No. 16 Indiana Beats Evansville 109-56, Yarden Garzon Sets New Career High With 30 Points

Indiana women's basketball didn't play all of last week due to final exams, and the team trounced Evansville Monday night in the return to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Sophomore Yarden Garzon scored 30 points, and three other starters reached double figure points.

Indiana women’s basketball guard Yarden Garzon scored a career-high 30 points Monday night as the Hoosiers routed Evansville, 109-56. 

Garzon went 12-for-14 from the floor overall, a personal best. And she wasn't the only Hoosier who was hot after the team's week off for exams. Indiana shot 71.7 % from the field, the highest single-game field goal percentage by any Division I team this season.

In November, Garzon hit five three-pointers as she scored her previous high 23 points against then-No. 19 Tennessee. Monday night, the sophomore only needed to hit three of four from beyond the arc to score 30 points, relying on more jumpers and layups.

''I felt good tonight, but I really didn't know how many points I had,” Garzon said. “So I just tried to play and be aggressive. I feel like our coach is doing a great job of trying to make all of us this one unit, and everyone knows their role. It's kind of easy to play with Mack[enzie Holmes] or Lilly [Meister] or Lexie [Bargesser] who is coming from the bench.”

It’s obvious, but these Garzon performances remodel Indiana in physicality and shot-making.

“She doesn't get sped up," Indiana head coach Teri Moren said. “She really plays at her own pace. She’s uber-talented … one of the things she wanted to add to her routine was a workout with [Holmes] during the week. That was because [Garzon] knew that we needed her to become more aggressive, if we were going to ask her to play with her back to the basket.”

As the Hoosiers led 27-15 following the first quarter, Garzon led with 12 points and senior Sydney Parrish had eight points via two three-pointers. Neither player scored in the second quarter, though freshmen Lenee Beaumont and Julianna LaMendola combined for the team’s opening six points and Holmes also scored six, finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

Holmes had an unorthodox statline, with seven first-half points scored all at the free throw line. Moren even took Holmes out in the beginning minutes of the game due to defensive mistakes. The veteran, however, then had 12 second-half points from the field. In the first and third quarters, there were clear scoring leaders like Garzon and Parrish, or Holmes. In the second and fourth, points were spread evenly. Four starters ended in double digits.

Indiana tied the program record in points scored in the third quarter with 34. Garzon and forward Mackenzie Holmes each scored 11 points in that span. And in the fourth, Indiana went on a 17-0 run to close out the victory. Despite the break in games, Moren said the team simulated 30 minutes with the scout team on Saturday. While the Hoosiers were on fire from the field, they only shot 24-for-34, or 71%, at the line.

“70% is not going to cut it,” Holmes said. “We work on it every day … we got by missing 10 free throws tonight, but if we do that in the Big Ten season, it’s not going to be good enough.”

Indiana hosts Bowling Green Friday in the non-conference finale. The matchup tips off at 6 p.m. ET and will air on the Big Ten Network.

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