Following a game against Southern Indiana where head coach Teri Moren criticized the play of her front court, they responded in a big way in a 75-60 road win over Penn State.
The play of senior forward Karoline Striplin led the response. The Tennessee transfer scored 27 points on a perfect 12-for-12 shooting from the field. This single-game performance ties program-all-time leading scorer Mackenzie Holmes, a 13-for-13 shooting night back in 2020, for the best shooting percentage in a game by a single player in program history.
After tying a season-low in points with two on Wednesday, Striplin said her team's belief allowed her to have this breakout performance and gave Indiana its seventh straight conference-opening win.
“A lot of my coaches have been pouring into me before the game, so I just felt very confident up there in the high post and down low,” Striplin said.
It was not just Striplin who helped outscore the Nittany Lions by 15 in the second half, but junior guard Yarden Garzon’s career-high six 3-pointers and season-high 22 points.
Garzon’s performance from behind the arc and Striplin’s in the paint allowed the Hoosiers to have a balanced offensive attack which kept Penn State guessing.
“We needed them to be productive offensively,” Moren said. “I think most great teams have a great balance of an inside presence and an outside presence.”
The ability to break the press, a common Achilles heel for Indiana, allowed them to have offensive success. Moren said by not letting Penn State, a team that forces 22.4 turnovers per game, pressure them they took out a key part of the Nittany Lions’ game plan.
Another reason why IU was able to execute what they wanted was because of bench players like junior guard Henna Sandvik. Sandvik not only had the best plus-minus (30) in the game but secured a career-high five rebounds.
“Henna understands that getting those 50/50 balls, guarding hard, and doing the little things can help us,” Moren said. “She’s somebody we rely on and count on.”
With the win, Indiana improves to 7-3 on the season and 1-0 in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers will have a long eight-day break before a Sunday matinee at home with Bellarmine on Dec. 15.
