IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Indiana women’s basketball team survived a ferocious second-half rally from Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday afternoon to earn a rare victory in Iowa City.
The Hoosiers (12-4, 4-1 Big Ten) earned their third Top 25 win of the season with a 74-67 win over No. 23 Iowa. They previously defeated No. 24 Stanford and No. 18 Baylor in nonconference games.
It was IU’s second road win against the Hawkeyes in the last 30 years. The Hoosiers’ only win in Iowa City since 1994 was an 85-72 win on Feb. 7, 2021. The two teams have played each other with a record of 2 wins and 2 losses over the past two seasons, with the home team winning each matchup.
Indiana led by as many as 15 points in the first and second halves, but went nearly seven minutes without a field goal in the fourth quarter, allowing the Hawkeyes to trail by four points.
Tennessee transfer Caroline Striplin ended her drought by outscoring Eva Heiden by 1 minute, 28 seconds with a tough basket in the paint. Iowa initially looked like it would foul IU in the final minute, but changed its strategy after the Hoosiers sank four straight free throws. The Hawkeyes caused headaches with ball pressure until Striplin missed a layup in the final seconds.
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No Caitlin Clark. There is no Mackenzie Holmes. Still a rival.
Early in the game, Yarden Garzon made his first 3-point shot of the night right in front of the Iowa bench, then turned around and stared at the Hawkeyes. Garzon was at the center of a tense exchange with Keiltin Clark last year when the team was playing in Bloomington.
Clark is gone, but the bad blood between the rivals still lingers. In the second quarter, as Garzon was trying to inbound the ball, Sydney Affolter approached her and knocked the ball away right in front of the referee. The referee immediately blew his whistle and called Affolter a technical foul.
Iowa coach Jan Jensen yelled at everyone on the floor, and fans in attendance made it clear they didn’t like the call.
She made her first shot for her fellow Iowa State fans late in the third quarter when Sidney Parrish made a 3-pointer from the corner. A heated exchange during the game made it clear that the Indiana-Iowa State rivalry is here to stay.
Yarden Garzon and Sydney Parrish help bury Hawkeye
Iowa looked poised for a comeback when Taylor McCabe came out of halftime and confidently hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it a one-possession game for the first time since the start. It looked like. The Hawkeyes followed suit by forcing Lilly Meister and Parrish off the court, with both IU starters picking up their third fouls on back-to-back possessions.
Parrish had to go to the bench after making her first 3-pointer of the game, but Moren didn’t let her sit for long. She checked in again with 5:17 left in the third quarter and scored nine points to help Indiana push its lead back to 15 points.
The fifth-year senior made all three 3-pointers in the quarter, going 0-of-4 after starting the game. The Hoosiers made 5 of 7 3-point shots as a team in the third set, with Garzon and Chloe Moore-McNeil knocking it down. Also a down clutch shot.
Garzon led all scorers with 21 points (5-of-5 3-point shooting), with Moore-McNeil (18 points) and Parrish (15 points) also scoring in double figures.
Indiana women’s basketball aims for early knockout blow against Iowa
Indiana never trailed in the first half and entered halftime up 36-30. The Hoosiers jumped out to a 14-7 lead in the opening minutes, making five of their first six shots. In the first half, Iowa held a 15-point lead by holding Iowa to 35.5% shooting and forcing nine turnovers.
The Hawkeyes had more turnovers than field goals before ending the second quarter on a 6-0 run.
Indiana held the lead to just two points in the first half as Iowa State’s leading scorers Lucy Olson (17.0 points per game) and Hannah Stuelke (13.3 points per game) made 1-of-6 shooting. The Hawkeyes made 1-of-11 in that stretch, while the Hoosiers finished with a 14-2 record. Olson finished with eight points on 3-of-12 shooting, and Stuelke was limited to five points.
Jensen called multiple timeouts in less than two minutes in hopes of slowing IU’s momentum.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for the Bloomington Herald Times. X Follow him at @michaelniziolek and read all of his articles by clicking here.
