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‘We knew we had to throw the first punch’: IU women’s basketball took care of business in first round of Big Ten Tournament, showdown with No. 2 USC awaits

IU women’s basketball defeated Oregon to advance in the Big Ten Tournament, with a matchup against No. 2 USC on Friday.

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3 hours ago

March 6, 2025

IU women's basketball defeated Oregon to advance in the Big Ten Tournament, with a matchup against No. 2 USC on Friday. (Grace Hollars/IndyStar-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

IU women’s basketball didn’t want to leave anything up to chance when it came to its potential spot in the NCAA Tournament and took care of business on Thursday in its first game of the Big Ten Tournament.

Both the Hoosiers and Oregon Ducks were among the ‘Last Four Byes’ in ESPN’s bracketology so Thursday’s matchup between the two teams was a critical one. Indiana saw one deficit at 2-0 and never trailed again in a 78-62 win to advance to the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals against No. 2 overall — and the top seed in the Big Ten — USC on Friday.

Indiana played Oregon just once in the regular season — a sluggish seven-point loss in Eugene. Coming into Thursday, all the emphasis was defense to offense and keeping their foot on the gas pedal. Indiana didn’t wait for a critical second-half moment to turn on the jets, it did so from the tip. The Hoosiers jumped out to a 15-4 lead and eventual 12-point first quarter lead that set the tone for the afternoon — exactly how the Hoosiers wanted.

“It was an emphasis this week going into the Big Ten Tournament that defense helps our offense. I think that we really bought into that this week before coming here, and I think it showed today,” IU senior wing Sydney Parrish said. “We knew we had to throw the first punch, have the most energy …We just threw the first punch right out of the gate and never let up.”

That ‘defense to offense’ mentality resulted in 20 points off of 18 Oregon turnovers. Indiana had five blocks and six steals, all of which led to opportunities in the open floor, making the Ducks pay nearly every time.

“We always say we’re best when we’re playing fast, getting the ball out fast, and hitting it ahead. I think we had 20 points off their turnovers,” Parrish said. “That just shows how handsy we were on the defensive end, and then we’re executing on the offensive end then. So that really helped us.”

While defense was the motor for the first quarter start, it was junior guard Shay Ciezki who paced the offense. She had 11 first-quarter points — finishing with 17 for the afternoon — and hit all three of her 3s in the first 10 minutes.

Indiana maintained a comfortable lead for the majority of the afternoon but as it expected, a run late in the third quarter that bled into the fourth quarter was coming. A 13-point lead with 7:07 remaining in the third quarter got as low as five before IU wing Yarden Garzon nailed a massive three on the wing to give the Hoosiers an eight-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

With little separation to begin the final quarter, IU women’s basketball used a 13-0 run to put the game away — once again, sparked by its defense, and some big time shot-making.

“In those moments, you have to have a lot of guts to be able to take big shots, especially when teams start coming back and catching up,” IU head coach Teri Moren said. “You only maybe have that five-point lead or ten-point lead. It’s like you want to keep building it, but you have to have the players to be able to stick shots when needed.”

“When we saw that they kind of took a step back in the fourth quarter, we started running even harder and started getting downhill and started to get to the free-throw line,” Parrish added. “I think that was what we kept saying when we got in the middle of huddles. We need to keep running on them, don’t let them get back in it.”

Garzon, who had 13 points in the second half, led the Hoosiers with a team-high 18 points and four made 3s. Ciezki followed with 17. In total four Hoosiers were in double-figures — all upperclassmen. Chloe Moore-McNeil finished with 13 points, five assists and three steals, while Sydney Parrish added 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.

“I feel like we all felt the urge to win this game,” Garzon said. “We want to keep playing. We want to play with our seniors. We love our seniors, and we want to keep playing with them. I feel like it was a good do-over for us from last game.”

IU women’s basketball may have solidified its spot in the NCAA Tournament with Thursday’s win, but this group is playing for something more and has another massive opportunity in front of them on Friday.

“Again, it’s another shot at — are they No. 1 right now still? No. 2? At one of the best teams in the country that has one of the best players in the country,” Moren added. ” … We have a tremendous amount of respect for them. We know this, it’s going to take our very best.”

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Related Topics:Indiana Women's Basketball

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Alec Lasley

Alec Lasley is the owner of Hoosier Illustrated, a comprehensive site covering news, updates and recruiting for Indiana University athletics. Alec has covered Indiana for six years and is a credentialed media member. He has previously worked for both Rivals and 247Sports.