Indiana Women's Basketball Remains Undefeated With 67-50 Win Over Butler

The No. 4 Indiana women's basketball team moved to 12-0 on the season with a 67-50 win over Butler on Wednesday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Mackenzie Holmes led the Hoosiers with 21 points, and coach Teri Moren was pleased with Lexus Bargesser's performance off the bench.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana women's basketball took care of business on Wednesday afternoon, defeating the Butler Bulldogs 67-50.

Mackenzie Holmes scored the Hoosiers' first five points of the game, signaling another dominant afternoon. Butler was unable to stop Holmes from catching the ball deep in the paint, and she made the Bulldogs pay with 21 points. Holmes shot an efficient 8-for-12 from the field, including 4-for-4 from the free throw line. 

Indiana coach Teri Moren thought Holmes did a good job of being patient and kicking the ball out when the Butler double-team came. As the game went on, Moren and the Hoosiers noticed Butler's reluctancy to double-team Holmes a second time in the same possession, which led to easy looks through one-on-one coverage.

Holmes 17 first-half points helped Indiana build a 17-point halftime lead despite moments of sloppiness. The Hoosiers turned the ball over 16 times, their third-highest total of the season behind 18 turnovers against Bowling Green on Nov. 17 and 17 against Penn State on Dec. 8. Moren thought Indiana could have built a greater halftime led if not for these turnovers.

"The games before Christmas break are always interesting," Moren said. "Way too many turnovers, just careless. At times I thought we were in a hurry. Maybe we were in a hurry to get home and open presents."

Butler came out of the halftime locker room hungry for a comeback, going on an 11-4 run to start the third quarter. The Bulldogs trimmed Indiana's lead to 10 points for the first time since the 7:10 mark of the second quarter. But Indiana freshman Lexus Bargesser jumped off the bench with much-needed energy, scoring the game's next five points to stop the Butler run. Holmes added a pair of layups and Chloe Moore-McNeil scored with a minute left to cap off an 11-2 Indiana run.

Moren believes Bargesser is a freshman with plenty of upside, and she was happy with her production off the bench on Wednesday. 

"I think what helps us best is when we really push the floor," Bargesser said. "When we're looking up the floor, trying to get run-outs, trying to get those easier points to get us going again."

Indiana's Lexus Bargesser (1) scores during the first half of the Indiana versus Butler women's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022 :: Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

And from that point on, Indiana cruised to its 12th win of the season. Despite losing star guard Grace Berger to a knee injury on Nov. 25, the No. 4 Hoosiers remain undefeated. Without Berger, Moren said each player is required to do a little bit more, but she's been overall pleased with Indiana's response to the injury.

"I'm not going to lie to you," Moren said. "We're ready for Grace to be back."

Following Holmes' lead, freshman Yarden Garzon scored 13 points on 4-for-11 shooting, Sydney Parrish added 10, Sara Scalia contributed nine and Bargesser finished with eight points, six rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal.

Next up for Indiana is a Dec. 29 road trip to Michigan State for a 3 p.m. ET tipoff. It's shaping up to be another impressive season for Moren and the Hoosiers, who have aspirations for a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. For Moren, who attended Seymour High School in Indiana, part of her has always wanted to lead the Indiana women's basketball program to relevancy.

"I always felt like if they had the right person here," Moren said. "This place could become special."