BLOOMINGTON — On senior night at Assembly Hall, the Indiana Hoosiers fell 74-60 against the No. 17 Maryland Terrapins.
Fresh off a 73-65 loss to No. 22 Michigan State on the road, Indiana had one last chance for a ranked win before postseason play. The Hoosiers ended the first quarter tied 14-14, with the home crowd on its feet for IU’s final home game of the season. After the first frame, it seemed Indiana was in position to fire off its fifth ranked win of the season.
But Maryland’s defense took over in the second quarter and never looked back. The Terrapins held Indiana to just six points in the period, forcing the Hoosiers to shoot 3-for-12 from the field and 0-for-6 from 3-point range. Maryland closed the first half on a 14-0 run and entered the locker room with a 30-20 lead at the break.
“It’s focus, that’s what’s missing,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said. “We’re not a very focused team, and I think when we’re hyper-focused like we were against Ohio State, we know what we’re capable of.”
The theme of Thursday’s game: domination on the boards. Maryland controlled the paint for all 40 minutes, out-rebounding Indiana 39-24. Holding the Hoosiers to just one shot per possession weighed heavily on IU, as Maryland led for the rest of the game after the first quarter.
Additionally, Indiana collected just one offensive rebound compared to Maryland’s nine. The Terrapins, the third-best rebounding team in the Big Ten, had no problem wearing down the Hoosiers.
“This league is physical, and we have to embrace that. It’s part of it. We can’t run away from that—we’ve got to embrace it,” Moren said. “At one point, we were a really physical team, and at this point, I don’t feel like we are as physical as some other teams, but I know we need to be.”
In the second half, Indiana reignited its offense, but not for long. Yarden Garzon knocked down three 3-pointers in the third quarter, helping cut the deficit to two points midway through the period. By the end of the third, Indiana trailed by seven.
Down the stretch, Maryland’s Shyanne Sellers took over. Sellers scored 21 points in the fourth quarter on 5-for-7 shooting, leading the Terrapins to a 28-point final frame that erased any hopes of an Indiana comeback.Seniors Karoline Striplin, Sydney Parrish, and Chloe Moore-McNeil all played their final game at Assembly Hall and will have one last shot to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.
Moore-McNeil finished Thursday’s contest with 148 games played in an IU uniform, tied for the most in program history alongside Grace Berger. Indiana (17-11, 9-8 Big Ten) will play its final regular-season game on the road against Purdue (10-18) on Sunday.
