BLOOMINGTON — Late in the third quarter of Indiana women’s basketball matinee against Nebraska, Indiana pushed the ball up the court in a fastbreak situation.
As Indiana center Lilly Meister sprinted down the floor, Nebraska’s Jessica Petrie — who was Meister’s matchup at the time — left Meister unattended in an attempt to stop Yarden Garzon about 25 feet from the basket. Garzon delivered an overhead pass with both hands to Meister, who laid the ball in to extend Indiana’s lead to 15.
The mere threat of Garzon trying a 3 created an open layup for Meister. On Sunday, Indiana’s supreme 3-point shooting made scoring easier in all facets en route to the Hoosiers’ 76-60 victory.
IU was 13-of-30 (43%) from behind the arc on Sunday, tying the team’s season-high it set in its last game at Washington. Through 10 Big Ten games, IU is shooting 38.2% on 3s, which is second in the conference.
The Hoosiers went 8-of-15 (53%) from deep in the first half, which changed how Nebraska had to defend. After IU’s scorching hot start to the contest, Nebraska hugged up on the Hoosiers’ shooters. That allowed IU to share the wealth and get easier looks inside. Eighteen of IU’s 28 points in the paint came in the second half, and 12 came in just the third quarter.
“Our ability to shoot it the way we shot it today is really important to our success,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said after the game. “I think it's the only way we're going to be successful. … That's one thing that we know that we can control, right? And for us, it's just like any team — and any players — when they can see that thing go down, it feels really good.”
Moren and the Hoosiers know their strength as a team. Indiana almost always has four capable shooters on the floor, as the squad is built to spread defenses out, shoot more 3s than opponents and win by accumulating makes from downtown.
In six of Indiana’s seven losses this season, it has shot under 30% on 3s. While other factors have contributed to the team’s defeats, the recipe seems fairly clear. If Indiana shoots poorly, it loses. If Indiana shoots well, at the very least, it’ll have a chance to beat anyone.
Yarden Garzon (19 points, five 3s) and Chloe Moore-McNeil (15 points, four 3s) gave Indiana the boost it needed to beat Nebraska. Indiana assisted on 25 of its 29 made baskets, as all nine players who saw the court for the Hoosiers had an assist.
IU was also able to hold this Nebraska team — that attempted 23.4 3s per game before Sunday — to a 3-of-11 afternoon from deep. The 30-point disparity on 3s made all the difference in this matchup.
“Just us being locked in on both ends of the court and focusing in on what Nebraska likes, which is their 3-point shooting and keeping them off the line,” Moore-McNeil said while explaining how Indiana played a complete game. “I think we did a better job with not bailing them out. But in terms of the 3, I think we took away their main thing.”
Indiana is currently on the bubble of the NCAA tournament, but its past two wins against fellow bubble teams Nebraska and Washington could separate the Hoosiers in March. As Indiana enters the last full month of the regular season, it needs to continue to shoot as well as it has over the past two games to make the tournament for a sixth straight season.
