BLOOMINGTON — Indiana women’s basketball picked up its fourth straight win on Sunday, beating Bellarmine 95-61. Here’s how Indiana (8-3, 1-0 Big Ten) protected its home court on Sunday.
Karoline Striplin stays hot
Senior forward Karoline Striplin followed her 27-point performance at Penn State last Saturday with 18 points against
Bellarmine. After having just one double-digit scoring outing in Indiana’s first nine games, the Tennessee transfer has logged back-to-back games in double figures.
“Honestly, I just feel a lot more comfortable in the system now,” Striplin said after the game. “I know, really, what coach expects of me. I knew that from the jump, but it's a lot easier said than done, and now that I've kind of gotten my groove, I don't want to stop.”
As Indiana’s backup center behind Lilly Meister, Striplin’s contributions are important to this team. Indiana has struggled to get bench production thus far in the season, which is why three of its starters — Yarden Garzon, Shay Ciezki and Chloe Moore-McNeil — average more than 34 minutes per game.
Striplin is a post player with solid touch that’s led to her making 62% of her field goals this year. IU’s offense typically keeps four shooters on the floor, allowing Striplin and Meister plenty of room to work with in the lane.
Replacing All-American Mackenzie Holmes’ paint presence was never going to be an easy task for IU. But if the Hoosiers can
rely on Striplin to record 10 or more points most games off the bench, it’ll give the team a needed boost once it re-enters Big Ten play.
Henna Sandvik has career day
Speaking of bench production, junior guard Henna Sandvik dropped a career-high 13 points in a reserve role. Sandvik had
never scored more than six points in 55 career games before Sunday when she more than doubled that mark.
“This kid is in the gym all the time, every day, just working on her game,” IU head coach Teri Moren said of Sandvik. “And
you know, it's amazing. It's not that hard of a recipe — you work, you get the results that you want.”
Sandvik’s role has increased in recent weeks, in large part due to starting guard Sydney Parrish missing the last five games
with a knee injury. Sandvik has played 22.8 minutes per game in the Hoosiers’ last four games.
Sunday’s game could serve as a needed breakout game for Sandvik, who has gotten sparse playing time throughout her three
seasons in Bloomington. Sandvik was 4-of-6 from the field against Bellarmine and 3-of-5 on 3s. More games like this could make Sandvik a mainstay in Moren’s rotation, even when Sydney Parrish returns.
IU’s ball movement shines
The Hoosiers had 27 assists on 37 field goals in Sunday’s matinee, as the ball swung around the court frequently and with
urgency against Bellarmine. The 27 assists were a season-high for Indiana, whose previous high was 25 assists against Maine on December 1.
Indiana doesn’t have a consistent, go-to scorer like it has had in previous years, which makes ball movement even more
essential for this team. On Sunday, Indiana made correct and timely passes against an aggressive Bellarmine defense that mixes up its coverages.
“Coach always emphasizes sharing the sugar,” Striplin said. “And I think when we're not turning the ball over, it's easier
to get open looks, but especially when everybody's contributing, that helps out a lot on the assists. So really proud of the way that we moved the ball today.”
Five Hoosiers — Garzon, Moore-McNeil, Ciezki, Lexus Bargesser and Jules Lamendola — had four or more assists on Sunday. That frequent ball movement is why nine different players scored and seven scored at least 10 points.
For a team that’s had its struggles protecting the ball and making the right decisions, Sunday’s game was an encouraging sign.
For IU to be at its best, the ball has to move like it did against Bellarmine.
