‘Confident’ Parrish Peaking as No. 14 IU Faces No. 3 Iowa
1/12/2024 4:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Sydney Parrish is, once again, an offensive force of nature, once again punishing opposing defenses.
This is big any time Indiana hits the basketball court. It could be decisive on Saturday night, when the No. 14 Hoosiers (14-1 overall, 5-0 in the Big Ten) play at No. 3 Iowa (16-1, 5-0) in a nationally televised Big Ten first-place showdown.
Parrish has regained her offensive nature over the last three games, rocking Michigan for 14 points, and Nebraska and Penn State with 20 each. She has made 17 of her last 26 shots, including 11 of her last 17 three-pointers.
That's boosted Parrish's season scoring average into double figures for the first time, to 10.5. Last year, her first as a Hoosier after transferring from Oregon, she averaged 12.0 points en route to earning honorable mention All-Big Ten honors.
Gone is the frustration from eight games of sub-double-figure scoring, including consecutive contests against Bowling Green and Illinois of five points each.
And if it comes with some Taylor Swift musical motivation, all the better.
"It's the confidence my teammates and coaches have in me," Parrish says when asked about her scoring resurgence. "I wasn't playing great on the offensive end early in the season. I knew it would come. Coach (Teri Moren) kept telling me that. My teammates kept telling me that. I had confidence in myself that it would come along."
It has. Parrish was 3-for-4 on three-pointers against Michigan, and 6-for-7 on the road against Nebraska. She complemented that with 8-for-10 free throw shooting against Penn State.
Parrish also averages 5.9 rebounds. The former Indiana Miss Basketball out of Hamilton Southeastern High School has had as many as five assists and three steals in a game this season while providing crucial leadership -- a major factor Wednesday night when IU struggled against Penn State.
Center Mackenzie Holmes isn't surprised.
"Sydney is a great player. We expect her to make plays. She does all the little things not a lot of people want to do. It's good to see that shine.
Parrish, a 6-2 guard who has already committed to returning to IU for a third season (making it five college seasons overall), is a difference maker at the highest level for a team with national title aspirations.
"She's a high IQ kid," Moren says. "She understands the game. She's a very positive teammate, a very positive kid. She gets frustrated with herself, but it doesn't get her down. She plays on, she plays the next play. She continues to challenge her team to be better."
IU, which has won 13 straight, will have to be at its best in all phases against Iowa as it wasn't against Penn State. It needed a strong second half to rally for a 75-67 victory.
Moren wants the Hoosiers dialed in from the opening tip at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, which is why practices leading into Saturday night's game were so crucial.
"We've got to be able to turn it up in practice and be so much better against a team that pressures the way Penn State did and handle ourselves better," Moren says. "We have to be so much better defensively. Take more pride in guarding one-on-one.
"I'm a firm believer that what you do in practice translates to games. We have to work against our scout guys and have them be more physical with us, give us more pressure so we really have to work at setting our movement up to come off screens, and get open to get the ball to the wing to start our stuff."
Iowa is a formidable challenge that starts with superstar guard Caitlin Clark. The 6-2 senior averages 31.0 points, 7.7 assists and 7.3 rebounds. She shoots 48.3 percent from the field, and 40.1 percent from three-point range. She has 15 career triple doubles, including two straight.
With nearly 3,300 career points, Clark is within range of the women's career record of 3,528 points held by Kelsey Plum, the former University of Washington All-America now excelling in the WNBA.
The Hawkeyes, who also have won 13 straight, have two other double figure scorers in forward Hannah Stuelke (14.1 points, 7.2 rebounds) and guard Kate Martin (12.2, 5.7).
Despite the high stakes and national interest, Moren says, "For us, it's the next game."
Still, memories of last season's game at Iowa City, when IU lost on a last-second Clark shot, remain vivid.
"It's two great programs with great players looking forward to this," Moren says. "It's become a rivalry. The fact Cait has so much attention on her right now -- any game she plays in is big.
"I don't know that anybody has figured out how to guard her. We'll make sure it will be similar to what we've done in the past. We've done a decent job knowing she will score. She will get hers.
"It's their other players we can't allow to score a lot of points."
Saturday's game is a sellout, as is every Iowa game this season, home and away.
