No. 14 Indiana women rally past Penn State in second half; showdown with Iowa looms

Updated: Jan 11, 2024, 04:13 am

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- — Mackenzie Holmes had 21 points and 13 rebounds, Sydney Parrish added 20 points, and No. 14 Indiana extended its winning streak to 13 games with a 75-67 victory over Penn State on Wednesday night.

The Hoosiers (14-1, 5-0 Big Ten) trailed by five at halftime but outscored the Lady Lions 41-28 in the second half, setting up a first-place showdown with No. 3 Iowa on Saturday. The game will be nationally televised by Fox.

Leading 55-51 heading to the fourth quarter, Holmes scored seven points and Parrish added five as Indiana pushed its lead to 66-56 with 5 1/2 minutes left. After Holmes' three-point play gave the Hoosiers that 10-point lead, there were only four field goals the rest of the game.

A jumper by Chloe Moore-McNeil put the Hoosiers up by 11 near the 3-minute mark and after a series of free throws by Penn State, Holmes made a layup to put Indiana up 70-61 inside of 2 minutes. Makenna Marisa finally hit a jumper for Penn State with 45 seconds left and Leilani Kapinus made a layup with 21 seconds to go. Both buckets got the Lady Lions within six but both times Indiana followed with a pair of free throws to seal the win.

Moore-McNeil scored 16 points and Sara Scalia added 11 for Indiana.

Kapinus scored 15 points, Ali Brigham 14, Taylor Valliday 13 and Shay Ciezki 12 for Penn State (10-5, 1-3). The Lady Lions led 12-0 in bench points.

The Lady Lions had a 30-18 advantage in points in the paint in the first half and outshot Indiana 53% to 39% in taking a 39-34 halftime lead. The Hoosiers regrouped in the third quarter and held Penn State to four field goals, outscoring the Lady Lions 21-12 in the period.

Indiana is 5-0 in Big Ten play for the first time in program history.

Penn State will play at Rutgers on Sunday.

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