When you look at a box score, many things pop out on the sheet that looks good: points, rebounds, assists and steals.
However, many things can also deceive the eye when only looking at a sheet and not watching a game.
For example, Indiana sophomore guard Lexus Bargesser — starting her second game in a row in place of injured senior guard Sydney Parrish — was the only Hoosier to not score during Indiana’s 100-59 win over Northwestern on Sunday. However, she notched nine rebounds and four assists. Her seven defensive rebounds and two steals secured crucial possessions for the Hoosiers to create more opportunities on offense to route the Wildcats.
“She’s doing exactly what we need her to,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said. “She wants to contribute. (Assistant coach) Ali (Patberg) watches a ton of film with her, and we keep saying the same thing: keep doing what you’re doing.”
The Hoosiers’ bench stood out in the matchup against the Wildcats. The cast had 37 points and shot a perfect 8-for-8 from the foul line in 34 much-needed minutes with four new career highs in scoring achieved.
Indiana freshman guard Lenée Beaumont notched a career-high 11 points as she was 4-for-6 from the field. She also had two rebounds and assists with a perfect 3-for-3 at the free-throw line in 31 minutes of playing time.
As a player who typically passes first, Beaumont never reached double-digits in scoring throughout the first 18 games. However, that changed with aggressive drives in the lane for layups to sink in the basket.
“Beau, I thought was great today,” Moren said. “Really took advantage of her minutes. I think it was so good for her to have the performance that she did. We always remind her it's the next play and to see how aggressive she was offensively today was really good for her and good for us.”
Freshman guard Julianna LaMendola had a career-high of seven points with 4-for-6 shooting, three rebounds and three assists in 17 minutes.
She knocked down a triple in the fourth quarter with 7:34 to go, her first since Indiana’s win over Evansville on Dec. 18, 2023.
Sophomore forward Lilly Meister had 13 points and three rebounds in 23 minutes. Her 13 was the most she recorded in a conference game and defeats her previous career high of 12 against Murray State on Nov. 17, 2023.
"I thought Lilly gave us great minutes off the bench,” Moren said. “Good afternoon to play a lot of kids."
Sophomore guard Henna Sandvik played 15 minutes against Northwestern, the least out of anyone available on the bench. It is the most she has played in a game since IU’s win over Evansville on Dec. 18, 2023.
Despite her limited minutes Sunday, she had six points which is the most she has recorded in a Big Ten game since her four at Penn State on Dec. 8, 2022.
“I think those players knew they had to step up,” senior forward Mackenzie Holmes said. “So, it was great to see them be able to contribute. It's really good for them to get that in-game experience down the stretch.”
Tipoff against Maryland is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Xfinity Arena. The game will be on Peacock.
