Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes shoots over Sydney Jaynes during Wednesday’s game in Bloomington, Ind. Holmes scored 21 points in a 67-50 win. Darron Cummings/Associated Press
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — No. 4 Indiana showed off its offensive firepower in the first half Wednesday as it completed an unbeaten nonconference schedule by topping Butler, 67-50.
In just 66 seconds of the first quarter, Yarden Garzon sank successive 3-pointers and passed to Gorham’s Mackenzie Holmes for a layup. Then Indiana outscored Butler 9-0 in the opening 87 seconds of the second quarter, featuring a three-point play for Holmes and successive 3-pointers by Sydney Parrish and Garzon.
Holmes, who scored 17 of her 21 points in the first half, was second in the NCAA in field-goal percentage (.692) going into Wednesday’s games, and Garzon was first in 3-point percentage (.542).
“That inside/outside punch, that’s difficult to guard,” Indiana Coach Teri Moren said.
The Hoosiers have needed more from Garzon, a freshman from Israel, since All-America candidate Grace Berger went down with a knee injury and has an unclear timetable to return.
“Yarden is clearly a very special player,” Holmes said. “It’s been a lot of fun playing alongside her. As good as she was when she came in, shot’s gotten even better. She puts in a lot of work with her shot. And her passing is incredible. She’s a very dynamic player.”
Garzon finished with 13 points and Sydney Parrish had 10 for the Hoosiers (12-0). The right-handed Holmes shot 8 of 12 from the field, scoring three baskets with her left hand. She also had seven rebounds and three assists.
“The challenge for her is to become a greater facilitator,” Moren said.
Rachel McLimore scored 13 and Sydney Jaynes had 11 for Butler (5-7).
(1) SOUTH CAROLINA 102, COASTAL CAROLINA 39: Aliyah Boston had 11 points and 10 rebounds for her 68th career double-double despite playing just 13 minutes as the Gamecocks (12-0) trounced the Chanticleers (5-6) in Columbia, South Carolina.
(5) NOTRE DAME 85, WESTERN MICHIGAN 57: Maddy Westbeld scored 10 points in four minutes and the Fighting Irish (10-1) started the second half on a 17-0 spree en route to a win over the Broncos (5-6) in South Bend, Indiana.
(9) UCONN 98, SETON HALL 73: Aaliyah Edwards had 23 points, leading six players who scored in double figures the Huskies (9-2, 2-0 Big East) against the Pirates (9-4, 2-1) in Storrs, Connecticut.
UConn Coach Geno Auriemma missed his second straight game because of illness. Associate coach Chris Dailey ran the team and improved to 15-0 when filling in for Auriemma.
(13) IOWA 92, DARTMOUTH 54: Caitlin Clark scored 20 points to tie the mark for the quickest Division I player – men or women – to reach 2,000 career points as the Hawkeyes (10-3) routed the Big Green (2-11) in Iowa City, Iowa.
Clark hit the mark in her 75th game, pulling even with former Delaware star and current WNBA standout Elena Delle Donne as the two players to have gotten to 2,000 so quickly since the 1999-2000 season, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
(15) MARYLAND 88, PURDUE FORT WAYNE 51: Shyanne Sellers scored 18 points, Diamond Miller had 17 points, six rebounds, four assists and four blocks, and the Terrapins (10-3) rolled past the Mastodons (4-8) in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
SOUTH FLORIDA 66, (17) ARKANSAS 65: Elena Tsineke scored all four of South Florida’s points in overtime and finished with 23 points as the Bulls (11-4) beat the Razorbacks (13-2) in San Diego.
(18) ARIZONA 78, UT ARLINGTON 59: Esmery Martinez scored 13 points and was part of a dominating rebounding performance as the Wildcats (10-1) beat the Mavericks (6-6) in Arlington, Texas.
(24) BAYLOR 73, LONG BEACH STATE 52: Caitlin Bickle scored 17 points, Sarah Andrews missed a triple-double by one point and the Bears (9-3) pulled away from the 49ers (5-5) in Waco, Texas.
(25) ST. JOHN’S 80, WAGNER 51: Jayla Everett scored a season-high 24 points to lead the Red Storm (12-0) past the Seahawks (5-6) in New York.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
(8) TENNESSEE 86, AUSTIN PEAY 44: Olivier Nkamhoua scored 20 points to lead the Volunteers (10-2) to a win over the Governors (6-7) in Knoxville, Tennessee.
(13) UCLA 81, UC DAVIS 54: Jaylen Clark had 18 points and 11 rebounds as the Bruins (11-2) beat the Aggies (7-5) in Los Angeles.
(19) KENTUCKY 88, FLORIDA A&M 68: Cason Wallace scored a career-high 27 points to help the Wildcats (8-3) defeat the Rattlers (2-8) in Lexington, Kentucky.
BOSTON COLLEGE 70, (21) VIRGINIA TECH 65: Makai Ashton-Langford had 21 points and seven rebounds, and hit a 3-pointer with 36 seconds left in overtime to clinch a win for the Eagles (7-6, 1-1 ACC) over the Hokies (11-2, 1-1) in Boston.
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