LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Michigan State was supposed to be a payback game for the Indiana University women's basketball team. The Spartans were one of two teams that beat the No. 2 Hoosiers during the regular season.
Instead of payback, the Hoosiers encountered a struggle in their quarterfinal game at the Big Ten Tournament in the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Behind by as many as a dozen points in the second quarter and working through foul trouble on center Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana went ahead late in third quarter and defeated Michigan State, 94-85.
The Hoosiers led for only 13 minutes and 14 seconds. After allowing the Spartans to make eight shots from distance in the first half, the Hoosiers limited Michigan State to a single three-pointer in the second half.
"We needed halftime to get our minds right," IU head coach Teri Moren said. "Michigan State came out and did a great job. Give them a lot of credit. They were hitting shots. We were sleep-walking in that first quarter."
Despite missing a dozen minutes before fouling out, Holmes led Indiana with 27 points, five rebounds and a pair of blocks. Sara Scalia made four shots from distance while scoring 20 with Chloe Moore-McNeil adding 19.
The Hoosiers lost to the Spartans, 83-78, on Dec. 29 in East Lansing, Michigan. They improved to 27-2 and will play Michigan or Ohio State in the semifinals Saturday.
Grace Berger and Sydney Parrish are typically Indiana's second- and third-leading scorers. They struggled mightily against the Spartans.
Neither had a basket in the first half, combining to miss a half-dozen shots. Berger finally scored with 6:47 remaining in the third quarter while Parrish broke out with a pair of three-point field goals early in the fourth quarter.
Berger finished eight with while Parrish had six.
"It's part of tournament play," Moren said of her team's slow start. "That first game is always the most important one to get under your belt. It springboards you into some momentum.
"Now, you understand the lights. The floor. And just how big the moment is. Hopefully we learned a great lesson in the first quarter that you've got to show up. This is a great league with great coaches and great players and every night it's going to be a dogfight if you don't show up."
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