Mackenzie Holmes Puts Hoosiers on Her Back; Indiana Faces Top Overall Seed Next

Indiana trailed by four points in the closing minutes of Monday's NCAA Tournament Round of 32 game against Oklahoma at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, but All-American Mackenzie Holmes refused to let it be her final game.

Indiana's Mackenzie Holmes (54) is picked up by Julianna LaMendola (20) after the Hoosiers' NCAA Tournament win over Oklahoma. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana teetered toward elimination, but Mackenzie Holmes was determined to keep her All-American career alive.

No. 5 seed Oklahoma led No. 4 seed Indiana 64-60 with 2:41 left in the game, and the tension was palpable throughout a near-full Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.  There was little question where the Hoosiers would look for offense with the game on the line. The bigger question was whether the Sooners could stop her.

Indiana went right to its all-time leading scorer, Holmes, who made a crafty post move to score over the Oklahoma defense. No need for that game plan to change. The Hoosiers dumped it right back to Holmes on the following possessions. She drew a foul, and two free throws tied the game. 

After a missed Oklahoma three, Holmes made another signature move on the block for a personal 6-0 run. That shot gave the Hoosiers a two-point advantage, a lead they’d never relinquish. 

“In the biggest moment,” Indiana coach Teri Moren said. “She stepped up.”

Indiana closed the game on a 15-4 run in the final 2:41 to secure a 75-68 win over Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. The win also moved Indiana to 17-0 at Assembly Hall this season.

“I don't know anyone in the country can stop her in the fourth quarter, obviously,” Indiana senior guard Sydney Parrish said. “And so we just kept getting it to her and she took us to the end of that game.”

Holmes finished with a game-high 29 points, an Indiana tournament record. That included 12 points in the fourth quarter when it mattered most. It was an uncharacteristically inefficient night for Holmes, a 66.6% shooter entering the game. She went 4 for 11 from the field in the first half and finished just above 50% on the night at 12 for 23.

Holmes said she came out of the game frustrated a few times after missing shots she knew she could make. While on the bench, her coaches and teammates poured confidence into Holmes, which helped her maintain the confidence, energy and motivation required to win a tightly contested game that had plenty of lead changes.

The Hoosiers were in a similar position last season, when they were upset by No. 9 seed Miami on their home court. Moren admitted after Monday’s win she didn’t want to discuss just how much that loss was on the Hoosiers’ minds when talking to reporters on Sunday leading up to the game. But no doubt, they were out for revenge.

“It’s bothered us,” Moren said. “It really has.”

“I didn't want to end this game with a loss,” Holmes said. “I couldn't let it happen again. I know how it felt last year, we all know how it felt last year, and I was going to do everything in my power to not let that happen again. I just have a really great team full of people who believe in me, even when I don't believe in myself, and I think that's the difference maker.”

With this win, Indiana advances to the Sweet 16 and will face No. 1 overall seed South Carolina Friday at 5 p.m. ET at MVP Arena in Albany, N.Y., airing on ESPN. The Gamecocks enter the game with a 34-0 record after an 88-41 win over No. 8 seed North Carolina on Sunday. 

The challenge for Indiana – and Holmes, specifically – is monumental on Friday. To survive and advance, the Hoosiers must find a way to limit South Carolina’s 6-foot-7 center Kamila Cardoso. A second-team All-American, Cardoso averages 13.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 58.4% from the field.

Coach Dawn Staley’s juggernaut doesn’t stop with Cardoso, though, as five additional Gamecocks average at least 9.5 points. They withstood a few scares in the SEC Tournament, beating LSU and Tennessee by single digits and needing a last-second shot to down the Volunteers. But throughout the regular season, South Carolina routinely beat teams by 20-plus points and even won seven games by 40 or more.

Indiana will make its third trip to the Sweet 16 in the last four seasons, including an Elite 8 trip in 2021, all under Moren. They’re hungry to keep their season alive, but Monday’s win offered Holmes a chance to reflect in her final career game at Assembly Hall.

Holmes ran up the wooden bleachers in elation after Monday's win, something she did in 2022 after Indiana defeated Princeton in the NCAA Tournament. It was one last chance to soak it in.

"I just want them to know how much I love them," Holmes said. "They're the best fans in the country and I've been so blessed every second I've gotten to play in the Hall and I'll never take those moments for granted. The memories I'll take with me for the rest of my life and Assembly Hall is my favorite place in the world, so to be able to do that one more time was so special."