Indiana's 94-85 victory over Michigan State in the Big Ten women's basketball tournament quarterfinals on Friday is exactly why Stillwater's Sara Scalia left the Gophers to play there.
The Hoosiers arrived at Target Center 26-2, ranked second nationally and the tournament's top seed as well as Big Ten regular-season champs.
They withstood a 12-point second-quarter deficit to avenge a December loss to the Spartans — thanks much to Scalia's four three-pointers made and 20 points scored in 26 minutes off the bench.
It came one day after the University of Minnesota announced Lindsay Whalen's resignation as head coach. She had coached Scalia for three seasons before Scalia transferred to Indiana for this season. Six players left Minnesota's roster when she did, leaving considerable inexperience.
They were replaced by a freshman class this season ranked 10th in the nation by ESPN and considered Whalen's best.
"I was surprised about [the Whalen move], just because of the freshman class, their first year here," Scalia said afterward. "It was just kind of surprising to see about that. I enjoyed my three years I had under her, just wishing her the best moving forward, in whatever she does."
Scalia transferred with two years of eligibility left. She was asked Friday how much her relationship with Whalen contributed to her leaving.
"No, it was mainly the whole new team," Scalia said. "We had seven transfers leave and I didn't want to rebuild, I guess, with only having two years left."
So she went to Indiana to play for a team, in turns, that likely will be a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA women's tournament.
"It was really the culture and the coaches," Scalia said when asked what convinced her. "The players really want to win. That's the main thing. They're just focused on winning the game and playing together to do that."
She has given the Hoosiers what coach Teri Moren calls a sixth starter and dangerous three-point shooter who has sacrificed some playing time and a star's role for the chance to win big on a competitive balanced team.
"She's a worker," Moren said. "She talks about her confidence. Your work is where you get that and that kid is a worker. All of us, if she misses, we're surprised."
Scalia played before about 50 family and friends back home in Minnesota, where she had attended many Lynx games but never played at Target Center until Friday.
"For Sara to make the decision she did is a very mature decision and it just shows she'll do whatever it takes," said Indiana senior forward Mackenzie Holmes, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. "That speaks volumes about her character. Her willingness to hit open shots has been really special to see. I'm glad she's a Hoosier."
Scalia calls herself the same.
"At Minnesota, I was the go-to person as far as scoring," said Scalia, whose 20 points were her second-most this season. "I knew when I came here [to Indiana] we have a lot of [scoring] threats throughout the whole roster. It was a risk in that respect. But I came here to win and contribute any way I can. So honestly, I'm happy with the decision and where I am right now."
The Hoosiers beat the Spartans (16-14) on Friday behind a 35-point fourth quarter and a 60-point second half after they led for only 19 seconds (2-0) before halftime. Indiana is 8-0 this season when scoring 90 points or more. Holmes led them with 27 points.
No. 14 Ohio State 81, No. 17 Michigan 79: The No. 4 Buckeyes' freshman forward, Cotie McMahon, had averaged 14 points a game this season, then scored twice that with a 28-point afternoon.
Ohio State (24-6) led for more than 32 minutes and yet the Wolverines (22-9) had the ball out of bounds with the chance to win in the final 20 seconds. The Buckeyes made a stand by blocking a shot and forcing a missed one as time expired.
No. 6 Iowa 69, Purdue 58: Hawkeyes coach Lisa Bluder called Target Center "Hawkeye Carver Arena North" and Watertown's Monika Czinano "Carver 2.0" by traveling a few thousand strong for an evening when No. 2 seed Iowa (24-6) trailed the seventh-seeded Boilermakers (19-10) briefly by a point in the third quarter and led by 15 in the fourth.
Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark scored 12 of her 22 points in that fourth quarter, made four of five shots from the field and two of her three three-pointers after she shot 4-for-13 through three quarters.
No. 5 Maryland 73, Illinois 58: The third-seeded Terrapins (25-5) led the sixth-seeded Illini (22-9) by 16 points — 41-25 — at halftime after outscoring them 21-7 in the second quarter and led by as many as 21 after halftime.
The finale capped a day that set an attendance record for any Big Ten women's quarterfinal session with 8,577 fans. The previous was 7,681 in 2006 in Indianapolis.
