Mackenzie Holmes Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, 6 Other Hoosiers Earn Awards

Indiana women's basketball forward Mackenzie Holmes earns Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year while six other Hoosiers including Coach Teri Moren earn conference honors, the league announced Tuesday.

© Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Seven Hoosiers earn Big Ten conference awards including senior forward Mackenzie Holmes as Defensive Player of the Year, the first Hoosier to ever win this honor.

Head coach Teri Moren earns her second Coach of the Year honor while guards Grace Berger, Sydney Parrish, Sara Scalia and Yarden Garzon were given their own respective awards.

Holmes is averaging a team-high 22.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per contest showing she's sound on both sides of the ball. She's led the team in scoring on 22 occasions this season and has reached double-figure scoring in all 28 games. Holmes leads the league with 53 blocks and also averages 1.1 steals per contest.

With her precise 69.5 field goal shooting that leads the Big Ten, Holmes has moved up to tie sixth all-time leading scorer Cindy Bumgarner with 1,865 total points. She's also second in total blocks with 203 across four seasons.

Holmes earned a unanimous first team All-Big Ten honor from coaches and media as graduate student guard Berger earned herself a spot on the first team too.

Berger is now a four-time first team All-Big Ten honoree as only one of four Hoosiers to achieve this milestone. The Louisville, Ky. native is averaging 12.4 points per game, a team-high 5.9 assists and 4.6 rebounds. 

Despite missing eight games due to a right knee injury earlier this season, Berger still scored double figures in 14 games.

Indiana's Mackenzie Holmes (54) and Grace Berger (34) kiss the Big Ten Championship Trophy after the second half of the Indiana versus Purdue women's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023 :: © Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Sharon, Tenn. native guard Moore-McNeil landed a spot on the media's second team after earning her way into the starting lineup this season. Starting all 28 games and often tasked with guarding the opponent's best player, Moore-McNeil is averaging 9.5 points, 4.8 assists and four rebounds per game. She's set new career highs in just about every category this season.

Fishers, Ind. guard Parrish along with Stillwater, Minn. native guard Scalia and freshman guard Garzon all received honorable mention honors. All three are new to the cream and crimson this season and have found themselves in the starting position for at least part of the year.

Parrish came in off the bench for six games until earning her starting spot for the past 22 contests. She's averaging 12.4 points per contest, 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists on the season as she's reached double-figure scoring 20 times. 

Scrappy as they come, Parrish leads the team with 48 steals and is second behind Garzon in made three-pointers with 49 triples. 

Indiana guard Sydney Parrish (33) makes a 3-point basket as Iowa guard Gabbie Marshall defends during a NCAA Big Ten Conference women's basketball game, Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa :: © Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

Garzon from Ra’anana, Israel was beat out by Ohio State's Cotie McMahon as Freshman of the Year, despite winning four Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors this season. However, she's still putting up great numbers as a consistent starter all year.

Her 45.9 percent from the three-point line is fifth in the nation and tops the Big Ten. Garzon is averaging 11.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists in her freshman campaign and has scored in double figures 16 times.

Iowa's Caitlin Clark (22) drives on Indiana's Yarden Garzon (12) during the first half of the Indiana versus Iowa women's basketball at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023 :: © Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Scalia comes in off the bench to average 9.2 points and ranks third on the team with 45 made three-pointers this season. She's also the team's best free throw shooter with 88.6 percent from the charity stripe. Moren often describes the Minnesota transfer as the missing piece to Indiana's roster.

Indiana guard Sara Scalia (14) dribbles during a NCAA Big Ten Conference women's basketball game against Iowa, Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa :: © Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

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• INDIANA BASKETBALL TO KEEP SAME RANK IN WEEK 17 AP POLL Despite losing 86-85 to Iowa on Sunday, Indiana women's basketball will keep the same rank in the Week 17 Associated Press Top 25 Poll. The full poll plus season records are included in the story. CLICK HERE
• SYDNEY PARRISH: 'WE JUST GOT TO MOVE ON': Sunday afternoon, Indiana women's basketball dropped its second game of the season to Iowa in a nail biter between the conference's two best teams. Hoosier guard Sydney Parrish spoke with media following the defeat. CLICK HERE