Indiana women snap Fairfield's 29-game win streak with a 33-point March Madness blowout

BLOOMINGTON -- IU women's basketball used a second-half surge to get past 13th-seeded Fairfield, 89-56, at Assembly Hall on Saturday afternoon in the first round of NCAA tournament.

The Hoosiers (25-5) and Stags (31-2) played a back-and-forth game in the first half, with the lead changing hands three times and Fairfield leading by as many as seven points. But the Hoosiers dominated the third quarter, giving them a 15-point lead and allowing them to coast to victory and Monday's second round where they await the winner of Florida Gulf Coast/Oklahoma.

No third-quarter slump

IU only took a four-point lead to halftime, and with a team like Fairfield, it couldn't afford to have one of its infamous third-quarter slumps to open the second half. The Hoosiers came out of the locker room just three minutes before halftime was over, doing a quick warmup before a final pep talk. Still, whatever they talked about worked.

IU came into the third quarter with a fiery passion, and it showed in their play.

About five minutes into the third quarter, IU was in the midst of an 8-0 run. Sydney Parrish hit a 3-pointer to put the Hoosiers up 11, and Mackenzie Holmes looked over to the Fairfield bench, yelling, "Call a timeout!"

Fairfield didn't calla timeout until a minute later, when Sara Scalia hit two free throws and a 3-pointer to put the Hoosiers by 16 points. At that point, Assembly Hall was bursting at the seams — the crowd erupted as Scalia stalked to the middle of the court in celebration, Holmes running off the bench to celebrate with her.

Fairfield started to regroup after that timeout, but IU didn't back down. The Hoosiers outscored the Stags, 26-15, to take a 15-point lead into the fourth quarter. Scalia scored 12 points in the third quarter, contributing to her total of 27 on the day.

Mackenzie Holmes settles in

Holmes, returning from an injury and a two-week layoff in game time, uncharacteristically struggled in the opening minutes. She tripped near midcourt and under the basket in the first few minutes of the game and turned the ball over in the paint.

But she just needed a few minutes to settle in.

The senior All-American, playing in her final NCAA tournament for the Hoosiers, ended up scoring five points and grabbing four rebounds in the first quarter. She showed her passion in the first half, yelling in the face of Fairfield's Janelle Brown, who fouled her while she was going for a layup.

Holmes finished the game — her first full game since March 3 — with 13 points and six rebounds. She had some rest in the fourth quarter as IU coach Teri Moren emptied her bench, and she ended up playing 27 minutes.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IU women's basketball blows out Fairfield in March Madness first round