Chloe Moore-McNeil, Sara Scalia step up, lead Indiana women's basketball past Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE — No. 16 IU women's basketball scraped by in-state rival Purdue, 74-68, on Sunday afternoon to keep the Barn Burner Trophy in Bloomington.

With the win, IU (16-2, 7-1 Big Ten) again entered a tie with No. 2 Iowa atop of the Big Ten standings. Iowa lost to No. 18 Ohio State earlier Sunday afternoon for its first Big Ten loss of the season.

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Here are three observations:

Sydney Parrish sits with injury

Starting senior guard Sydney Parrish did not dress for the game Sunday, and she came into Mackey Arena on crutches with a boot on her right foot. She did not put any weight on her foot while going to and from the locker room, and mostly sat on the sideline bench as IU was warming up.

Parrish’s absence was a big loss for IU, as the senior had started the first 16 games of the season and averaged over 10 points per game.

Sophomore Lexus Bargesser, who is usually first off the bench and backs up point guard Chloe Moore-McNeil, started in place of Parrish. Sunday was Bargesser’s first start after 46 games off the bench for the Hoosiers. Freshman Julianna LaMendola, who is Parrish’s direct backup at the 4, also saw increased minutes on the floor. Both Bargesser and LaMendola did not contribute much on the offensive end, combining for two points.

IU heavily relied on its primary starters — Mackenzie Holmes, Yarden Garzon, Sara Scalia and Chloe Moore-McNeil — for offensive firepower, as those four scored all but two of the Hoosiers’ points.

Chloe Moore-McNeil steps up

Moore-McNeil is usually not a main scoring threat on the Hoosiers offense. She primarily guards the best opposing player and runs the offense, averaging 9.4 points per game.

On Sunday, IU needed her to step up, especially with Parrish out. And she responded with her best scoring game of her career.

Moore-McNeil finished with 20 points — the final points coming at a pivotal time in the fourth quarter. The senior just beat the shot clock with a step-back 3 at the four-minute mark of the fourth quarter, which gave IU some crucial separation.

Moore-McNeil also flashed her defensive abilities, quieting the Mackey Arena crowd when it was likely at its loudest. Near the end of the third quarter, Mackey erupted as Rashunda Jones drew a foul on a layup to get the Boilermakers (9-9, 2-5) within two points. While she missed the free throw, the arena got loud again after Scalia missed a 3-pointer, and Jones brought the ball back down the court.

That time, when Jones got to the basket, Moore-McNeil was close behind to knock the ball out.

Moore-McNeil finished 7-of-14 shooting with three assists, two steals and two blocks.

A 3-point barrage

While Parrish is one of the Hoosiers’ main 3-point threats, her teammates more than picked up the slack for her absence.

IU started the game 4-for-4 from beyond the arc; Garzon and Moore-McNeil each made one, while Scalia sank two. That barrage continued throughout the first half, as IU both silenced the Mackey crowd and kept up with Purdue by going 9-for-12 beyond the arc.

By halftime, nine of IU’s 13 made shots were 3-pointers, allowing the Hoosiers to take a 39-37 lead over the Boilermakers — who only made three 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes.

The Hoosiers’ 3-point makes slowed down in the second half, but IU still used it as a silencing opportunity. Scalia tied the score at 54 at the beginning of the fourth quarter with a quick 3-pointer, and senior center Mackenzie Holmes, who was wide-open at the 3-point line not long after, took a rare shot beyond the arc to put the Hoosiers up, 59-56.

Scalia finished the game with 6-of-9 shooting beyond the arc for 20 points. Garzon and Moore-McNeil were the other two players to finish with multiple 3s, going 5-of-8 and 3-of-5, respectively.

Indiana women's basketball stats vs. Purdue

INDIANA (16-2): Holmes 6-7 2-2 15, Bargesser 0-2 0-0 0, Garzon 5-9 2-3 17, Moore-McNeil 7-14 3-3 20, Scalia 7-15 0-0 20, Meister 0-0 0-0 0, Beaumont 1-1 0-0 2, LaMendola 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 26-49 7-8 74

PURDUE (9-9): Harper 6-11 5-6 18, Stevenson 6-13 1-1 13, Ellis 4-12 1-1 10, Madison Layden 4-8 0-2 10, Terry 2-6 0-0 4, Jones 5-11 2-4 13, McKenna Layden 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Swanson 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 27-61 9-14 68

Indiana 22 17 12 23 — 74

Purdue 29 8 17 14 — 68

3-Point Goals—Indiana 15-23 (Holmes 1-1, Garzon 5-8, Moore-McNeil 3-5, Scalia 6-9), Purdue 5-13 (Harper 1-4, Ellis 1-4, Ma.Layden 2-4, Jones 1-1). Assists_Indiana 15 (Moore-McNeil 4), Purdue 15 (Terry 6). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Indiana 26 (Holmes 6), Purdue 32 (Terry 8). Total Fouls_Indiana 12, Purdue 11. Technical Fouls_None. A_11,796.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IU women's basketball: Chloe Moore-McNeil, Sara Scalia score 20 vs. Purdue