Three Things: Indiana women’s basketball defeats Ohio State, 78-65

Indiana women’s basketball, the “sixth”-best team in the nation, just put a shellacking on the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes in front of 10,455 in Assembly Hall. The win elevates the Hoosiers into first place in the Big Ten and has them in prime position to make a substantial leap in next week’s polls. Here’s three things:

The Third Quarter

Not going to lie, some fans were WORRIED at halftime. Indiana trailed 36-32 and was having a bit of trouble getting it going offensively. Only four Hoosiers made a shot in the first half and the team went just 13-33 (39%) from the field in the frame. The lack of a balanced attack was uncharacteristic and a bit of a concern in and of itself, but OSU and their top-ten scoring offense was scarier.

In the first half, Ohio State’s guards were getting whatever they wanted offensively. They were finding success by pushing in transition in addition to getting their ballhandlers favorable one-on-one matchups. Buckeye freshman Cotie McMahon was particularly impressive in the first 20 minutes, scoring 18 points across the first and second quarters while giving Indiana defenders fits. Something needed to change... enter Teri Moren.

Indiana head coach Teri Moren’s big halftime adjustment was switching her defensive matchups up a bit and moving freshman guard Yarden Garzon onto McMahon. It worked. Garzon held McMahon to just three (3) points in the second half, opening the door for a third quarter run that only a handful of teams across the country are capable of going on.

Indiana won the third quarter by a score of 27-6, flipping a 4 point deficit into a 17 point lead. It was nuts. IU recorded three steals and forced Ohio State into committing seven turnovers, mistakes the Hoosiers continually cashed in on:

Indiana scored a ridiculous 15 points off of said turnovers, many of which OSU head coach Kevin McGruff referred to as “pick sixes” in his postgame press conference. The Hoosiers also connected on 4 triples during the third quarter, it was straight up bully ball and the fans loved it. We’ve never seen this team go on a run like that against such a high-quality opponent; it was special.

Yarden Garzon

Yup, we’re calling this one the ‘Yarden Garzon’ game. The Israeli-born freshman not only erased Cotie McMahon in the second half but also set career-highs in minutes (37), field goal makes and attempts (8-17), rebounds (10), and steals (3).

Garzon finished the game with 20 points and went 4-9 from deep. A trio of those triples came in the third quarter and led to Assembly Hall getting as loud as I’ve ever heard it during a women’s game:

Shalosh Garzon!!

I know that some of us were higher on Garzon than others prior to the season but I don’t think anyone expected her to be this good already. There’s no way Indiana enjoys anywhere near the success they have so far this season without Garzon. She’s the next cornerstone to be cemented in the foundation of what’s become a very sturdy program under Teri Moren.

Sydney Parrish

Parrish earned her third double-double of the season by scoring a dozen points and tying her career-high with 11 rebounds. She’s a great college basketball player not only because of her versatility but because of her scrappiness and IQ. Check out this smart hesitation cut that led to an easy bucket:

Parrish does little things like that alllll the time. She also essentially took over the game for about a minute during the 4th quarter by scoring, grabbing a tough rebound, and drawing a foul to hold off OSU’s last big push:

Parrish is one of a handful of Hoosiers who are more than capable of stepping up in the clutch... all of her points were scored in the second half. Awesome game from Parrish, awesome win for the Hoosiers.

Oh yeah, should also mention that National Player of the Year candidate Mackenzie Holmes scored 26. She’s averaging 21.9 points per game and shooting 67.3% from the field yet didn’t make ESPN’s ‘Wooden Watch’ graphic last night. Nothing else to do about that other than laugh like it’s okay, leading sports programming network, just say you didn’t finish your homework. There’s a decent chance IU fans will be able to frame that one as a vintage Freezing Cold Take in a few months so don’t forget it.