Indiana women’s basketball’s game against Maine on Thursday may have felt like a dream for Gorham, Maine native Mackenzie Holmes and her family going in.
But it quickly started to feel like a nightmare for the 17th-ranked Hoosiers. They put on an extremely poor display in the first half, one of their worst performances in a long time. IU trailed Maine 37-29 at halftime. The Hoosiers struggled defensively, got out-rebounded by the Black Bears, and shot just 34 percent as a team on the other end.
But IU regrouped enough in the second half to get the job done, thanks to a big fourth quarter turnaround. Indiana (6-1) came away with a 67-59 victory.
Maine (4-4) performed admirably for a lot of the game, capitalizing on Indiana’s lackadaisical play for much of the night. Graduate student guard Anne Simon, in particular, proved a difficult assignment for IU. Simon racked up a career-high 34 points on a 12-for-24 line, with 11 rebounds and five steals.
But IU pulled this out with a big effort in the fourth quarter. The Hoosiers shot 57.1 percent from the field as a team in the final period. Maine’s offense cooled off in the second half, which helped, though IU’s defense got a little better to help force that drop-off. The Hoosiers trailed for more than half of the game, and after falling behind in the first quarter, they didn’t regain the lead until midway through the fourth quarter.
Holmes played well in her homecoming game. She led IU with 22 points, on an 9-for-11 clip, with seven rebounds, one steal, and two blocks. For large periods of this game, the All-American was the only really reliable source of offense for the Hoosiers, and Maine made it hard for them to get her the ball.
Sydney Parrish stepped up in a big way in the second half, part of the reason Indiana was able to come back. After going scoreless in the first half, she scored 17 points in the second half. She shot 6 for 13 from the field, including a 2-for-5 mark from 3-point range. She also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, for her first double-double of the season.
Sara Scalia also scored in double digits, shooting 3 for 11 from the field — 3 for 8 from 3-point range — for 10 points, along with five rebounds.
The Hoosiers return home on Sunday to take on Stetson.