With the No. 4 team in the nation on the ropes late in the fourth, Indiana’s Yarden Garzon had a chance to set Assembly Hall on fire. Indiana down 70-66 with 1:23 left, Garzon set her feet at the top of the key for a wide open triple, but missed the catch & shoot.
For an Indiana crowd whose energy was ferocious, one more three could have been the difference. But as USC’s Kennedy Smith secured the rebound, the atmosphere in Assembly Hall deflated, ultimately sealing IU’s fate.
“What an incredible atmosphere, it was everything that I heard it would be and the fans here delivered” said USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb.
Despite an IU crowd which created an intense atmosphere, the Hoosiers couldn’t find a way to close the game out in the fourth. In such a close game, the contest is won and lost in the finer margins. This time, IU just simply didn’t hit enough shots in the right moments. In the fourth quarter alone, the Hoosiers shot 4/13 from the field, and just 2/8 from three in the 73-66 loss.
“I look back at UCLA, I look back at today, we just got to hit shots. It's that easy” said Indiana head coach Teri Moren. “We got some really good looks, we just didn’t hit them.”
In the first half, the ebbs and flows of the game were shocking. In the first quarter, USC immediately took a 9-2 lead to take control. In the snap of a finger though, Indiana went on a 12-0 run while forcing 7 USC first quarter turnovers. Seven first quarter points from Sydney Parrish ignited IU’s offense, and got the crowd involved. Defensively, IU started fantastic, not allowing potential top-3 WNBA draft-pick Juju Watkins to score a bucket in the first. But, she was not going away. Watkins led all scorers with 22 points on 6/16 shooting.
“They [Indiana] were sending multiple bodies at me every time I caught the ball so it was just a matter of isolating myself from that and getting used to it,” said Watkins.
However, basketball is a game of back-and-forths. The rollercoaster ride of a basketball game continued in the second, this time with USC answering the bell. To close the first half, USC had hit 8 of 11 attempts, outscoring IU 24-13 in the second. After a deafening Assembly Hall lifted IU through the first quarter, it was made very clear that USC was not going to lay down.
In the third, something changed. The crowd's energy re-ignited. The reason, Lily Meister. With Indiana down 6 to start the third, Lily Meister came out of nowhere. Meister rattled off six straight points, taking a charge and kept the deficit at one point into the fourth.
As great teams always do, USC found a way to close the game out down the stretch. Forcing IU to just 30% shooting, the Trojans defense stood strong in the end. The difference came down to the free throw line. USC went 8/10 on free throws in the fourth, keeping IU at arms length away the rest of the way.
Indiana, now 12-6 (4-3 BIG) goes on the road to play Oregon this Friday.
