BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana senior Sydney Parrish found another gear against Purdue Saturday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
She jumped the Purdue passing lanes for a season-high four steals in the 78-56 Barn Burner Trophy game victory that got the Hoosiers back on track after two road losses.
Parrish seemed to have extra pep in her step, perhaps because shed the knee brace she’d been wearing since suffering an injury Nov. 24 against Baylor in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. She missed five games early in the season and had been playing with a knee brace for the last 13 contests.
Near the midway point of the third quarter, Parrish stepped in front of a Purdue pass to the left wing, tipped the ball, fell into the fans sitting courtside and somehow delivered a one-handed pass to Shay Ciezki, in stride, for a fast-break layup.
A SWAT, A STEAL & AN AND-1, OH MY! @sydney_parrish | @shay_ciezki | #IUWBB pic.twitter.com/Qconc7GcxD
— Indiana Women’s Basketball (@IndianaWBB) February 15, 2025
“Pretty good. I mean, I’m not wearing [a knee brace] anymore so I’m feeling better,” Parrish said postgame. “I think it made me a little faster tonight. That was the goal. So yeah, I feel really good.”
Indiana coach Teri Moren was focused on getting back in the win column and didn’t realize Parrish played without the knee brace until the postgame press conference. She bought into the idea that it gave Parrish an extra boost – in addition to playing a rival – but also knows the senior simply wanted to win, no matter the opponent.
"I didn't even know that. Is that what it is? Is that why she got in those passing lanes? Had those four steals?” Moren said, smiling. “Yeah, again, she did. Like I said, honest to goodness, I didn't even see that she didn't have that thing on. But you know, I have to believe … we had some miscues [in the loss at Michigan] down the stretch defensively, and [Parrish] was involved in some of those. So I felt like Syd was going to come out super motivated today just to play well, and I thought she did on both sides. But those steals that she had were pretty impressive."
Parrish finished with a game-high 19 points, shooting 7 for 11 from the field and 3 for 5 from 3-point range. She did a bit of everything, finishing with four steals, three rebounds, an assist and two free throws in 24 minutes.
Parrish said Indiana’s 13 steals were where it won the game. That defensive effort helped Indiana establish a 20-point lead after the first quarter and score 27 points off 24 Purdue turnovers and 20 fast break points by the final buzzer.
She acknowledged Indiana didn’t have the road trip it wanted, losing 70-67 Wednesday at Michigan and 66-56 Sunday at Minnesota. That made defeating Purdue even more important, especially with a challenging three-game stretch against No. 9 Ohio State, No. 22 Michigan State and No. 17 Maryland up next.
Parrish, a Fishers, Ind., native who transferred back home after two seasons at Oregon, also wanted to make the most of her last home game against the in-state rival.
“We were playing Purdue,” Parrish said. “I think a lot of people know how a kid from Indiana feels about the team up north. We had to bring it today.”
Moren thought Parrish did a great job defensively against the Boilermakers. Parrish said Indiana emphasized being in the right positions and playing team defense during practice this week, and they translated that to the game.
In addition to picking up a much-needed win, which kept the Hoosiers on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble, it was Indiana’s 12th straight win over Purdue.
“I think for our kids, especially Syd Parrish, who's from this state and realizes what the rivalry's about,” Moren said. “… Syd set the table for us today, as far as this is a really important game that we need to make sure that we keep that trophy here for another season."
- INDIANA-PURDUE GAME STORY: Indiana kept possession of the Barn Burner Trophy as the Hoosiers dominated from the start. CLICK HERE
- WHAT MOREN SAID:Teri Moren's words after Indiana defeated Purdue.CLICK HERE.
- BIG TEN TOURNAMENT WATCH:Indiana women have the chance to go either direction five games to go.CLICK HERE.
- WOMEN'S BRACKETOLOGY:Where do the Hoosiers stand?CLICK HERE.
