BLOOMINGTON — The Indiana women’s basketball team opened the season with an 82-60 win over Brown on Monday night at Assembly Hall.
It wasn’t the blowout non-conference win IU fans have been accustomed to seeing in recent years from the No. 24 Hoosiers (1-0; 0-0 Big Ten), but they seemed to still be settling in on the offensive end in the wake of some key offseason departures.
They shot 51% from the field, but were only 5 of 20 from 3-point range, here’s what stood out in the win:
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Ciezki, who was brought in to replace Sara Scalia, is still feeling out the baskets at Assembly Hall. The Penn State transfer was wide of the mark from 3-point range and shot 3 of 10 from the field, but she impacted the games in other ways, particularly with her stifling perimeter defense.
While Ciezki is only 5-foot-7, she doesn’t give up any ground and is extremely active. She looked like a defensive back in the first quarter when intercepted a pass and took it coast-to-coast for a fast-break layup. She spent much of the game guarding Grace Arnolie, who was 3 of 14 (2 of 9 from 3-point range) and turned it over four times.
That toughness was also on display late in the first half when she came down with an offensive rebound under the basket and scored a put-back against a pair of defenders.
It was easy to see why Moren described her as a bulldog in the weeks leading up to the season opener.
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Lilly Meister and Karoline Striplin made for an effective pairing even though they never shared the court on Monday night. They rotated at center in place of all-time IU great Mackenzie Holmes moving from the floor to a graduate assistant role.
They combined to surpass Holmes’ 2023-24 season averages with 30 points (10 of 15 shooting), 11 rebounds and combined for 10 of IU’s 19 free-throw attempts.
Striplin was particularly effective in the third quarter when she scored eight points in less than two minutes as her teammates kept feeding her the ball inside.
Indiana women’s basketball guard Sydney Parrish gets the Hoosiers across the finish line
Brown hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the final minutes of the third quarter as part of a 9-0 run to cut what was a 22-point lead to 55-42.
How did the Hoosiers respond? They got the ball as quickly as they could to Sydney Parrish. Parrish scored while drawing a foul without putting the ball on the floor and scored nine of the team’s next 15 points.
She later pushed IU’s lead back over 20 with 5:14 left in the game with a fast break layup off a turnover that she forced herself near half-court.
Parrish, who left IU’s exhibition against Maryville with an ankle injury, was the most active player on the floor. Moren called plays for her all night long and Parrish moved with purpose without the ball. She also regularly crashed the boards to help the Hoosiers finish the game with a decisive 40-25 advantage on the glass.
While IU needs to replace Holmes’ production, they also need someone to step into her role as the team’s go-to scoring threat in crunch time. Parrish’s do-it-skill set — she’s effective driving to the basket, can post up and is an impressive 3-point shooter — makes her perfectly suited
She finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and three steals.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Observations from Indiana women’s basketball opening win over Brown
