Indiana Women's Basketball Finishes Bahamas Trip With Win Over Miami

Indiana ended its sunny trip to the Bahamas with a 53-51 win over the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday night. Hoosiers coach Teri Moren said it wasn't a pretty game, and her team got lucky in the end. She said they're all guilty of trying to do the right thing, starting with Mackenzie Holmes, who led the team with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

No. 4-ranked Indiana left the Bahamas with a win, but just barely after holding on in the end to beat the Miami Hurricanes 53-51 on Saturday night.

"We're lucky," Indiana coach Teri Moren said after the Hoosiers raised their recordto 5-1 on the season. "Sometimes you talk about winning ugly. I give Miami a tremendous amount of credit. They challenged us in every way, pressured us, sped us up."

It was junior forward Mackenzie Holmes's night for Indiana, leading the Hoosiers with 14 points and 11 boards. It was a nice bounce-back game after scoring only seven points on Thursday in the loss to No. 7 Stanford.

"It's going to be somebody different's night every night, so against Stanford, it wasn't my night offensively," Holmes said. "It doesn't mean I can't affect the game in other ways. 

"(Saturday), they were looking to throw the ball inside more. We knew we had an advantage, so it really just depends on the person that we're playing against and the looks that we're getting."

Moren said she felt the Hoosiers were in control early in the game, but let Miami (4-2) creep back into it, which is frustrating for a veteran group.

Indiana committed 24 total turnovers compared to Miami's 12. On the bright side, the Hoosiers shot 45.4% from the field, while Miami shot just 33.9%.

The first quarter ended with a 9-2 run by the Hoosiers, fueled by graduate student guard Ali Patberg's seven points. Before the end of the half, Indiana built up a 15-point lead and even utilized some of its bench.

"Loved Chloe (Moore-McNeil)," Moren said. "I thought Chloe was so good in that first half in particular with being aggressive. Miami speeds you up, so I thought she handled herself in a great kind of way."

Moore-McNeil played 11 minutes, contributing two points, two assists and one rebound. Kiandra Browne also saw some action, but got herself into foul trouble.

The Hoosiers went scoreless for the final 3:49 of the second quarter, and their 12-point lead (32-20) slipped to six by halftime. The Hurricanes must have believed they had a chance to defeat a ranked opponent. 

"This game, just like the Stanford game, will serve us well as a wake-up call for our guys," Moren said. "No lead is ever safe in our game."

Miami continued to battle in the second half. Graduate student guard Kelsey Marshall scored 20 points total and helped dwindle down Indiana's lead to one point in the fourth quarter.

Indiana led 52-40 with 5:02 to go, but then Miami scored 11 unanswered points to cut the lead to 52-51 with 43 seconds to go. Indiana ran down the clock and Patberg missed a three-pointer, but Holmes grabbed a huge offensive rebound to keep possession and was fouled. She missed her first free throw, but made the second and Miami's missed three-pointer as time expired allowed the Hoosiers to hang on for a win.

"I don't think any of us are walking out of that locker room thinking we played great," Moren said. "We have to be so much better when NC State comes to Bloomington on Thursday, and we will be. There's no doubt."

Patberg finished with 13 points for the Hoosiers, and Grace Berger and Aleksa Gulbe added 11.

Up next, the Hoosiers will host No. 5-ranked North Carolina State in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Thursday, Dec. 2 at home. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. ET. 

Related stories on Indiana women's basketball

• INDIANA TO PLAY MIAMI IN BAHAMAS: No. 4-ranked Indiana suffered its first loss of the season on Thanksgiving Day, losing to reigning NCAA champion Stanford in the Bahamas. Now, the Hoosiers look to finish the trip on a high note with a Saturday night game against the Miami Hurricanes. CLICK HERE.
• INDIANA FALLS TO STANFORD FOR FIRST LOSS: No. 4-ranked Indiana suffered it first loss of the season on Thursday, falling to Stanford 69-66 in the Bahamas. If there's anything to be thankful for in this defeat, Indiana proved it can hang with the champs even on a day when shots weren't falling for the Hoosiers.
• HOOSIERS BALL WITH STANFORD ON TURKEY DAY: The Indiana women's basketball team is soaking up some sun in the Bahamas over the holiday, but there is also plenty of important basketball, too, starting with a matchup against reigning NCAA champion and No. 7-ranked Stanford on Thanksgiving Day. CLICK HERE.
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