The No. 21-ranked Indiana women's basketball team defeated Princeton 72-63 on Saturday in the Fort Myers Tip-Off in Fort Myers, Fla. The Hoosiers won their opening game 71-57 against No. 19 Tennessee on Thursday.
The Hoosiers and Tigers last met in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament, when No. 3 seed Indiana defeated No. 11 seed Princeton 56-55.
Indiana fifth-year senior guard Sara Scalia scored 28 points with seven rebounds against the Tigers. Both were the most in her Hoosier career. She got into a rhythm during the first quarter, going three for three from 3-point range. She had 18 points by halftime.
“Sara had a special night,” Indiana coach Teri Moren said. “Not just with her shooting, but if you look at her stat line, it's pretty impressive.”
In the second quarter, the Hoosiers netted 25 points while shooting 83% from the field to take a commanding 41-24 lead.
Indiana graduate student forward Mackenzie Holmes eclipsed the career 2,000-point mark during the second quarter. She became the second player in program history to reach the milestone, joining former Indiana guard Tyra Buss. Holmes had a team-high eight rebounds with 20 points, four assists and two blocks.
“I thought Mackenzie handled herself in a great way out of the double,” Moren said. “It was a very physical game once again, and it's been a very physical tournament. At the end of the day, our kids' toughness meter is trending in the right direction. It took everything we had in the second half to get to the finish line.”
Princeton's rebounding created opportunities to outscore Indiana 21-15 in the third quarter and cut the lead to 56-45. Princeton senior guard Kaitlyn Chen and senior forward Ellie Mitchell scored 15 of the team's 21 points during that stretch. Chen finished the night with 16 points and four assists while Mitchell had 11 points and 16 rebounds.
The Tigers outscored the Hoosiers in the fourth quarter 18-16, but it was not enough to make up the deficit from the first half.
Other notable performers include Indiana sophomore guard Yarden Garzon, who secured eight points and six rebounds, and senior guard Chloe Moore-McNeil, who scored nine points.
Indiana has won four games in a row to improve to 5-1 on the season. The Hoosiers will face Maine at 7 p.m. ET Thursday in a homecoming game for Holmes, who's from Gorham, Maine.
