Indiana Sports 2023 Rewind: Women’s Basketball Most Memorable Moments
Indiana women’s basketball wrapped up non-conference play last Friday, dominating Bowling Green by 49 points to improve to 10-1 this season. The Hoosiers will continue Big Ten play on New Year’s Eve, seeking to defend last season’s outright Big Ten regular-season banner, the program’s first in 40 years. But those triumphs prematurely ceased in March Madness agony.
Indiana debuted as the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament last season. And going into the second-round game with No. 9 seed Miami, Indiana’s 28-3 record was the most single-season victories in program history under Associated Press National Coach of the Year, Teri Moren. As part of our “Indiana Sports 2023 Rewind” series, here is our list of superlatives for 2023.
Biggest win
The easy choice is the No. 2 Hoosiers’ defeat of No. 5 Iowa at home in February, 87-78. For that top-10 Big Ten duel, 13,046 fans showed up to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, breaking the program’s all-time attendance record of 13,007 at the WNIT championship game in 2018. The Hoosiers were led by Grace Berger’s 26 points and six assists. Mackenzie Holmes scored 24 points — held Iowa forward Monika Czinano to six — and Indiana withstood Caitlin Clark’s 35.
Most devastating loss
The loss to Miami in the tournament is the obvious pick. The Hoosiers were unbeaten in their 16 home games beforehand. Yet the Hurricanes didn’t trail the whole way through. With three minutes left in the game, Holmes tied it at 60-all. Miami went up 65-60, but two Berger free throws and then-freshman Yarden Garzon’s corner three brought the Hoosiers back even with 49 seconds left. On Indiana’s last possession, Garzon took it upon herself, and her superb crossover right-to-step-back three-pointer evened the score with six seconds to go. But Destiny Harden’s short jumper with three seconds left was the decider for Miami, 70-68.
Some Hoosiers wept on the court, and Berger held back tears in the handshake line. Like the Iowa matchup, Holmes and Berger were Indiana’s two leading scorers and combined for 39 points against the Hurricanes. In the post-game press conference, Holmes cried as she spoke about the loss being the final time she and Berger would play together in Hoosier uniforms together. At Indiana Basketball Media Days back in September, senior Sydney Parrish said the loss still hurt, but “that'll just be another thing that drives us through the [2023-24] season.”
Best individual performance
It just occurred in the Bowling Green game this past Friday, as Indiana moved to 6-0 at home. Sharpshooter Sara Scalia posted her best performance in an Indiana uniform within the past two seasons, draining eight three-pointers and scoring 32 points. Scalia’s eight threes tied her for second all-time on the Indiana single-game records, and it was the most by any Hoosier since 1993. For the first time since 2018, an Indiana player or players recorded back-to-back 30-plus-point games. In Indiana’s previous game versus Evansville, Garzon scored 30 points.
Other candidates from this past season are Berger’s near triple-double in the season-opener, then the above-mentioned Iowa game, and also when the fifth-year senior had 14 points and 10 assists at Purdue. Garzon had 19 points, knocked down four three-pointers, and also had seven assists against Wisconsin. Holmes had 29 points in that game. Parrish hit four-three pointers and had 24 points in Indiana’s top-10 win over North Carolina. Holmes shot 15-for-18 from the floor at top-15 Ohio State for her career-high 33 points. When Indiana goes 28-4 on the season and 16-2 in the Big Ten as it did in 2022-23, there are plenty of options to pick.
MVP
Berger, no question. Four-time member of the All-Big Ten first team — seventh all-time in scoring — second in assists — the program’s winningest player. Berger’s mid-range shot was automatic, she rebounded and defended, and was an outstanding facilitator and playmaker. Moren said this season that Berger used to be the team’s source of grit. When asked last March about Berger, Moren replied, “She helped build this program. We’re not sitting here where we are today, we weren’t sitting here a year ago, probably three years ago, without Grace Berger on this roster … she’s gonna be one of the very best to put on the uniform.”
Berger is irreplaceable.
Most memorable Moren quote
The last category shifts forward to this season. Moren is an honest coach. This quote is from Thursday, Dec. 7 — four days after the Hoosiers trounced Stetson 72-34 — and two days prior to the conference-opener at Rutgers. Allowing 34 points to Stetson remains as the fewest the Hoosiers have given up so far this season. Bowling Green came close Friday. But Indiana shot 5-for-22 from three-point, and worse, it let Stetson grab 15 offensive rebounds.
“If you would talk to them, they probably thought that they played pretty well [vs Stetson],” Moren said. And as I said to them, I was going to call them on their crap and make sure that they understood that — that performance — in terms of our inability to rebound better, we're setting ourselves up for losses in the Big Ten … so I think I caught them a little off guard, but I also think that they've responded. I've had conversations with several of [our players]. I think they appreciate the candor and the honesty … That’s my job as the leader to remind them.”
Indiana (10-1, 1-0 Big Ten) will continue conference play on New Year’s Eve and host Illinois.
Related Stories on Indiana Women's Basketball
- SARA SCALIA HAS CAREER NIGHT, MAKES EIGHT THREES: Indiana women's basketball hosted Bowling Green in the team's nonconference finale Friday night at Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers won 84-35, as Sara Scalia had her best game in an Indiana uniform. CLICK HERE
- INDIANA BEATS EVANSVILLE, GARZON SCORES 30: Indiana beat Evansville Monday night in the return to Assembly Hall. Sophomore Yarden Garzon scored 30 points, and three other starters reached double figure points. CLICK HERE
- INDIANA WINS BIG TEN OPENER: The Hoosiers closed out the victory at Rutgers as four players scored in double-figures. At the postgame press conference, senior Sydney Parrish announced her return for her fifth year. CLICK HERE
