BLOOMINGTON – Indiana moved past Brown in their season opener with a final score of 82-60 on Monday night, but not without some trouble.
The Hoosiers, who were favored by 33.5 points heading into the game against the Bears, were expected to handle business throughout. Instead, Indiana struggled on both ends of the floor throughout the night, and didn’t dominate the way many expected.
Indiana came out slow in the first half offensively, going 15-31 from the field and 3-13 from the three point line. The Hoosiers, who had some trouble taking care of the ball, accumulated eight turnovers in the half on offense.
Once again, however, Indiana’s defense made up for it in the first half. The Hoosiers held the Bears to 8-28 from the field, and 4-19 from beyond the arc. Indiana also caused 10 turnovers in the half, and would force 18 from Brown in the entire game.
Although the offense wasn’t clicking right away, Indiana still led Brown 18-7 in the first quarter, and had a 39-21 lead heading into halftime.
Things continued to look a bit shaky for Indiana in the third quarter, with Indiana actually losing the quarter 23-21 to the Bears.
Brown continued to look for shots beyond the arc, and started to connect as they went 4-9 on threes and 9-17 overall. Indiana was still playing some quality defense, but Brown started playing a bit faster on offense compared to the first half, allowing more open looks.
However, the Hoosiers started to establish more of a post presence in the second half, allowing Lilly Meister and Karoline Striplin to work more in the paint. That turned out to be the difference maker in the game offensively, with Indiana leading in points in the paint with 46 to Brown’s 22. Striplin had herself a quality third quarter, going for 10 points on a perfect 3-3 from the field and four free throws added on.
Some lingering issues from the first half also showed themselves in the third quarter. The Hoosiers did not take care of the ball well in the period, as the Bears forced seven turnovers against Indiana in the quarter alone. In turn, Indiana only had 12 field goal attempts in the third, and converted on just six of them.
Although the game had not been Indiana’s best through the first three quarters, the Hoosiers continued to clean up their mistakes in the final quarter. The Hoosiers had just one turnover in the fourth, and held Brown to 6-15 from the field.
Sydney Parrish was everywhere throughout the game for the Hoosiers, finishing as the leading scorer with 20 points, and tacked on a double-double with 10 rebounds and an added 2 assists. Striplin was also a key contributor for Indiana, notching 17 points on the night.
Indiana starts their 2024-25 season 1-0 and will host Harvard on Thursday at 7:00 pm eastern time in Assembly Hall for their second regular season matchup.
