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No. 14 Indiana women rally past Penn State in second half; showdown with Iowa looms

Mackenzie Holmes #54 of the Indiana Hoosiers reaches for the ball during the second half against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Jan. 10, 2024, in Bloomington, Indiana. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Mackenzie Holmes had 21 points and 13 rebounds, Sydney Parrish added 20 points, and No. 14 Indiana extended its winning streak to 13 games with a 75-67 victory over Penn State on Wednesday night.

The Hoosiers (14-1, 5-0 Big Ten) trailed by five at halftime but outscored the Lady Lions 41-28 in the second half, setting up a first-place showdown with No. 3 Iowa on Saturday. The game will be nationally televised by Fox.

Leading 55-51 heading to the fourth quarter, Holmes scored seven points and Parrish added five as Indiana pushed its lead to 66-56 with 5 1/2 minutes left. After Holmes’ three-point play gave the Hoosiers that 10-point lead, there were only four field goals the rest of the game.

A jumper by Chloe Moore-McNeil put the Hoosiers up by 11 near the 3-minute mark and after a series of free throws by Penn State, Holmes made a layup to put Indiana up 70-61 inside of 2 minutes. Makenna Marisa finally hit a jumper for Penn State with 45 seconds left and Leilani Kapinus made a layup with 21 seconds to go. Both buckets got the Lady Lions within six but both times Indiana followed with a pair of free throws to seal the win.

Moore-McNeil scored 16 points and Sara Scalia added 11 for Indiana.

Kapinus scored 15 points, Ali Brigham 14, Taylor Valliday 13 and Shay Ciezki 12 for Penn State (10-5, 1-3). The Lady Lions led 12-0 in bench points.

The Lady Lions had a 30-18 advantage in points in the paint in the first half and outshot Indiana 53% to 39% in taking a 39-34 halftime lead. The Hoosiers regrouped in the third quarter and held Penn State to four field goals, outscoring the Lady Lions 21-12 in the period.

Indiana is 5-0 in Big Ten play for the first time in program history.

Penn State will play at Rutgers on Sunday.