Tyra Buss shaped IU's culture. Mackenzie Holmes embodies it, will break Buss' scoring record.

BLOOMINGTON — The IU women’s basketball scoring record isn’t on Mackenzie Holmes’ mind.

Really, it only comes up when she’s asked about it — mostly by the media.

"I wouldn't know about it if it wasn't for you guys,” Holmes told media members postgame Thursday night. “But it's a blessing to be in this position.”

Holmes scored 28 points in IU’s gritty, 94-91, win over Michigan State on Thursday, putting her career scoring at 2,348 points — within 16 of former Hoosier Tyra Buss-Davison’s scoring record. If Holmes hits her average of 20.1 points per game on Sunday, she will break the record at home against Purdue.

More: How a halftime routine switch gave IU a gritty win over Michigan State

But a Hoosiers victory, especially over their in-state rivals, is all she cares about.

“The main focus is beating Purdue,” Holmes said. “I want to beat Purdue, I want to sweep Purdue for my career. I don’t want to lose to them at home, especially not at Assembly Hall.”

That unselfishness, that focus on team accolades and accomplishments, is part of the culture Buss-Davison helped create when she played for IU. Buss started at IU in 2014, the same year Teri Moren was hired to lead the program.

Both Buss and Moren had the same goal: get the program back to what it used to be. Then, make it even better. They did that through creating inseparable bonds on the court, Buss said, to the point where nobody cares who gets the credit. The ultimate goal was always winning, never about individual players or records.

“I never would have dreamed of setting the records that I did at Indiana with points, assists, steals, whatever it may be,” Buss told IndyStar over the phone from Spain on Friday. “That was never a goal. I wanted to come to Indiana to help build the program up to what it deserves to be, and what it should be. And so, you know, scoring those points and the assists, the steals, those are all added bonuses.”

Buss now plays professional basketball in Alicante, Spain — in the same program as her husband, former Wisconsin men’s basketball player Brad Davison.

Buss was a fixture in the Hoosiers’ starting lineup, starting all four years. She broke the IU scoring record early in her senior season, passing Jamie Braun's 1,603 points. Then, in January 2018, she became the first player in IU women’s basketball history to hit 2,000 points in her career.

Buss ended her career with 2,364 points, and her teammate for all four years, Amanda Cahill, finished second in career scoring with 1,811 points. Buss also set the IU record for free throws made (633), free throws attempted (853), assists (574), steals (293), 3-pointers attempted (646), 3-pointers made (203) and career points per game (17.5).

Most importantly, in those four years, the Hoosiers accomplished what they wanted to do: Build the program to new heights. IU won the WNIT championship on its home floor at Assembly Hall in 2018, sending Buss off on a high note..

“It was awesome to be able to just be a small part of that rebuilding process from my freshman to my senior year,” Buss said. “The amount of fans that grew, the amount of love that Indiana women's basketball started to get. That was my goal when I first went there, and to be able to say that I achieved that goal is truly amazing.”

IU’s rise didn’t stop there. In the years after Buss left, IU benefitted from the culture she helped create. The Hoosiers’ unselfish play led to a No. 2 ranking in the AP Poll, their first Big Ten championship in 40 years, and hosting the NCAA tournament at Assembly Hall.

In that time, three more players, including Holmes, entered IU’s top-five in scoring. Ali Patberg, who played at IU from 2018-22 and is now an assistant coach, finished her career with 1,752 points. Grace Berger scored 1,744 from 2018-23.

Moren’s players stuffing the record books in her tenure at IU is not only indicative of the players she recruits, it’s indicative of the culture she built in Bloomington.

“It's really easy to play for a coach that believes in you and that loves you and truly cares about you,” Buss said. “Not only on the basketball court, but off of it as well."

Although Buss is six hours ahead of Bloomington, she will find time to watch the Hoosiers as much as she can. IU’s game against Sunday is at 2 p.m. EST, which is only 8 p.m. in Spain. With the day game, Buss won’t need a midnight viewing to see Holmes potentially set a new record at IU.

“Being overseas is a little bit tougher getting to watch, the start times are sometimes at 1, 2, 3 a.m.” Buss said. “But I try to never miss a game. So, even those late start times, I try to get a quick nap in and stay up for the game, just so I can watch and support them because they've been such a joy to watch and cheer for. And not only are they great basketball players, but they're great people.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IU women's basketball: Mackenzie Holmes to break Tyra Buss scoring record