#IUWBB Gets The Close Win They Needed To Prepare For Postseason Against NCAA Bound Spartans

Hoosiers Edge Out Michigan State In A Thriller That Felt Like A March Madness Game

Assembly Hall Where IU Pulled Out A Thriller Thursday Night Against MSU

Bloomington-For most of the night, Indiana and Michigan State went toe-to-toe with the Spartans ever so slightly ahead.

For much of the evening, this felt all too familiar to IU’s 2023 season-ending loss to Miami early in March Madness that abruptly stopped the best year in program history. In that contest, the Hurricanes would respond to every Hoosier run and stay ahead before eventually hitting the game-winning shot in the final few seconds.

For much of tonight, this was all-too-similar to that fateful evening. MSU would stay in the lead by a few points until the fourth quarter and hold off every charge by the Cream and Crimson. However, this time IU finally pulled ahead on a three-pointer by Sara Scalia. This shot made it 77-76 midway through the final 10 minutes and Indiana would never trail again, despite Michigan State tying it up a few times.

For the first time this season, IU was not ahead for all of the final two minutes in victory and trailed by 10 points at intermission. However, All-American Mackenzie Holmes and designated fourth-quarter clutch shooter Yarden Garzon made game-winning plays. Holmes hit a layup to go up 88-86 with just over a minute left. Then after a missed shot on the other end, Garzon hit a clutch jumper in the final 20 seconds to go up four and the team would close it out with free throws from there. Garzon also hit a stone-cold three-pointer from the corner for an 82-78 lead and a layup with just over two minutes left for an 86-84 advantage.

Full credit goes to the Spartans as well. They brought their “A+” game and also pushed fellow Big Ten title contenders Iowa and Ohio State to the final minute on the road earlier in 2024. As a result, this was the first time this season that the Hoosiers would be pushed to the closing seconds in Assembly Hall and had to be even better.

It is also important to note that first-year head coach Robyn Fralick has led a remarkable turnaround in East Lansing with a similar cast to last year. However, she has managed to establish an identity for her squad led by an elite offense and a swarming press. After being towards the bottom of the league in 2022-2023, MSU has established itself as the top team outside of the Buckeyes, Hawkeyes, and Hoosiers in the conference.

IU has been so good the last couple of seasons they have rarely been in nailbiters or close games. One could argue this led to the three losses late last season in March with little experience playing down-to-the-wire contests. Finally, tonight the Hoosiers pulled one out against a squad on the level of a team they will likely play here in the Assembly Hall in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The atmosphere late before a raucous crowd of 8,580 further contributed to the feel of a quasi postseason showdown.

IU Coach Terry Moren said the result tonight can indeed help come March.

“There is no doubt,” Moren said. “The game tonight when we look back there is going to be a lot of gut check moments. We have to keep showing the maturity and keep shooting and taking those big shots with a lot of confidence. It’s nights like tonight that are fun for all of us and I do think it will serve us well.”

After struggling in the first half, Holmes was the best player on the court during the final 20 minutes as is typical and finished with 28 points. As a result, she is just 17 points from breaking the all-time scoring record for the program and is likely to do so in the next contest. This accomplishment makes sense for Holmes as she joined a Hoosier team in 2019-2020 that spent only a few weeks ever ranked and has since lifted them to new heights. From the moment she stepped on campus, IU has never spent any time outside of the top 25 and is not likely to do so at any point in her decorated five years in Bloomington

Holmes said while it is an accomplishment to break a record, preparing for the next opponent is much more important.

“Obviously it is a blessing to be in this position”, Holmes said. “However, the main focus is beating Purdue.”

Besides Holmes, all of the team’s other four starters were in double figures. Scalia had 21 points, Garzon finished with 20 points, and Chloe Moore-McNeil managed to record a triple-double in the final few seconds finishing with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists. Lexus Bargesser, filling in for the injured Sydney Parrish, kept Indiana in the game early with 10 points as well.

The Hoosiers improved to 19-3 overall and 10-2 in the league one game out of first and three games ahead of fourth place. IU will next face their struggling arch-rival in the Boilermakers on Sunday (2 pm on BTN+) at home.

Now armed with the knowledge they can beat a postseason team in a nailbiter, the Cream and Crimson chug forward as they look to win another Big Ten Title and make a deep run in March. Thursday’s victory went a long way toward potentially accomplishing that.

The Doing The Work postgame show with Jeff Marlow and Kathy Amos can be seen below: