Indiana University Athletics
Parrish and No. 6 Hoosiers Are Having ‘Fun’
1/17/2023 7:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - A shot to the mouth? No problem. Pressure moments? Sydney Parrish has them covered.
Indiana's junior guard focuses on what matters most. Given the No. 6 Hoosiers' 16-1 overall record, 5-1 in the Big Ten, it starts with winning, and playing to the level that helps produce it.
With a grueling eight-day stretch that starts Wednesday at No. 21 Illinois (15-3, 5-2 B1G) and then continues next Monday at No. 14 Michigan (15-3, 5-2 B1G) before ending at home Jan. 28 against No. 2 Ohio State (18-0, 7-0 B1G), Parrish figures to be a major factor.
"It's fun to be here," she says.
This is exactly what coach Teri Moren was looking for when Parrish, a former Indiana Miss Basketball out of Hamilton Southeastern High School, transferred from Oregon.
"Don't let the makeup and the eyelashes and the fingernails, and all that trick you into thinking that she's not a complete basketball player, because she is one of the greatest competitors that we have inside of that locker room," Moren says. "She has a high IQ. She loves the game. She loves her teammates."
Love had Parrish accepting an off-the-bench role to start the season, just as it does now as a starter. She averages 12.5 points and 5.8 rebounds with a team leading 36 steals.
"I'm happy to be back home at this program that Coach Moren and the staff has built," Parrish says.
And if it means bouncing back from a shot to the mouth, as she did in last week's victory over then-No. 9 Maryland, all the better.
"I turned the ball over," she says, "so I was more frustrated."
Frustrations are few given the way IU is winning and Parrish is playing. Returning to the state of Indiana couldn't have worked out better.
"Entering the portal, I kept my options open," Parrish says, "but as soon as IU contacted me, it opened my mind a little bit and I realized, okay, I can go back home and play. I can be close to family. I can be on a winning program.
"This team is really good, and everyone knows that. They're nationally known now. That was big for me. I wanted to come in and contribute as much as I can and hope to get far in (the Big Ten and NCAA) tournaments."
Parrish has been a perfect fit for a team with national title aspirations after Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen appearances in the previous two seasons.
"I think it's pretty evident," forward Mackenzie Holmes says, "that Sydney is a Hoosier through and through. She always has been. She was born a Hoosier. I'm super happy to be playing alongside her. She's a competitor. She's fierce on both sides of the ball."
Parrish is part of a powerhouse team with weapons all over the court. Holmes continues to play at a Big Ten MVP level, getting 29 points and eight rebounds in Sunday's blow-out win over Wisconsin, and averaging 21.2 points and 8.1 rebounds this season while totaling seven double-doubles.
Guard Grace Berger is back from a knee injury that cost her eight games, but not her all-around game. She averages 11.1 points and 4.1 rebounds.
Guard Chloe Moore-McNeil averages 9.2 points and has 84 assists against 23 turnovers and 28 steals.
Freshman Yarden Garzon lit up Wisconsin for 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists with her mother and sister coming from their native Israel to be part of a regular-season women's record crowd of 10,422. She averages 12.4 points and 4.5 rebounds and has 64 assists.
Watch out for guard Sara Scalia (9.6-point average), a 41-percent three-point shooter at Minnesota who is struggling to find that form as a Hoosier, although Moren is certain it will come.
"We've got to get her going, and she will," Moren says.
The pieces are there for a championship, and if takes a few more shots to the mouth to get it done, these Hoosiers seem built for it.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - A shot to the mouth? No problem. Pressure moments? Sydney Parrish has them covered.
Indiana's junior guard focuses on what matters most. Given the No. 6 Hoosiers' 16-1 overall record, 5-1 in the Big Ten, it starts with winning, and playing to the level that helps produce it.
With a grueling eight-day stretch that starts Wednesday at No. 21 Illinois (15-3, 5-2 B1G) and then continues next Monday at No. 14 Michigan (15-3, 5-2 B1G) before ending at home Jan. 28 against No. 2 Ohio State (18-0, 7-0 B1G), Parrish figures to be a major factor.
"It's fun to be here," she says.
This is exactly what coach Teri Moren was looking for when Parrish, a former Indiana Miss Basketball out of Hamilton Southeastern High School, transferred from Oregon.
"Don't let the makeup and the eyelashes and the fingernails, and all that trick you into thinking that she's not a complete basketball player, because she is one of the greatest competitors that we have inside of that locker room," Moren says. "She has a high IQ. She loves the game. She loves her teammates."
Love had Parrish accepting an off-the-bench role to start the season, just as it does now as a starter. She averages 12.5 points and 5.8 rebounds with a team leading 36 steals.
"I'm happy to be back home at this program that Coach Moren and the staff has built," Parrish says.
And if it means bouncing back from a shot to the mouth, as she did in last week's victory over then-No. 9 Maryland, all the better.
"I turned the ball over," she says, "so I was more frustrated."
Frustrations are few given the way IU is winning and Parrish is playing. Returning to the state of Indiana couldn't have worked out better.
"Entering the portal, I kept my options open," Parrish says, "but as soon as IU contacted me, it opened my mind a little bit and I realized, okay, I can go back home and play. I can be close to family. I can be on a winning program.
"This team is really good, and everyone knows that. They're nationally known now. That was big for me. I wanted to come in and contribute as much as I can and hope to get far in (the Big Ten and NCAA) tournaments."
Parrish has been a perfect fit for a team with national title aspirations after Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen appearances in the previous two seasons.
"I think it's pretty evident," forward Mackenzie Holmes says, "that Sydney is a Hoosier through and through. She always has been. She was born a Hoosier. I'm super happy to be playing alongside her. She's a competitor. She's fierce on both sides of the ball."
Parrish is part of a powerhouse team with weapons all over the court. Holmes continues to play at a Big Ten MVP level, getting 29 points and eight rebounds in Sunday's blow-out win over Wisconsin, and averaging 21.2 points and 8.1 rebounds this season while totaling seven double-doubles.
Guard Grace Berger is back from a knee injury that cost her eight games, but not her all-around game. She averages 11.1 points and 4.1 rebounds.
Guard Chloe Moore-McNeil averages 9.2 points and has 84 assists against 23 turnovers and 28 steals.
Freshman Yarden Garzon lit up Wisconsin for 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists with her mother and sister coming from their native Israel to be part of a regular-season women's record crowd of 10,422. She averages 12.4 points and 4.5 rebounds and has 64 assists.
Watch out for guard Sara Scalia (9.6-point average), a 41-percent three-point shooter at Minnesota who is struggling to find that form as a Hoosier, although Moren is certain it will come.
"We've got to get her going, and she will," Moren says.
The pieces are there for a championship, and if takes a few more shots to the mouth to get it done, these Hoosiers seem built for it.
Players Mentioned
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