Indiana sophomore guard Yarden Garzon had the basketball on the left side of the key with 4:30 to play in the third quarter of Saturday’s NCAA Tournament game against Fairfield. She passed it to sophomore guard Lexus Bargesser at the top.
Bargesser hesitated, swung the rock, and found senior guard Sara Scalia on the right side.
Scalia took the shot and made nothing but the net. Fairfield called a timeout and the crowd roared.
The Hoosiers would take a 59-43 lead with 4:23 to go.
For Fairfield, it was a kill shot. For Indiana, it was another episode of “The Sara Scalia Show.”
No. 4-seeded Indiana women’s basketball ended No. 13-Fairfield's 29-game win streak in an 89-56 victory on Saturday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Indiana set a new program record for points in an NCAA Tournament game with 89. It broke the prior record of 83 points.
Scalia led the Hoosiers with 27 points and shot 9-for-16 from the field with five 3-pointers made.
Her 27 points are the most by any Indiana women's basketball player in an NCAA Tournament.
“It’s great to see, she's done the work,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said. “Any time she shoots it, we believe it's going to go in. This has sort of been her breakout year."
Garzon and senior guard Chloe Moore-McNeil each had 13 points. Graduate student forward Mackenzie Holmes had 13 points and six rebounds.
The first half was a game of cat and mouse between the two teams. For every bucket the Hoosiers scored, the Stags had an answer back. Up until the second quarter media timeout, the Stags had a 31-26 lead. The Hoosiers capitalized on a 10-0 run to change the tide of the matchup and took a 38-34 half entering the locker rooms.
Despite the lead, Fairfield was not going away without a fight as it had more efficient in 3-point shooting and steals than Indiana did.
“I didn’t mind the pace,” Moren said. “What I did mind was us not getting back and better in transition from time to time.”
The second half became a positive one for the Hoosiers. The Stags cut the lead down to three. However, the Hoosiers fired off a 26-point quarter, including a 13-0 run, to pull away with a comfortable lead.
The Hoosiers improved on defense as well. Five blocks and nine defensive rebounds limited the Stags’ opportunities to keep possession of the ball and crawl back into the game.
Fairfield ran out of gas during the fourth quarter as the team only scored seven points. Indiana scored 25 in the final frame with 12 coming off turnovers. Indiana shot 59% from the field and 50% from the 3-point arc in the second half.
Indiana will face No. 5-seeded Oklahoma on Monday at Assembly Hall. It will be aired on ESPN2 with a time TBD.
