No. 14 Indiana Downs Nebraska 91-69, Hoosiers' 14 Threes Tie Season-High

No. 14 Indiana women's basketball (13-1, 4-0 Big Ten) crushed Nebraska Sunday on the road. As she did against Michigan last week, senior guard Sydney Parrish erupted from the three-point line in the first quarter. By the game's end, Indiana matched its season high 14 three-pointers.

Sydney Parrish's first-quarter scoring explosion last week wasn’t an anomaly.

On Thursday against Michigan, the senior made three three-pointers within the first four minutes of the game as No. 14 Indiana women’s basketball beat Michigan 80-59.

On Sunday at Nebraska (11-4, 3-1 Big Ten), Parrish struck again. She sank three shots from deep in the opening four minutes and added another near the end of the first quarter. The Hoosiers went on to match their season high 14 three-pointers — the new program-record for road games — and defeated Nebraska, 91-69. 

After the first quarter, Parrish added two more threes to double her season-high set in the last game. Six in one game is the most Parrish has made in an Indiana uniform. And just like in the Michigan game, Sara Scalia followed suit on the perimeter to sink five threes. 

“I don't know if anything's really changed,” Parrish said. “I think just the confidence that coach and my team has in my shot. Being able to just keep shooting because they have so much confidence in me …. seeing a couple go down, last game against Michigan, I think that … a lot of shooters just need to see one go in and then it'll propel you for the next game.”

At halftime, Indiana led 42-29 and Parrish had 17 points by then. Nebraska center Alexis Markowski had 14 to keep the Cornhuskers within reach as other teammates got into the scoring mix in the second quarter. With four minutes left in the third quarter, Nebraska trimmed Indiana’s once-17-point lead to just seven at 55-48 with the help of four three-pointers. But Scalia’s second triple and Chloe Moore-McNeil’s halfcourt steal-and-score put Indiana back up by 12.

Moore-McNeil yelled at teammates in the huddle at Nebraska’s timeout.

“I definitely heard it,” Parrish said. “She's a really passionate player. She comes off sometimes as quiet and to herself … the game means a lot to her and for us to win and so she just kind of jumped us and the girls that were on the court … that the game wasn't over. Just because we were up by double digits, that doesn't mean it was over, and we can't make those mistakes.”

Indiana’s five-point run turned into 14-1 by the end of the quarter to go up 69-49. And with Markowski sidelined by foul trouble, Indiana graduate forward Mackenzie Holmes looked more comfortable, scoring 11 third-quarter points. The forward finished with 22 points, the ninth time doing so in the team’s 12-game win streak. Parrish posted 20 points, Scalia had 19, and Moore-McNeil was right behind with 16.

“One of the things about this group is, they stay in the moment,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said. “They knew that one of the things we had to do was keep the crowd out of it today. And again, just the poise, we’re a veteran team … so, you always revert back to that. That your team is mature and they're veterans, and they know how to handle themselves.”

Sunday’s game had 9,000 fans, the most this season for Nebraska, which entered the matchup an unbeaten 3-0 in the Big Ten. Indiana improves to 13-1 and 4-0 in the Big Ten. Only the Hoosiers and Iowa remain unbeaten in the conference. Indiana hosts Penn State on Wednesday and visits the Hawkeyes Saturday.

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