Yarden Perfect from Long Range for Hoosiers

By Nick Jenkinson/ Excel H Sports

        The #28 Excel H Sports Ranked Indiana Hoosiers knocked off the Iowa Hawkeyes 74-67 Sunday Afternoon at Carver Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.  Indiana is 12-4 on the season and 4-1 in the Big Ten and will host Illinois on Thursday Night at 7 PM inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Iowa falls to 12-5 on the season and 2-4 in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes have lost three straight games and will host Nebraska on Thursday Night. The Hoosiers snap a three-game losing streak in Iowa City and beat the Hawkeyes in Iowa City for the first time since February 7, 2021, when they won 85-72. The Hoosiers have won two in a row against the Hawkeyes as Iowa leads the All-Time Series with the Hoosiers 54-24 and Indiana gets their fifth win all-time in Iowa City in 37 tries.

      Yarden Garzon scored 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including 5 of 5 from 3-point range, Chloe Moore-McNeil added 18 points and Sydney Parrish made three 3s and finished with 15 points for Indiana. The Hoosiers have won eight of their last nine games with their lone loss coming at home against No. 1 UCLA, 73-62, on Jan. 4. Garzon made a layup to open the scoring 44 seconds into the game, Moore-McNeil added a basket in the lane and Parrish added two free throws to make it 6-0 and Indiana never trailed. Garzon made a jumper and then hit a 3-pointer to give the Hoosiers a 15-point lead matching their largest of the game two minutes into the fourth quarter. Allyiah Guyton and Taylor McCabe each hit a 3-pointer as Iowa scored 13 of the next 15 points to cut its deficit to 66-62 with 1:52 remaining but the Hawkeyes got no closer.

      The Hoosiers went 10-24 from three-point range for 41%, 26-53 from the field for 49% and a perfect 12-12 from the free throw line. Indiana pulled down 31 rebounds, dished out 18 assist, 9 steals, 9 blocks and committed 17 turnovers. The Hoosiers used the defense to turn into offense scoring off turnovers pushing in transition and making the right plays at the right times to get bucket. Indiana held Iowa leading scorer Lucy Olsen to 8 points and it’s the second time that she has not scored in double digits all season as the Villanova Transfer averaged 17.1 points coming into the game. Hannah Stuleke was held to 5 points and averages 13.3 points per game.

      Taylor McCabe scored 15 points, including four 3-pointers, and Addison O’Grady added 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting for Iowa. Iowa finished the game 21-62 from the field for 34%, 6-19 from three-point range for 31% and 19-23 from the free throw line for 62%. Iowa pulled down 38 rebounds, dished out 15 assists, 8 steals, 4 blocks and committed 14 turnovers. Freshman Alliyah Guyton played 17 minutes off the bench scoring 9 points on 3-9 from the field, 1-3 from three-point range and 2-2 from the free throw line along with an assist and a steal. Guyton’s father A.J. is the fifth all -time leading scorer in Indiana University Men’s Basketball History as she faced her dad’s alma mater for the first time in her college career.

     The Hoosiers led 18-13 after the first quarter and outscored the Hawkeyes 18-17 in the second quarter to lead 36-30 going into the locker room. Indiana outscored Iowa 23-19 in the third quarter to lead 59-49 going into the final ten minutes. Iowa made a run late outscoring Indiana 18-15 in the fourth quarter. Indiana gets a huge road win to stay in the top 6 of the Big Ten standings and Iowa drops to 13th as the top 15 make the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis in March.

     Indiana and Iowa always play each other tough and the Hoosiers hot shooting from deep and their defense propelled them to this win and Iowa is trying to get out of their slump after dropping their third straight game but the Hawkeyes will rebound and make noise the rest of the season as these two could meet again in March but Indiana leaves Iowa City with the win in the latest chapter of this Women’s Basketball Rivalry that was played in front of 15,000 in Iowa City.