"It will be another test for us," Moren says. "It's a game we look forward to. Our kids excited to play on that stage against a good team."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Sydney Parrish is, once again, an offensive force of nature, once again punishing opposing defenses.
This is big any time Indiana hits the basketball court. It could be decisive on Saturday night, when the No. 14 Hoosiers (14-1 overall, 5-0 in the Big Ten) play at No. 3 Iowa (16-1, 5-0) in a nationally televised Big Ten first-place showdown.
Parrish has regained her offensive nature over the last three games, rocking Michigan for 14 points, and Nebraska and Penn State with 20 each. She has made 17 of her last 26 shots, including 11 of her last 17 three-pointers.
That's boosted Parrish's season scoring average into double figures for the first time, to 10.5. Last year, her first as a Hoosier after transferring from Oregon, she averaged 12.0 points en route to earning honorable mention All-Big Ten honors.
Gone is the frustration from eight games of sub-double-figure scoring, including consecutive contests against Bowling Green and Illinois of five points each.
And if it comes with some Taylor Swift musical motivation, all the better.
"It's the confidence my teammates and coaches have in me," Parrish says when asked about her scoring resurgence. "I wasn't playing great on the offensive end early in the season. I knew it would come. Coach (Teri Moren) kept telling me that. My teammates kept telling me that. I had confidence in myself that it would come along."
It has. Parrish was 3-for-4 on three-pointers against Michigan, and 6-for-7 on the road against Nebraska. She complemented that with 8-for-10 free throw shooting against Penn State.
Parrish also averages 5.9 rebounds. The former Indiana Miss Basketball out of Hamilton Southeastern High School has had as many as five assists and three steals in a game this season while providing crucial leadership -- a major factor Wednesday night when IU struggled against Penn State.
Center Mackenzie Holmes isn't surprised.
"Sydney is a great player. We expect her to make plays. She does all the little things not a lot of people want to do. It's good to see that shine.
Parrish, a 6-2 guard who has already committed to returning to IU for a third season (making it five college seasons overall), is a difference maker at the highest level for a team with national title aspirations.
"She's a high IQ kid," Moren says. "She understands the game. She's a very positive teammate, a very positive kid. She gets frustrated with herself, but it doesn't get her down. She plays on, she plays the next play. She continues to challenge her team to be better."
IU, which has won 13 straight, will have to be at its best in all phases against Iowa as it wasn't against Penn State. It needed a strong second half to rally for a 75-67 victory.
Moren wants the Hoosiers dialed in from the opening tip at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, which is why practices leading into Saturday night's game were so crucial.
"We've got to be able to turn it up in practice and be so much better against a team that pressures the way Penn State did and handle ourselves better," Moren says. "We have to be so much better defensively. Take more pride in guarding one-on-one.
"I'm a firm believer that what you do in practice translates to games. We have to work against our scout guys and have them be more physical with us, give us more pressure so we really have to work at setting our movement up to come off screens, and get open to get the ball to the wing to start our stuff."
Iowa is a formidable challenge that starts with superstar guard Caitlin Clark. The 6-2 senior averages 31.0 points, 7.7 assists and 7.3 rebounds. She shoots 48.3 percent from the field, and 40.1 percent from three-point range. She has 15 career triple doubles, including two straight.
With nearly 3,300 career points, Clark is within range of the women's career record of 3,528 points held by Kelsey Plum, the former University of Washington All-America now excelling in the WNBA.
The Hawkeyes, who also have won 13 straight, have two other double figure scorers in forward Hannah Stuelke (14.1 points, 7.2 rebounds) and guard Kate Martin (12.2, 5.7).
Despite the high stakes and national interest, Moren says, "For us, it's the next game."
Still, memories of last season's game at Iowa City, when IU lost on a last-second Clark shot, remain vivid.
"It's two great programs with great players looking forward to this," Moren says. "It's become a rivalry. The fact Cait has so much attention on her right now -- any game she plays in is big.
"I don't know that anybody has figured out how to guard her. We'll make sure it will be similar to what we've done in the past. We've done a decent job knowing she will score. She will get hers.
"It's their other players we can't allow to score a lot of points."
Saturday's game is a sellout, as is every Iowa game this season, home and away.
"It will be another test for us," Moren says. "It's a game we look forward to. Our kids excited to play on that stage against a good team."
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