Ducks Hunt Down Hoosiers

By Nick Jenkinson/Excel H Sports

The Indiana Hoosiers led the #30 Excel H Sports Ranked Oregon Ducks led 45-44 with 3:25 left in the fourth quarter as the Ducks outscored the Hoosiers 10-2 as Indiana went scoreless for 4 minutes and 51 seconds as the Ducks protected the Matthew Knight Arena home floor and won 54-47 Friday Night in Eugene, Oregon. Indiana falls to 12-7 overall and 4-4 in the Big Ten and will head to Seattle, Washington Monday night to face the Huskies. Oregon is 15-5 on the season and 6-3 in the Big Ten. Oregon has won all three meetings in this series and are 2-0 at home against the Hoosiers and other meeting took place in Portland. Indiana will host Oregon next season as the Ducks make their first ever trip to Bloomington.

Indiana led 45-42 when Lilly Meister scored on a Jumper with the assist to Yarden Garzon with 5:09 left in the fourth quarter. Oregon trailed 45-44 when Phillipina Keyi made a layup with the assist to Deja Kelly. The Ducks would score the next 8 points as Indiana went scoreless as Chloe Moore-McNeil’s layup ended the scoring drought with 28 seconds left to make it 52-47 as Elisa Mevius went to free throw line on two occasions and sealed the win hitting the first with 22 seconds and the second 17 seconds to seal the win for the Ducks who are 13-1 at home this season.

Peyton Scott was the only Duck in double figures with 14 points. Oregon went 20-59 from the field for 34%, 4-12 from three-point range for 33% and 10-17 from the free throw line for 58%. The Ducks pulled down 41 rebounds, dished out 12 assists, 11 steals, 2 blocks and committed 11 turnovers. The Ducks outscored the Hoosiers 32-21 in the second half.

Karoline Striplin led Indiana with 14 Points for her seventh game in double figures. Sydney Parrish added 10 points in her first game in Eugene since she transferred away from Oregon after her Sophomore season. Yarden Garzon pulled down a season high 10 rebounds and scored 8 points. Indiana finished 21-56 from the field for 37%, 4-18 from three-point range 22% and 1-3 from the free throw line for 33%. The Hoosiers pulled down 36 rebounds, dished out 15 assists, 5 blocks, 4 steals and committed 17 turnovers. Indiana led 25-22 at halftime as the game featured 4 ties and 3 lead changes.

Indiana has lost three straight games for the first time since the end of the 2021-22 season. Head Coach Teri Moren said after the game the next 48 hours will be “interesting” in terms of the forthcoming conversations after this letdown. “We’re gonna have to dig deep in our soul and in our hearts and see what we’re made of, because this has been a tough stretch for us.” Yarden Garzon who leads the team in scoring has gone 8-34 from the field in the last three games “It’s certainly concerning. We rely on her, and she has not shot the ball very well. The last time she shot it well was against Iowa (on Jan. 11). So, we haven’t seen that Yarden since then. It’s concerning because we do need her to generate some points for us, and right now, she’s having a hard time doing that.” Moren said after the game. The Hoosiers don’t have time to dwell on the loss with a quick turnaround with Washington coming up on Monday. Indiana needs to split this road trip in the Pacific Northwest to get out of the losing skid and build some momentum with 10 games left in the Big Ten Regular Season.