis on Saturday. It’s another chance for this team to show how different it is.

“This year we have new pieces, new faces, people coming from different schools and different countries,” Holmes said. “I can’t compare better or worse, I just think we’re different than we were last year in a lot of ways.”

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana women's basketball beats Quinnipiac, stays undefeated