#19 Indiana Women’s Basketball Dominates #21 Tennessee in Florida

Indiana Women’s Basketball handily defeated the Tennessee Volunteers 71-57 this evening in Fort Myers, Florida. 

Indiana Women’s basketball head coach Teri Moran could not have asked for a better start to the Fort Myers Tip-Off. The Hoosiers handily defeated the Volunteers 71-57. Sophomore guard Yarden Garzon had a career-high 23 points, and Mackenzie Holmes added 17 points in the Hoosier victory.

The Volunteers were short-handed as leading scorer and rebounder Rickea Jackson was out with a hip injury. Tennessee has had injury issues early this season. In addition to Jackson, the Vols had been without guards Jasmine Powell and Avery Strickland early this year. Powell did play, scoring 12 points and grabbing six rebounds. Strickland did not play.

How it all went down.

Indiana led from start to finish, leading 12-9 after the first quarter. A dominant second quarter had the Hoosiers take a 33-21 lead in the locker room. IU closed the second quarter on a 17-5 run, including three three-pointers by Garzon. The sophomore guard owned the quarter, scoring 11 of Indiana’s 21 points in the second frame.

Sara Puckett hit a three-pointer to open the second half, cutting the Hoosier lead to ten, but Sydney Parrish answered with a three of her own, and Tennessee never got any closer.

Takeaways

Coach Moran has to like the way Indiana got after it defensively. The Volunteers couldn’t find room to create close to the basket without Jackson. Tennessee shot 35 percent from the field and had just nine assists on 23 made field goals. Jasmine Powell, Karoline Striplin, and Sara Puckett were 15-31 (48%) from the field. The rest of the team was 8-32 (25%) from the floor.

Indiana’s ball movement was tremendous this evening. The Hoosiers shot 44 percent from the field with 20 assists on 29 made field goals.

Senior Mackenzie Holmes continues to etch her name in the Indiana Women’s basketball record books. She’s moved up to second all-time in scoring behind Tyra Buss.

The Hoosiers play Princeton in the championship game of the tournament’s Island Division on Friday.