Scalia, Holmes Lead Indiana to Big Ten Women's Tournament Quarterfinals Win Over Spartans
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Friday afternoon, top-seeded Indiana women's basketball came back from a halftime deficit to fend off No. 9 Michigan State 94-85 in the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament quarterfinals.
The Hoosiers will face either Ohio State or Michigan in the semifinals on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.
A win is a win, but Indiana wasn't thrilled with the start and having to play catch-up into the second half. The Hoosiers ended up shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from three, but a bulk of that production came much later. Their 30 made free throws on the day kept Indiana alive throughout its struggles.
"We're not proud of how we came out in that first half," senior forward Mackenzie Holmes said. "I don't think any of us are, but the fact that we were able to kind of weather the storm a little bit and keep our foot on the pedal, keep chipping away at the hole we dug ourselves was really special, but that's not going to fly down the stretch here in this Big Ten Tournament."
Holmes led the Hoosiers with 27 points despite fouling out in the fourth quarter. Stillwater, Minn. native senior guard Sara Scalia put on a show in front of her friends and family scoring her second 20-point outing of the season.
"I'm from here, and a lot of my family lives here...and then some friends from throughout high school, and obviously playing in my home state where I grew up in — it's something special," Scalia said.
A 33-minute drive to her hometown, Scalia grew up going to WNBA Minnesota Lynx games at Target Center although she's never played here before until Friday.
On top of Indiana's poor shooting in the first half, junior forward Kiandra Browne went down with a right leg/hip injury within her first minute playing in the second quarter.
"She got hip checked by TT Parks," Moren said. "I watched it, and as we know, she's had two hip surgeries. She was on her way I think to to get X-rays off site."
Moren said she's praying for her player who's been ridden with injury throughout her Indiana career including this season when she was out almost the whole time with a right thumb injury.
"This group I think really came together," Moren said. "We love KB and this is a group that has their chemistry off the charts. Certainly there was probably some discussion on being worried but also wanting to take care of the business."
In the first quarter, Holmes got the early bucket, but a Spartans three in the next possession would build up a strong momentum for Michigan State that left the Hoosiers scoreless for over three minutes.
Holmes kept Indiana alive by drawing the foul and knocking down both shots, but fellow forward and Minnesota native Lilly Meister got two early fouls herself.
Indiana didn't make a field goal for five minutes while the Spartans built up a seven-point lead. After a smooth Michigan State jumper, Indiana called a timeout with just under four to play.
Back in action, Holmes sunk two free throws as the Hoosiers' six point total all belonged to her. With just above two minutes to play, Scalia hit a three to get the Hoosier fans going.
Each team exchanged a couple threes, but the Spartans kept a big lead finishing 24-14 at the buzzer.
"I thought we slept walked in the first quarter, came out slow, and you know, uncharacteristic of our basketball team," Moren said.
Junior guard Chloe Moore-McNeil, who ended the game with a career-high 19 points, hit a much-needed three to open up the second quarter, but Michigan State was a three-point machine.
Meanwhile senior guard Grace Berger started off shooting 0-for-5 as disaster struck for Indiana in a 12-point deficit. The Hoosiers chipped away but still fell behind 40-34 at the half.
"I did anticipate us getting going," Moren said. "I didn't think it would take till halftime, but you can't get away with it whether it's Iowa, whether it's anyone in the Big. Moving forward, it's a lesson learned for our players."
In the third quarter, the Hoosiers began chipping away at the lead as they cut it to three. In an incredible sequence of plays, Holmes got a block and passed it off to junior guard Sydney Parrish who missed a three, but Scalia got the offensive rebound. She dished it back out to Parrish who then passed it into Holmes for the layup and only a one-point deficit.
Freshman guard Yarden Garzon started to get cooking as she hit a three-pointer for the Hoosiers' first lead of the game. The Big Ten foes traded leads until Moore-McNeil hit a three to start to pull away.
The Spartans kept up, but Indiana regained the lead 59-58 at the end of the third frame.
To start the fourth quarter, Parrish hit two consecutive threes for her first points of the game to give Indiana its largest lead.
Garzon hit another triple to maintain a six-point cushion with just under six to play. Moments later, an intentional foul was called on the Spartans as Scalia sunk both freebies off the technical.
With three minutes to go, Scalia hit a triple to keep Indiana's lead despite Holmes and Garzon fouling out.
"[Scalia] is a worker," Moren said. "I am not surprised when she talks about her confidence level because your work is where you get that. When that thing goes up and she misses, we're surprised."
After plenty of stoppage with fouls and trips to the charity stripe, the Hoosiers live to see another tournament game.
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- HOOSIERS TO TAKE ON SPARTANS IN BIG TEN TOURNEY Friday morning, the top seeded Hoosiers will face No. 9 seed Michigan State in the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament quarterfinals. Match details and how to watch are inside the story. CLICK HERE
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