Holmes scores 23, No. 10 Indiana routs Fairfield 91-58
Dec 9, 2021, 4:16 AM | Updated: 6:59 pm
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Mackenzie Holmes had 23 points, five rebounds and five blocked shots, and No. 10 Indiana scored a season high in points in a dominating 91-58 victory over Fairfield on Thursday night.
The Hoosiers (7-2) went on a 23-0 run in the first quarter after the Stags (3-5) took an early 4-2 lead.
“We’re doing what we do,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said. “We’re running in transition, we found Mack early and I thought we played with good pace tonight.”
Forward Aleksa Gulbe scored 21 points and guard Grace Berger added 19 for Indiana.
Berger made her first 3-pointer since hitting a half-court buzzer-beater against Quinnipiac, only her third of the season.
“It’s always good to see the ball go in, but I’ve been playing basketball a long time and going through a lot of shooting slumps,” Berger said. “I just continue to trust my work, staying confident.”
Fairfield was led by guard Sydney Lowery’s 16 points.
The Hoosiers capitalized on their size advantage, outrebounding Fairfield 44-19. Five Hoosiers had at least five rebounds, led by Gulbe’s nine. Indiana turned their six offensive rebounds into 13 points. Indiana had 48 points in the paint, including 18 from Holmes.
“Coach Moren said we’re going to be bigger than them,” Gulbe said. “We have to take advantage.”
Indiana shot 61.1% from the field, but made only 4 of 12 shots from beyond the arc. Fairfield shot just 37.5%, including 2 for 9 from 3-point range.
The game had 50 combined personal fouls and 31 combined turnovers.
“I don’t know how you work on that, other than just stop doing it,” Moren said of her team’s 19 turnovers. “They gotta stop. They gotta take better care of the ball.”
Indiana also went on an 11-0 run in the second quarter and held a lopsided 51-27 lead at halftime.
BIG PICTURE
Fairfield: The Stags played for the first time since Dec. 1 after having their Monday game against Sacred Heart postponed due to COVID-19 issues within the Sacred Heart program.
Indiana: The Hoosiers used their bench for 72 minutes as a chance to tune up before starting conference play. Indiana has three non-conference games left on the schedule.
STAT OF THE NIGHT
Indiana’s bench scored 15 points, led by guard Kaitlin Peterson’s five points, the second-most it has scored in a game this season and most since it scored 16 in Indiana’s season-opening victory over Butler.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Indiana won its second game of the week after falling to the No. 10 spot in the AP Top 25 poll. It will play its fourth ranked matchup of the season Sunday.
UP NEXT
Fairfield: Begins MAAC conference play against Marist at home Dec. 18.
Indiana: Heads to Columbus, Ohio, to play No. 20 Ohio State on Sunday in its first road conference game of the season.
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