Six Consecutive Wins For Indiana Women's Basketball As Wisconsin Falls 83-52

Indiana moves to 2-0 in the Big Ten as the Hoosiers pulled away in second quarter.

Indiana's Chloe Moore-McNeil (22) fakes a pass during the Indiana versus Wisconsin women's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana’s women’s basketball team was off to a great start in their Big Ten Conference home opener on Saturday when Yarden Garzon took an inadvertent shot in the mouth.

She had to leave the game briefly, but it didn’t seem like a big deal. The Hoosiers had already built an early 15-point lead in the opening period.

By the end of the first quarter, Garzon’s absence was far more magnified as 11 unanswered points from Wisconsin cut the Indiana advantage to four.

Fortunately for the Hoosiers, Garzon was only temporarily stricken. Once she returned, the Hoosiers kicked into overdrive.

Indiana out-scored Wisconsin 21-6 in the second quarter, more than enough cushion to lift the Hoosiers to an easy 83-52 victory in front of 11,212 fans at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Garzon, who later left the game with a more serious blow to her left leg in the fourth quarter, was pivotal when the game was one the line as Indiana was able to cruise past the Badgers and to a 2-0 record in Big Ten play.

Garzon scored 13 points, but she did much of her damage in the first half. Garzon had 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks at halftime. Garzon’s first half plus-minus was a whopping plus-29.

Indiana's Yarden Garzon (12) shoots over Oakland's Dani Grim (3) during the Indiana versus Oakland women's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“She's a smart kid. She's very unselfish. There's times where I want her to shoot the ball more and she'll give it up. She'll make that extra pass because she feels like her teammate is more open or has a better shot,” Indiana coach Teri Moren said.

Lilly Meister led Indiana (10-3, 2-0) with 20 points. Shay Ciezki had 14 points and Sydney Parrish added 13 points.

In addition to offensive heroics, Indiana did a good job on Wisconsin’s all-everything forward Serah Williams. She had 13 points and 11 rebounds, but also had five turnovers as interior defenders Meister and Karoline Striplin made her work for what she got.

Williams missed her first four shots and was never the dominant force her 20 points per game average suggested she could be. Moren said the gameplan was to crowd Williams as much as possible and also make wear her down.

Meister illustrated her mission in making this happen.

“We practiced a lot just shading her right hand, making her shoot with her left. And we were successful with that, and our guards did a great job of digging and doubling on her. We just executed our game plan,” Meister said.

Indiana’s stifling defense and unselfish offense were in evidence from the start. The Hoosiers rolled to a 21-6 start as Indiana shared the ball well with six assists on eight made field goals.

When Garzon left the game at the 3:01 mark, the Hoosiers were stopped dead in their tracks. Wisconsin had its only productive run of the game, a 12-0 surge, as the Badgers cut their deficit to 21-18 early in the second quarter.

It would be the last time the Badgers would provide any menace.

Starting with a 3-pointer by Parrish, Indiana began to pull away for good. Wisconsin would only make two more shots for the rest of the first half. Indiana had no such problem scoring.

From the 8:13 to the 4:47 mark of the second quarter, Indiana made all five of its shots to pull ahead by a 35-22 count. The unselfish Hoosiers had eight assists on nine second quarter shots made, including three assists each for Garzon and Chloe Moore-McNeil.

The punchless Badgers had no response as Indiana kept pushing until it had a 42-23 halftime lead.

Indiana's Lilly Meister (52) shoots over Wisconsin's Natalie Leuzinger (24) during the Indiana versus Wisconsin women's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The second half would prove to be just as dominant for the Hoosiers. The Hoosiers held the Badgers to 29 second half points as Wisconsin (10-3, 1-1) could not crack the 40% barrier in shooting.

The Hoosiers finished with 25 assists on 32 made field goals and had a season-low eight turnovers.

The one moment of concern occurred early in the fourth quarter when Wisconsin’s Natalie Leuzinger and Garzon collided during a loose ball scramble. Garzon’s left leg took the brunt of the hit.

Garzon was briefly on the floor. Though she was shaken, she got up under her own power and walked off the court. However, she was tended to by Indiana’s athletic trainers after the collision. She returned to the bench later, but Moren had no postgame update on Garzon's health.

It was the only downer for the Hoosiers as it was Indiana’s 11th straight win against the Badgers.

“I think it's really important to know that Wisconsin team played at Butler a few weeks ago and had them in, I think double overtime, ended up beating them, but that's a team that competed with the team that we lost to and I think that shows our growth,” said Parrish, referring to Indiana’s 56-46 loss at Butler on Nov. 13.

Indiana is 2-0 in the Big Ten, but the Hoosiers’ unbeaten Big Ten start will get the ultimate test next Saturday as No. 1 UCLA comes to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. That game is at noon ET.

“They have a lot of different weapons, and then they have great depth off the bench,” said Moren, who noted that she hasn’t seen much film on the Bruins yet.

As for her own team, Moren feels good about how the Hoosiers are playing of late. With six wins in a row, Indiana has not lost since Nov. 25.

“There’s a confidence to how we’re trending here in the last month,” Moren said. “It feels good to kind of get back on track, have the assists high, keep the turnovers low, and then be really disciplined and good defensively.”

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