IU women’s basketball takes Big Ten opener at Rutgers

Mackenzie Holmes was in All-American form, and her supporting cast was solid as Indiana gave Teri Moren her 100th Big Ten win in their conference opener.

The Hoosiers gradually wore Rutgers into submission, winning 66-56 at the RAC in Piscataway, N.J.

Indiana held its first double-digit lead when Sydney Parrish hit a left side triple and Chloe Moore-McNeil hit Parrish in the lane for two to go up 45-34 with 2:27 on the clock in the third. The Scarlet Knights trimmed the lead to eight at the end of the third.

The IU lead ballooned to as many as 12 in the fourth quarter, behind a steal from Sara Scalia who found Yarden Garzon down the court for the transition layup at the 3:42 mark. But Rutgers continued to push back until the end, coming within six in the final minute as the Hoosiers used bonus free throws to close it out.

Holmes poured in 25 points on 12-of-15 shooting. Parrish had a double-double with 14 points and a team high 10 rebounds.

IU struggled to connect from 3-point range, making just 3-of-16, but it was a different story inside the arc where led by Holmes and Parrish the Hoosiers connected on 60.5 percent of their attempts.

‘We are pleased to be leaving here with a win on a night that our three ball was not going down for us,” Moren said. “We had to manufacture points in a lot of different ways, from a lot of different people, at a lot of different times and segments in the game. I’m happy with the way we were able to do that.

“Any time that you can go on the road in a Big Ten game and win it’s a good feeling. I’m just proud of our guys.”

IU improved to 8-6 overall in the series with Rutgers. It was the fifth-straight win in the series and the Hoosiers have defeated the Scarlet Knights by double figures in all five wins.

Indiana (8-1, 1-0) will enjoy a long break on a seven game winning streak. They’ll return to the floor a week from Monday when they host Evansville.