Hoosiers Rein Threes on Purdue 

By Nick Jenkinson/Excel H Sports

Photos by: Anthony Harper/Excel H Sports/Indiana Sports Network

Videographer: Cainan Harper/Excel H Sports/Indiana Sports Network

The #15 Excel H Sports ranked Indiana Hoosiers held off the Purdue Boilermakers 74-68 before a crowd 11,796 in Mackey Arena in West Lafayette on Sunday Afternoon.

The Hoosiers were without Senior Guard Sydney Parrish who was on crutches with a boot on her right Leg after an injury suffered in practice on Friday and will have another appointment on Monday to assess the injury. Sophomore Lexus Bargesser got her first career start in place of Parrish. Senior Chloe Moore-McNeil knew that it was going to take more to come out of West Lafayette with this win. “We all prepared ourselves to do a little more with Sydney out” Moore-McNeil said after the game.

Photos by: Anthony Harper/Excel H Sports/Indiana Sports Network

Indiana has won ten in row against Purdue including the last five in Mackey Arena. The Hoosiers keep the Barn Burner Trophy for the ninth year in row as Purdue leads the Trophy games 18-13 and still lead the series 55-43. Coach Teri Moren improves to 15-4 against Purdue as Hoosier head coach and 6-3 in Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers were going for their 500th all time win in Mackey Arena and their archrivals denied them that opportunity that will have to wait a week when they host Ohio State next Sunday afternoon.

Sara Scalia and Chloe Moore-McNeil lead the way with 20 points apiece and both registered forty floor minutes.

For Moore-McNeil it was career high as the Hoosiers hit a season high 15 three pointers. Yarden Garzon added 17 points, Mackenize Holmes chipped in 15 points and, 2 points from Lenee Beaumont. Lexus Bargesser played 33 minutes, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a block.

The Hoosiers finished 26-49 from the field for 53%, 15-23 from three-point range 65% and 7-8 from the free throw line for 87%. The Hoosiers pulled down 26 rebounds, 15 assists, 8 steals, 6 blocks and committed 18 turnovers. Mackenize Holmes became the sixth Hoosier in school history to pull down 900 career rebounds.

Purdue was led by Caitlyn Harper with 18 points, Freshman Mary Ashley Stevenson and Rashunda Jones scored 13 points each.

Abbey Ellis and Madison Layden scored 10 points apiece. The Boilermakers finished 27-61 from the field for 44%, 5-13 from thee point range for 38% and 9-14 form the free throw line for 64%. Purdue pulled down 32 rebounds, dished 15 assists, 7 steals, 1 block and committed 13 turnovers. The Boilermakers are 9-9 overall and 2-5 in the Big Ten.

The game featured 12 lead changes and 7 ties along with an electric atmosphere with both fan bases well represented and made for an exciting back and forth game as neither team led by more than 10 points. Purdue led 29-22 at the end of the first quarter as both teams were hitting from the three-point line with the Hoosiers going 5-6 and Boilermakers going 3-4 from downtown with Purdue’s largest lead at 9 points with 1:18 left in the first quarter. In the second quarter Indiana outscored Purdue 17-8 in the second quarter as Indiana went 4-6 from deep to continue their hot shooting going 9-12 from downtown for 75% in the first half while Purdue cooled off going 3-5 from three-point range for 60% with the Hoosiers leading 39-27 at halftime.

In the second half Purdue outscored Indiana 17-12 in third quarter both teams had a 10-0 run with the Hoosiers followed by the Boilermakers and Rashunda Jones hit a 30-footer at the buzzer at the end of the third quarter to send the home crowd into a frenzy to lead by three points 54-51 going into the final ten minutes and ended the quarter with momentum on a 10-0 run.

Indiana took control dominating the fourth quarter 23-14 as Indiana held Purdue without a field goal for over five minutes as the Hoosiers led by ten points with 1:10 left for their largest lead of the game.

Even being shorthanded without a top scorer and started the Hoosiers stay calm cool and collected in pressure situations. “We don’t panic, I don’t panic with these guys, and that has a lot to do with the experience that we have” Indiana Head Coach Teri Moren said after the game. Sara Scalia knows when they are a player short and knows it’s the next player up mentality “We really just came together, our team is really close, we know were all we got” Sara Scalia said after the game.

The Hoosiers have a week off in between game with Northwestern coming to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Next Sunday. Purdue head coach Katie Geralds calls Indiana a “Championship Team and will get another chance when Purdue visits Indiana on February 12 in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. One thing that both head coaches can agree on is the crowds and atmosphere in rivalry games make it great for the game of Women’s College Basketball and they don’t want it to change and it’s not going to anytime soon.