Indiana Women’s Basketball hammers Tennessee Tech, in first round of NCAA Tournament

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WFIE) - Junior guard Sydney Parrish led the way with 19 points while graduate student guard Grace Berger added 17 points as top seed Indiana defeated No. 16 seed Tennessee Tech, 77-47, on Saturday afternoon inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

KEY MOMENTS

In a back-and-forth first quarter, Indiana (28-3) had its largest lead at three, 14-11, with 5:30 to play. The Golden Eagles stuck four 3-pointers and shot 57.1 percent from the arc to keep the game knotted at 18-at the end of one.
Indiana lit up in the second quarter, as freshman guard Lexus Bargesser sparked a 17-0 run in the next three plus minutes. A 3-pointer from freshman forward Yarden Garzon and a pair at the line from Berger helped Indiana lead by as many as 15 in the frame, 37-22. It gave the Hoosiers the momentum going into the break, leading 39-27.
Garzon buried a three-point basket in the corner off a kickout from Berger to take IU’s lead up to 44-27 and force the Golden Eagles into a timeout as the Hoosiers kicked off the third quarter. Parrish scored eight of her 19 points in the third quarter, as IU took a took a 56-39 lead into the fourth quarter.
Moore-McNeil hit a three-point basket from the top of the key to hand IU its largest lead of the game at 59-39. A beautiful drive and layup from senior guard Sara Scalia took the Hoosier lead up to 24, forcing Tennessee Tech (23-10) into a timeout with 7:29 to play in the fourth quarter.
The Hoosiers outscored the Golden Eagles 59-29 over the final three quarters to cruise to a 77-47 win in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

NOTABLE

Parrish scored a game-high 19 points. She added eight rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal in a team-high 31 minutes of action.
Meister made the first start of her career. She scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds while blocking a career-high three shots.
Berger was the first into double digits on the afternoon, finishing the day with 17 points including 13 in the first half.
This was the 95th game of her career scoring more 10-or-more points and the 17th time this season she’s crossed the plateau.
She added seven rebounds, four assists and a career-best three blocks to her stat line on Saturday afternoon.
Garzon provided 12 points and four rebounds in her NCAA Tournament debut.
She hit two three-point baskets on the day, matching the program’s single season freshman record with 67 on the season.
The Hoosiers blocked 11 shots, a single-game program record for blocks in a NCAA Tournament game.
IU’s 77 points were third most in a single NCAA Tournament game in program history behind efforts against Kentucky in 1983 (87) and Charlotte in 2022 (85).
Teri Moren’s Hoosiers have advanced to at least the Round of 32 in four-consecutive NCAA Tournaments (2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023).

UP NEXT

The Hoosiers will face the winner of Oklahoma State/Miami (FL) on Monday, March 20 with a time and TV designation to be determined late Saturday.