Sydney Parrish Ignites No. 14 Indiana's Third-Quarter Rally in 75-67 Win Over Penn State
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — For No. 14 Indiana women’s basketball to begin Big Ten play 5-0 for the second time in three years, it had to grit out its 13th-straight win Wednesday night in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers trailed Penn State 39-34 at half — the first time that's happened at home this season — but Indiana rallied in the third quarter and went on to win, 75-67.
Indiana graduate forward Mackenzie Holmes led with 21 points, her 10th-time reaching 20-plus during the team’s winning streak. Senior guard Sydney Parrish scored 20 points for the second straight game. She was quiet in the first half, with just three points and two missed three-pointers, but she led the comeback and finished strong.
It was the direct opposite of the past two games, where Parrish made seven threes total in only the first quarter. But Wednesday’s game also had an unorthodox start. Indiana head coach Teri Moren said she hated it in the post-game press conference. The Hoosiers won the tip, but the clock didn’t start. Parrish realized she had to take out her earrings before she inbounded the ball, so freshman Julianna LaMendola checked in. Then Indiana turned the ball over and Penn State scored.
But when the Hoosiers were down by nine with seven minutes to go in the third quarter, Penn State’s largest lead of the night, Parrish’s silent first-half performance was replaced by hustle plays, getting to the basket, and making free-throws. The comeback started with Holmes’ layup to trim their deficit to seven. Moren called timeout.
Parrish and senior point guard Chloe Moore-McNeil spoke up.
“It took us going down by nine to have a really good heart-to-heart in that timeout,” Moren said. “Had to get after them and they responded. I thought Syd[ney] was great inside of that timeout, as well. And Chloe, I think, spoke up. It was a gut check time and it was about pride.”
Out of the timeout, Parrish scored nine straight points to put Indiana up 47-46. She scored two layups, and one on an offensive rebound. That possession began with Moore-McNeil’s steal. Parrish hit her first three-pointer of the night in the corner and two free throws to follow. From there, Moore-McNeil scored four points and the Assembly Hall crowd peaked in volume at Sara Scalia’s transition layup with 19 seconds left. Indiana led 55-51 going into the fourth and held on.
“I listen to Taylor [Swift] everyday when I do my hair and makeup,” Parrish said post-game. “Maybe it’s the Taylor. But, I think it’s just the confidence that my teammates and coaches have in me. I wasn’t playing great on the offensive end earlier this season. I knew it would come. Coach Moren kept telling me that, teammates kept telling me that, I had confidence.”
Penn State committed 22 turnovers, and Indiana had 20. The Nittany Lions were disruptive with their double-teams and scrappy defense in the first half. But Indiana’s paint production didn’t waver while cutting Penn State’s in half in the final two quarters. The Nittany Lions were without 6-foot-4 starting forward Ali Brigham for most of the fourth quarter due to foul trouble. Brigham ended with a team-high 14 points.
This matchup featured the Big Ten’s top three-point shooting teams in the conference, but they combined to go just 7-for-24. Free throws, the category which hasn’t really been kind to the Hoosiers this season, wound up being the decider in their favor. Indiana went 21-for-27. The Nittany Lions went just 12-for-23.
The Hoosiers improve to 14-1, 5-0 Big Ten, and travel to play No. 3 Iowa on Saturday night.
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