No. 16 Indiana Beats Rutgers 66-56 In Big Ten Opener, Parrish Announces Fifth Year Return

Indiana women's basketball (8-1) played at Rutgers (6-6) Saturday in the Big Ten opener. The Hoosiers closed out the victory as four players scored in double-figures. At the postgame press conference, Sydney Parrish announced her return for her fifth year.

Indiana women’s basketball defeated Rutgers 66-56 on Saturday in New Jersey, marking head coach Teri Moren’s 100th conference victory and the sixth-straight season the Hoosiers have won their Big Ten opener. Mackenzie Holmes scored a season-high 25 points, and Sydney Parrish posted 14 points and 10 rebounds for the third straight game, marking her second double-double.

Like Indiana’s recent win versus Stetson, the Hoosiers didn’t shoot great beyond the arc and at the free throw line at Rutgers. They went 3-for-16 from three-point range, and usual Hoosier sharpshooter Sara Scalia shot 1-for-6. Instead, Indiana starters manufactured points in the post, and the team also outrebounded Rutgers, 33-30. Rutgers was averaging double-digit offensive rebounds and was held to nine Saturday.

“I feel pain for them when they can't hit shots, because I know the work that they put in,” Moren said post-game. “For Sara, you want to see that one of those go down for her … Syd ended up knocking one down, but when you have nights like this where it’s like man, it’s not going down as easy as we would like, you do have to figure out how we can score the ball differently and not just rely on that … the system’s never been about just relying on threes.”

The Hoosiers trailed 10-9 at the end of the first quarter, the fewest points they’ve scored in an opening quarter in nine games this season. With 25 seconds to go before halftime, senior Chloe Moore-McNeil sank only the team’s second three-pointer to put the Hoosiers up 27-22. In the third quarter, Parrish scored half of her points to help sustain the then-single-digit lead. Parrish and Holmes totaled 18 of the team’s 22 third-quarter points.

Saturday’s win, the seventh consecutive for Indiana since the Stanford blowout, resembled the comeback victory at Maine in November: a close game in the final quarter, Parrish thriving in the second half, Holmes scoring 20-plus points, the Hoosiers shooting poorly beyond the arc, and only one player off the bench seeing the floor for 10-plus minutes. Rutgers trimmed the deficit to 51-46 with seven minutes left in the fourth. Indiana starter Yarden Garzon scored seven points in three minutes, restoring the lead to 12.

“Winning is really hard in this league,” Moren said. “And any time that you can go on the road and win a Big Ten game, it's a good feeling … It was just one of those nights where we had to keep the veterans on the floor because our outside shots weren't going down as easy. And you can't rely on inexperience when you're in a tight game like this. You rely on experience.”

About the continued development of that experience: Parrish headlined the postgame press conference by announcing she plans to return to Indiana next season to play her fifth year.

“If it’s okay with coach Moren,” Parrish said.

“Syd has been a great addition to Indiana and our program,” Moren said. “I kind of knew that that's where she was leaning towards and I'm glad that she could publicly be able to tell the media tonight. I'm certainly excited. I know our staff and everybody (too), Syd is a special kid. She's about all the right things and that's her team. She wants to win. She's uber competitive.”

Rutgers’ leading scorer, sophomore Kaylene Smikle, scored 19 points Saturday. Antonia Bates made three shots beyond the arc for 11 points, and Destiny Adams was the other Scarlet Knight to reach double figures with 10 points. Center Chyna Cornwell went perfect from the field, though only scored six points. Rutgers went 22-for-54 from the field, or 41%.

Indiana improved to 8-1 with the 10-point Big Ten opener victory. The Hoosiers get the week off before hosting Evansville at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 18. The game will air on Big Ten-plus.

Related Stories on Indiana Women's Basketball 

• INDIANA-STETSON GAME STORY: The Hoosiers comfortably won, though there were fits of rebounding hesitancy, and both sides didn't shoot well from beyond the arc. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA-MAINE GAME STORY: The Hoosiers rallied behind 17 second-half points by Sydney Parrish and 22 overall by Mackenzie Holmes in her return to her home state in the comeback win. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA-PRINCETON GAME STORY: Yarden Garzon's career night powered the Hoosiers past Tennessee on Thanksgiving. Two days later, Sara Scalia and Mackenzie Holmes scored 20-plus points to beat Princeton. CLICK HERE