It’s not every day two top-10 teams face off at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. It’s not every day Yarden Garzon grins ear-to-ear after hitting a 3-pointer. It’s not every day the No. 6 team in the country beats the No. 2 team by over 10 points.
For the record-setting 10,455 fans in Assembly Hall on Thursday, Indiana’s 78-65 win over Ohio State was a night they’ll never forget.
Those in attendance witnessed the Hoosiers outscore the Buckeyes 27-6 in the third quarter. They roared as Garzon sank 3-pointer after 3-pointer from the corner. They exploded at ear-splitting levels when Mackenzie Holmes muscled to the basket, when Sydney Parrish grabbed a rebound, when Chloe Moore-McNeil dove for a loose ball.
They lost their minds when the final buzzer sounded, and sang their hearts out to the alma mater.
But to Indiana, it was just another game. And that, perhaps, is the biggest representation of what the Hoosiers are all about.
“I don’t think that we take any opponents differently than the other,” Mackenzie Holmes said postgame. “Especially in Big Ten play, knowing that every opponent we face night in and night out is going to be a tough competition.”
The Hoosiers entered the game with the same mentality as every other game, even though it was against one of the nation’s best teams. They had a game plan; they knew what to expect from the Buckeyes and they knew what they had to do to beat them.
“We knew the recipe,” Teri Moren said postgame. “We just had to be dialed in and focused on what the recipe was, and we had to execute it on both sides.”
Holmes, naturally, was one of the key ingredients in the crockpot that is Indiana women’s basketball. Throughout the first half, when Indiana struggled against Ohio State’s lightning-fast pace or full-court press, she was fed again and again in the post. And as she typically does, Holmes came through.
She led all scorers with 26 points on 11-of-13 shooting, which was why Indiana stayed in the game in the first half. At halftime, she had 18 points while no other Hoosier was in double figures.
Garzon, another staple for Indiana, was the other major contributor in the first half with nine points and five rebounds. While Holmes didn’t need any time to preheat, Garzon had to simmer for a little while before coming into her own.
The third quarter was when she reached her boiling point. In the span of just under four minutes, Garzon was automatic from the corner, sinking three…
