Sydney Parrish helps Indiana women's basketball get rolling early against Michigan
BLOOMINGTON — Once Indiana women’s basketball guard Sydney Parrish sunk her second 3-pointer three minutes in, spectators at Assembly Hall knew they were in for a special night.
The Hoosiers' high-powered offense has produced many impressive feats this season, including a perfect first quarter —13-for-13 from the field for 36 points — in Thursday's 80-59 win over Michigan at Assembly Hall.
While the crowd was hyper-aware of the shooting streak, gasping each time the ball floated through the air, and sighing out with relief when it swished through the net.
More: Inside the numbers: Indiana women’s basketball has historic first quarter in Michigan win
The team, however, paid little attention.
“I had no idea we were perfect,” head coach Teri Moren said. “Until I got to see it, I really wasn’t paying attention to that, I was just really enjoying it.”
So was first team All-American guard Mackenzie Holmes who finished with a team high 20 points.
“I think we had a sense we were hot on offense," Holmes said. "You could feel the energy of the fans, but I don’t think we knew about the makes and misses."
Five of those first quarter shots came from Parrish. While any given player on the Hoosiers' roster can carry the team offensively — three players have logged 30 points in a game this season — Parrish was due for her big night.
Parrish finished with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range.
“I thought Sydney brought a lot of great energy to us especially in that first quarter," Holmes said. "Kinda got our energy going through the start.”
The Hoosiers needed that hot start. Michigan was coming off a strong win at Ohio State and received votes in the national rankings. A win against over No. 14 Indiana may have earned the Wolverines a spot in Top 25.
After the hot start, Indiana was comfortable, but not dominant. With Parrish in foul trouble early, Michigan played the Hoosiers pretty much even the final three quarters.
“We knew Michigan was way too dangerous,” Moren said. “Every team in this league is way too dangerous to ever take your foot off the pedal. It was just a matter of us continuing to do some things that we were doing but also to be efficient and execute.”
More: Indiana women's basketball lands early knockout blow in win over Michigan
After a close game against unranked Illinois, Thursday’s game was a confidence boost, proving the Hoosiers are able to create and follow a game plan as well as make the necessary adjustments in-game.
“I thought we did have a great game plan going into the game, so we know if we stick to the game plan for 40 minutes we are going to have success and that showed tonight,” Holmes said. “We know we are going to get the best of the Big Ten night in and night out, so I think it is just a matter of executing.”
The Hoosiers next Big Ten test comes on Sunday when they travel to Nebraska. Tipoff is 2 p.m.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Sydney Parrish helps Indiana women's basketball roll vs. Michigan
