No. 6 Indiana nets 11 3s in 91-68 win over Rutgers

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- — Grace Berger and Mackenzie Holmes each scored 21 points and No. 6 Indiana shot 61% from 3-point range to beat Rutgers 91-68 on Sunday.

Four Hoosiers scored in double digits, including Sydney Parrish with 17 and Yarden Garzon with 14, including four 3-pointers. Berger also added seven assists for Indiana (20-1, 10-1 Big Ten), and Parrish and Holmes had six rebounds each.

Kaylene Smikle led Rutgers (9-14, 3-8) with 25 points and Kai Carter scored 13 off the bench.

Berger’s 21 points were a season high, and her three 3s were more than she had made combined since returning from a knee injury on Jan. 8.

“We’ve seen her do that before, but today, I thought, was Grace Berger day,” Indiana coach Teri Moren said. “She looked for her shots and I thought she was aggressive. That was great to see.”

Rutgers outshot Indiana in the first quarter and had a five-point lead in the second, but Indiana responded with an 11-0 run and never trailed again.

“We gave them some easy things and just some slip-ups on the defensive end (in the first quarter),” Berger said. “We all knew we had to collectively lock back in and focus on our game plan.”

Indiana outscored Rutgers in each of the final three quarters, including a 33-20 advantage in the second.

“We felt like we were soft in the first half in terms of getting to the loose ball and in terms of rebounding,” Moren said. “They took it from us a few times right in front of our bench, so the challenge was we needed to be grittier.”

Indiana’s 11 3s were the third most of the season and most since making 12 against North Carolina on Dec. 1. Overall, the team is shooting 36% from beyond the arc.

“It comes from the confidence our coaches have in us to shoot those shots and from our teammates,” Parrish said. “Everything a shot goes up, sometimes I won’t even go in and rebound because I’m so confident that Yarden or Grace or Sara (Scalia) are going to knock down shots.”

BIG PICTURE

Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights had a heavy advantage in offensive rebounds, 10-2, leading to 12 second-chance points, but their offense couldn’t keep pace with Indiana.

Indiana: The Hoosiers have spurred plenty of runs with defense, but proved Sunday they could do it on offense, too.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Indiana won its third game this week — the other two were over No. 13 Michigan and No. 2 Ohio State — which gives the Hoosiers a chance to move up in the rankings.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

The Hoosiers had 21 assists on 32 made shots and are sixth in the nation with 18.8 assists per game.

UP NEXT

Rutgers: Hosts Wisconsin on Feb. 5.

Indiana: At Minnesota on Wednesday.

------