IU women's basketball picks up two key wins in Fort Myers after humbling loss to Stanford

IU women’s basketball came out of the Fort Myers Tip Off with a 2-0 trip, taking down No. 19 Tennessee and Princeton in Florida during Feast Week.

The Hoosiers beat Tennessee, 71-57, behind Yarden Garzon's career night for their first ranked win of the season on Thanksgiving. On Saturday, Sara Scalia and Mackenzie Holmes led IU to a 72-63 victory over Princeton to help the Hoosiers improve to 5-1.

More: Sharp-shooting Indiana sinks Tennessee at Fort Myers Tip-Off

Here are three observations from IU's win over Princeton:

IU escapes pesky Tigers

Princeton has been one of those dark-horse teams in women’s college basketball this season. Normally, Power Five programs would chalk an Ivy League product up to an easy win.

But not Princeton.

The Tigers have been dangerous against Power Five for years, and the Hoosiers are aware of that. IU barely skated by Princeton, 56-55, in the second round of the 2022 NCAA tournament.

Princeton is just as formidable this year — the Tigers took No. 2 UCLA to a one-possession game, losing 77-74. On Thursday, Princeton picked up its first top-25 win of the season with a convincing victory over No. 22 Oklahoma.

"Princeton is a really, really good and talented team," IU coach Teri Moren said. "They went toe-to-toe with UCLA and obviously beat a very good Oklahoma team, and they gave us everything. I knew, at halftime just talking with our guys that they weren't going to go away quietly. And they didn't."

The Hoosiers came out ready in the first half, leading by as many as 20 points on its way to a 17-point halftime lead. Princeton rebounded in the third quarter, outscoring IU 21-15. The Tigers outscored the Hoosiers again in the fourth quarter and got within five points.

"Specifically with this game, we had to fight to the end," Scalia said. "We went through a little bit of a drought there in the third quarter, but I think our team really just stuck together, and it was good to see all of us on the court fighting until the end."

Mackenzie Holmes eclipses 2,000 points

One game before Holmes returns to play in her home state (Maine), the fifth-year forward picked up her 2,000th career point against Princeton.

Holmes came into the game with 1,984 career points, needing 16 to become the second player in program history to eclipse the 2K mark.

In true Holmes fashion, she only needed 23 minutes to get those 16 points.

The preseason All-American scored 15 points in the first half, and she passed the milestone on her first shot of the third quarter at the 8-minute mark. Holmes finished with 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting.

Holmes joins Tyra Buss, who played from 2014-18, as the only players in program history to have 2,000 career points. Holmes also has a chance to become the Hoosiers’ all-time leading scorer — she will need to average 16.5 points through the regular season to overtake Buss’ 2,364.

And next week, IU's newest member of the 2K club will play in her home state.

"It's going to be really exciting, a lot of people are really eager to watch Indiana women's basketball in Gorham, (Maine), in a gym that's really near and dear to my heart," Holmes said. "I played all my high school tournament games there, won two state championships there, it's a very special gym."

Sara Scalia continues hot shooting

Scalia joined the starting lineup in place of graduated Grace Berger this season, and she has brought an important aspect to the Hoosiers’ opening five: 3-point shooting.

Scalia, who transferred from Minnesota ahead of the 2022-23 season, has always been known for her prowess beyond the arc.

With blistering confidence, Scalia continued that dominance on Saturday, making her first three shots from the 3-point line. She finished with 28 points, a season-high and her most since coming to Indiana (her career-high is 37 with Minnesota in 2021).

"I think I just continue to be confident," Scalia said. "The defense obviously is going to stay a litter closer to me if I'm hitting my shots, so seeing what's open and continuing to work hard on my plays."

Scalia shot 5-of-9 beyond the arc, including a pivotal make in the fourth quarter to give the Hoosiers some breathing room against the Tigers. She finished the day 10-of-17 from the field, as well as seven rebounds (another season-high), in 38 minutes.

"It was great to see her have a special night," Moren said. "What kind of a special shooter she is, it's her work. She's a relentless worker. She's always in the gym."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana women's basketball beats Princeton in Fort Myers Tip Off