Indiana women’s basketball needed a major turnaround to earn a victory over Southern Indiana on Wednesday.

But Saturday’s Big Ten opener was a different story. Instead of spending the second half trying to overcome a deficit, the Hoosiers spent it trying to get away. They dominated Penn State after halftime and cruised to a 75-60 victory at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Indiana (7-3, 1-0 Big Ten) has now won seven straight conference openers. Here are three takeaways from IU’s strong performance.

Offensive dominates after the first quarter

Indiana only shot 25 percent from the field in the first quarter, but completely turned things around as the game progressed.

In the final three quarters of the game, the Hoosiers shot 62.5 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from 3-point range. They trailed by a point at the end of the first quarter and then equalized at halftime. But they extended their lead to six by the end of the third quarter before putting it out of reach in the final period.

Karoline Striplin led the team with 27 points, all coming in the final three quarters. But she attributed Indiana’s turnaround to improvements on defense rather than changes on offense.

“Honestly, I think we made some defensive adjustments that helped our offense,” Striplin said after the game. “Coach (Teri Moren) put a lot of emphasis on knowing our assignments and playing personnel. And I think just the stops on defense helped jumpstart our offense and gave us confidence.”

Attitude towards the press

Press defense has caused a lot of problems for IU in recent years. This was one of the biggest weaknesses of Moren’s teams – they regularly had problems with the press.

This has already happened several times this season. Southern Indiana put the pressure on the Hoosiers on Wednesday, and they had some problems doing so. That wasn’t the main reason the game was so close, but Indiana’s lack of attitude toward the press certainly contributed to it.

As in most games, Penn State immediately applied pressure against IU on Saturday. The Nittany Lions force 22.4 turnovers per game, which ranks 31st in the country, thanks in large part to this press defense. But Indiana handled it well this time.

IU finished the game with just 12 turnovers, and the press was only responsible for a few of them. Most of the time, the Hoosiers were able to break the press cleanly and build their offense without any problems. This was a big improvement for her.

“They were really great,” Moren said. “We knew Penn State could rely on turnovers, on their press, handing people over. Our turnovers, maybe one, maybe two, of the 12, came against the press. But I think the others were either paid calls or whatever. But we are very happy with how we behaved.”

Career days for Striplin and Garzon

Yarden Garzon had another strong game on Saturday.

The junior made six three-pointers on 10 attempts and shot 8 of 14 overall, earning 22 points. She added four rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block. Garzon leads Indiana with 14.6 points per game this season, and she has continued to have great success.

But above all, Striplin stole the show.

Her 27 points were just two points shy of her career high. But she scored those points with a remarkable 12-for-12 shooting line. Striplin joined Mackenzie Holmes as the only IU players to shoot 100 percent in a game.

“Honestly, it was all about confidence, and when I got the ball, I just shot it confidently,” Striplin said. “Everything my coaches poured into me before the game, including Mack. So I just felt really confident out there in the high position and deep.”

Striplin played well in IU’s season opener against Brown with 17 points and five rebounds. Since then she had fallen into more of a supporting role, as she only cracked double-digit points again on Saturday.

Moren wants the Tennessee transfer to be more consistent. Striplin may not deliver such an outstanding performance in every game, but she shows what level of play she is capable of.

“It was very productive for us early on in pre-season and in the summer. We knew what she was capable of. But this word consistency will come up again and again, especially with her and Lilly (Master). We have to have a certain consistency,” said Moren. “I don’t know if she’s going to be perfect every night on the field. But they must be able to be present inside and give us points so that we achieve the things we want to achieve. There has to be a balance.”

For complete coverage of IU women’s basketball, click HERE.

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