No. 14 Indiana Beats No. 4 Iowa 86-69 in Front of Sellout Crowd, Sara Scalia Scores 25 Points

No. 14 Indiana women's basketball beat Caitlin Clark and the No. 4 Hawkeyes Thursday night in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Sara Scalia scored 25 points and hit three 3-pointers as the Hoosiers shot 43% from beyond the arc.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Mackenzie Holmes’ smile with 90 seconds to go said it all.

Three days after losing by 20 to unranked Illinois, No. 14 Indiana women's basketball upset No.4 Iowa and Caitlin Clark Thursday night, 86-69. Holmes scored 24 points and smiled as the game wound down, previously stomping, yelling and waving her arms before a sold out crowd at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

“We had to come in here confident, too,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said postgame. “We talked a lot about confidence coming into this game, right before we tipped it off. I wanted them to be confident that we could get the job done. They performed at a really great level for us tonight … I think we had to have this win tonight to help us with our resume for sure.”

Indiana had plenty on the line. The Illinois blowout loss slid the Hoosiers to the wrong side of the fence for being able to host the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Indiana also had already lost to No. 2 Stanford in November, Iowa in January and No. 3 Ohio State this month.

Fifth-year guard Sara Scalia led all scorers with 25 points, shooting 7-for-14 from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 at the line.

“We didn’t have an answer for Sara Scalia tonight,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said.

Midway through the opening quarter, Scalia had made more 3-pointers than she did in the entire game at Iowa last month, when she went 0-for-4 and was flawlessly guarded by Iowa’s Molly Davis. But Scalia got into a groove Thursday night, hitting from the outside and beating defenders off of the dribble.

Meanwhile, Clark shot just 3-for-16 beyond the arc while scoring 24 points and finishing one assist shy of another triple-double. Kate Marshall had 19 points but went 0-for-6 in from the 3-point range. Indiana shot just 25% in January. The Hawkeyes shot 41%. On Thursday? Iowa shot 18%. Indiana shot 43%.

The 3-pointers decided this game. The Hoosiers led 44-33 at halftime before an up-and-down third quarter. An Indiana 7-0 run put it up 51-33. But Iowa soon cut that down to 53-42. That’s when Sydney Parrish chimed in and hit back-to-back 3-pointers. Parrish returned to the starting lineup for the first time in nine games. 

“Having Sydney back was huge for us,” Holmes said postgame. “Especially, down the stretch, she makes those hustle-plays, gives us those second-chance opportunities that we missed … midway through that third quarter you’re starting to feel a little bit of fatigue. The adrenaline that you get from the noise and fans in Assembly Hall, I can’t really explain the feeling.”

Iowa then went on a 12-3 run get within eight points, 62-54, going into the fourth quarter. But the Hoosiers got their bearings and pulled away for good to start the frame, thanks to Yarden Garzon and Holmes. 

Indiana improved to 22-4 on the season, and moved into second in the Big Ten at 13-3. The Hoosiers play Tuesday at Northwestern.

Related Stories on Indiana Women's Basketball 

• WHAT MOREN, HOLMES, SCALIA SAID: Here's the full transcript and video of Teri Moren's press conference following Indiana's 86-69 win over No. 4 Iowa on Thursday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. CLICK HERE
• WHAT BLUDER, CLARK SAID: Coach Lisa Bluder and superstar Caitlin Clark spoke with reporters following No. 4 Iowa's 86-69 loss to No. 14 Indiana on Thursday. Here's what they had to say. CLICK HERE
• WATCH PARRISH'S THREES: Indiana senior Sydney Parrish gave the Hoosiers a huge boost on Thursday night, knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the third quarter. Her two triples helped extend IU's lead in the Big Ten clash at Assembly Hall. CLICK HERE
• WATCH BARGESSER'S QUESTIONABLE FOUL CALL: Indiana's Lexus Bargesser was whistled for a ridiculous foul call against Iowa's Caitlin Clark in the first quarter of Thursday's Big Ten showdown at Assembly Hall. It might go down as one of the worst calls of the season. CLICK HERE
• WATCH BARGESSER'S BUZZER BEATER: Indiana sophomore guard Lexus Bargesser hit a huge shot against Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes at the end of the first quarter Thursday night at Assembly Hall. Bargesser's buzzer beater gave the Hoosiers a 23-22 advantage through the first 10 minutes. CLICK HERE