Mackenzie Holmes has just become the all-time leading scorer in Indiana women’s basketball history. She did this by getting doused with water, crying on the bench next to teammates, and giving Indiana head coach Teri Moren the largest hug after the game. With his 17 points on Sunday in Indiana’s 95-62 victory over Purdue, Holmes surpassed Buss as the team’s all-time greatest scorer with 2,365 points.
“I just feel so grateful,” Holmes remarked after the game. I find great personal fulfillment in wearing Indiana over my chest on a daily basis. One of the biggest blessings in my life has been getting to play at Assembly Hall. I believe that when I saw Tyra and Amanda (Cahill) up on TV, I was just sort of experiencing that. What a fantastic culture coach Moren has created!
Holmes has claimed that the media was primarily to blame for her recollection of the incident for weeks, refusing to give it much thought. On Sunday, Holmes started crying and took the stage to answer the curtain call following a musical tribute that started with Buss speaking and ran on the video board. Holmes informed Moren after the game that the burden was no longer on her, even if she had told the media that she didn’t give it any thought. Prior to Sunday, Holmes stated that sweeping Purdue at home was her top priority.
“I used to do that as a player,” Moren clarified. The fact that I’m still talking about it now makes it significant. One of the things I will never forget about my time at Purdue is that we were able to completely dominate Indiana. My teammates and I continue to value that. Now it’s the broom in Indiana. Since the 2018–2019 season, Indiana has defeated the Boilermakers 11 times in a row on Sunday. Indiana has swept Purdue in each of the last five seasons since Holmes came a year later. Indiana defeated the Boilermakers by the largest margin of victory—32 points—in their 43-game history on Sunday. The previous best was Indiana’s 1980 84-54 triumph.
Moren emphasized, “I used to do that as a player.” It’s noteworthy because I’m still talking about it now. I will always remember that we were able to utterly destroy Indiana throughout my time at Purdue. My teammates and I still think highly of that. In Indiana, it’s the broom now. Indiana has beaten the Boilermakers on Sunday 11 times in a row since the 2018–19 season. Indiana has defeated Purdue in all five of the seasons following Holmes’ arrival a year later. On Sunday, Indiana trounced the Boilermakers by a margin of victory—32 points—that was greatest in their 43-game history. The previous high was Indiana’s 84-54 victory in 1980.
Holmes missed a layup with 7:30 remaining that would have broken the record. After then, the majority of the spectators appeared to know that the subsequent basket would be the decisive one, and Holmes claimed she could sense it as well. After two minutes without making another basket attempt, Moren called a timeout to calm things down and devise the game-breaking move. Holmes was isolated in the post by Yarden Garzon, and she curled for her 972nd made basket, the program’s best.
Well, Sunday was ideal for the women’s basketball team at Indiana. Holmes smashed the alumni point record there. On Indiana’s single-season 3-pointer rankings, Sara Scalia is set to beat Buss’ record at No. 2, where she is currently tied. Following her triple-double on Thursday, Chloe Moore-McNeil scored 22 points and made five threes, a career high, and Moren secured her sixth consecutive 20-win campaign. Additionally, Iowa’s loss at Nebraska means Indiana will once again compete in the Big Ten. On Wednesday night, the Hoosiers—who are currently 11-2 in the Big Ten—visit Wisconsin.
