Holmes, Berger lead No. 8 Indiana past Southern Illinois

Thu, Dec 23, 2021
NCAAB News (AP)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) - Mackenzie Holmes and Grace Berger each scored 18 points to lead No. 8 Indiana to a 70-37 victory over Southern Illinois on Thursday.

Holmes went 8 for 12 from the field. She also had a team-high seven rebounds.

Nicole Cardano-Hillary had 11 points, four assists and four rebounds for the Hoosiers (10-2).

Payton McCallister led Southern Illinois with 10 points, but Makenzie Silvey was limited to nine points on 4-of-15 shooting. Silvey was named Missouri Valley Conference player of the week after she averaged 21.7 points in three games last week.

The Hoosiers shot 52.7% from the field, compared to 27.3% for the Salukis (5-5).

Indiana dominated the first half, outscoring Southern Illinois 38-8. The Salukis went 4 for 27 from the field over the first two quarters.

The Hoosiers scored the first eight points and took a 15-4 lead after the opening quarter. Indiana scored the final 15 points of the second quarter as Southern Illinois went scoreless for nearly 7 minutes.

BIG PICTURE

Southern Illinois: The Salukis were attempting to win two games over Big Ten opponents for the first time since the 1992-93 season when they had victories over Illinois and Wisconsin. Southern Illinois beat visiting Illinois 66-51 on Sunday. This was the final nonconference games for the Salukis.

Indiana: This was the final nonconference game for the Hoosiers, who likely will stay in the top 10 after winning its only game of the week. Tuesday's home game with Wright State was canceled due to COVID-19 issues with Wright State. The game will not be made up. The Hoosiers won their first two Big Ten games.

TIP-INS

Southern Illinois: The Salukis played the Hoosiers for the first time since 2006. Southern Illinois is now winless in six trips to Indiana.

Indiana: The Hoosiers finished with an 8-2 nonconference record for their 10th consecutive season with a winning nonconference record.

UP NEXT

Southern Illinois: Hosts Valparaiso on Dec. 31.

Indiana: Returns to Big Ten action at Rutgers on Dec. 30.

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More AP women's college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25