Indiana Women's Basketball Beats Memphis For Second Win at Las Vegas Invitational

The Hoosiers took down the Memphis Tigers 79-64 on Saturday to complete the Las Vegas Invitational undefeated. Senior forward Mackenzie Holmes led the way with 27 points, but it wasn't all spectacular as venue issues and a Grace Berger injury hindered the weekend.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Indiana women's basketball came and conquered the Las Vegas Invitational, earning its second win of the weekend by defeating Memphis 79-64. 

Senior forward Mackenzie Holmes had another stellar night finishing with 27 points on 10-for-13 shooting. She only missed three shots the entire weekend.

"Something I pride myself in is being efficient and getting the ball, getting shots that are good for me, shots that I've practiced," Holmes said. 

Despite a great performance from Holmes and company, the weekend was nowhere close to flawless. In Friday night's 96-81 win over Auburn, senior guard Grace Berger went down with a right knee injury within the first few minutes of the game.

On Saturday, Berger walked around the hotel using crutches although Indiana head coach Teri Moren said it wasn't required of her to use them.

"She's due to have an MRI tomorrow when we land," Moren said. "Then, we'll know more. All hands are on deck to get her immediately seen and figure out what's ahead for Grace."

Moren also said the invitational wasn't what was promised or advertised but wanted to make it clear that it wasn't the floor that caused Berger's injury.

She added playing in a ball room wasn't necessarily a problem, but more so the lack of a fan-friendly environment with the addition of delayed starts due to poor medical execution for injuries.

"This was not what was described to us as far as what the venue was going to look like, what the set up was going to look like," Moren said.

After an hour of waiting around, the Hoosiers finally tipped off versus Memphis with junior guard Sydney Parrish stepping in for Berger in the starting lineup. 

Parrish totaled the first four points trying to make quick work of the Hoosiers' offense, but the Tigers kept firing back and secured a 21-15 first-quarter lead.

"I challenged them in the second quarter to sort of get it going here," Moren said. "I don't have to say a whole lot because this is a veteran group, and they responded in the right kind of way."

Indiana woke up when junior guard Chloe Moore-McNeil hit a triple followed by Holmes' hook shot to spark a 10-0 run and earn back a lead just two minutes into the second frame.

Senior guard Sara Scalia was the first Hoosier to crack double scoring figures as she hit one from downtown helping the team shoot 54.6 percent from beyond the arc in the second. She would finish the game with four threes for her sixth game with multiple three pointers scored.

"Sara Scalia finally saw a couple of her threes go down early when we needed them," Moren said. "A combination of different kids stepping up at different times."

Indiana finished the half with a comfortable 45-33 lead before a 15-15 scoring tie by both teams in the third period. Still the Hoosiers pulled through and maintained a 12-point lead going into the fourth.

The final frame was highlighted by Holmes who shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the field to secure the win for the Hoosiers.

"She's starting to feel I think like Mack of 2021 prior to her knee injury where she was confident," Moren said. "She was moving. Her stamina, her conditioning was at an all-time high where she could stay in for extended minutes and play. Her footwork, her hands have always been terrific finding different ways to score."

In addition to Holmes, three other Hoosiers scored in double figures to finish with a 50.8 field goal percentage and 36 percent from beyond the arc off of nine made triples.

Indiana also shared the sugar totaling 19 assists on 30 made field goals, nine of which belonged to Moore-McNeil.

"We came here to do a job and to beat two good teams, very similar in nature in terms of them defensively and did what we needed to do," Moren said.

Up next, the Hoosiers will head back home to Indiana to prepare for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge versus UNC on Thursday, Dec. 1.

Related stories on Indiana women's basketball

• GRACE BERGER'S INJURY In the Hoosiers' Friday night 96-81 win over Auburn, senior guard Grace Berger went down in the first quarter holding her right knee. CLICK HERE
• GAME STORY: HOOSIERS RALLY PAST AUBURN Five Hoosiers scored in double figures to give Indiana a 96-81 win over Auburn in the Las Vegas Invitational. It came at a cost as senior guard Grace Berger went down early first quarter holding her right knee. CLICK HERE
• TERI MOREN AWARDED ESPN COACH OF THE WEEK The Indiana women's basketball program announced head coach Teri Moren was named the ESPN Coach of the Week on Monday after a 5-0 start and a diverse lineup complete with veterans, transfers and freshmen rotations. CLICK HERE
• HOOSIERS MOVE TO NO. 6 IN AP POLL The Hoosiers move up six spots in the AP Top 25 Poll this week following wins over Tennessee, Bowling Green and Quinnipiac. The full list is included inside complete with records. CLICK HERE
• 2022-23 INDIANA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Take a look at the full 2022-23 slate of Indiana women's basketball games complete with times and networks. CLICK HERE