How IU women's basketball's win at Maryland prepares it for road test at No. 7 Ohio State

IU women’s basketball had a streak to break.

Before Wednesday night, the Hoosiers had never won at Xfinity Center — the home of Maryland women’s basketball in College Park. IU was 0-6 against Maryland on the road since the Terrapins joined the Big Ten in 2014.

This time, though, IU caught Maryland in a down year, as the Terrapins were coming into the game with a 4-5 Big Ten record. Not only that, but Maryland’s leading scorer, Shyanne Sellers (15.4 ppg), was out with a lower-body injury.

All of those aspects, and a little bit of resilience, led to IU’s first win in College Park.

“We made history for our program in terms of being able to win at Maryland,” head coach Teri Moren said. “That just tells you how good Maryland has been, and what a fabulous job (Maryland coach) Brenda (Freese) has done in her time here. Really proud of our group tonight.”

While IU jumped out to a 22-point lead by halftime, Moren knows that nothing is guaranteed in the Big Ten. That came true to light when Maryland outscored IU by 13 points in the third quarter and cut its deficit to seven points by the beginning of the fourth.

More: IU women's basketball earns first win in College Park in rout of Maryland

The Xfinity Center crowd of 7,000 became more raucous as Maryland surged in the second quarter, giving IU a taste of the hostile environment it will head into this weekend.

This game was the first of a grueling road stretch for IU — the No. 10 Hoosiers (18-2, 9-1) will travel to Columbus, Ohio, to take on No. 7 Ohio State (17-3, 8-1) for the Hoosiers’ second top-10 opponent of the season at noon Sunday.

As seen this season, Ohio State knows how to host a game — it had a sold-out matchup of 18,000 fans against No. 3 Iowa earlier this month. The crowd was instrumental in the Buckeyes’ overtime win, which was the Hawkeyes’ first Big Ten loss of the season.

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“Everybody is really good at home,” Moren said. “Everybody is comfortable in their own gym, their own surroundings, their routine, all of it. I've never been a true believer that you can go into anybody's house or home, and just because you have a number by your name, think you're just going to win the game.”

While IU prepares for the duo of Jacy Sheldon and Cotie McMahon, the Hoosiers are continuing to flesh out their lineups and rotations without starting guard Sydney Parrish, who is out indefinitely with a foot injury. Sophomore guard Lexus Bargesser has filled in the starting lineup in the three games that Parrish has been out, and she will likely start against Ohio State as well.

Through those three games, though, Bargesser has found her role as a facilitator and scorer in the Hoosier offense. She finished with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting against Maryland on Wednesday, as well as six assists. Freshmen Lenee Beaumont and Julianna LaMendola have transitioned to first-off-the-bench roles, as well, and the pair is accumulating to increased time on the floor.

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IU’s rotations aren’t completely solidified yet, but the Hoosiers feel better after a gritty road win over a perennial top conference team.

“I felt Lexus did a great job tonight,” senior center Mackenzie Holmes said. “She was aggressive. We needed her to be aggressive, drive, make plays, and I thought she did a really good job of that. So, I think it's just continuing those people, having them gain confidence is going to be huge for us, because experience can only come game-by-game.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IU women's basketball's win at Maryland sets up road test at Ohio State