How IU women’s basketball’s Yarden Garzon ended her shooting slump vs. Washington in key win

Indiana women’s basketball coach Teri Moren has learned to give her talented shooters space when they go through a prolonged slump. 

She stuck to that game plan in recent weeks while watching Yarden Garzon go 3 of 18 (16.7%) from 3-point range during IU’s three-game losing streak. It was only the second time in Garzon’s career she shot under 20% in three consecutive games, but Moren’s patience paid off. 

Garzon broke out of her slump on Monday night with a career-best performance in a 73-70 win over Washington.

The junior forward scored a career-high 35 points and went 8 of 10 from 3-point range — she had more 3-pointers than the entire Huskies team — to surpass 1,000-career points. She’s the 33rd player to reach the milestone, but that achievement took a back seat to helping IU get a crucial Quad 1 win to add to the team’s NCAA Tournament resume and end a challenging West Coast swing on a high note. 

“It feels amazing just to see the ball go through the net again and again,” Garzon said, with a smile. 

‘I feel like I didn’t change a thing’

Indiana practiced at some unfamiliar places on their road trip including the Seattle Storm’s training facility, but Garzon maintained the same practice routine she’s used throughout her career. 

The Ra’anana, Israel native came into Tuesday night’s game as a 42% career 3-point shooter. While she’s shooting under 40% this season (37.3%), she’s attempting two more triples per game (6.6) than she did last year and ranks among the top 50 Division 1 players with 2.47 made 3-pointers per game.  

It’s why she didn’t even spend much time thinking about her recent shooting woes.

“I feel like I’m really confident about my shot no matter what. I know that they will fall in,” Garzon said. “Last year, I shot it at a really high clip, in some games it doesn’t work or go my way, but I just have to keep showing up every day and doing my thing.”

Moren mentioned Garzon’s confidence in her post-game remarks as well. 

Her unspoken strategy to boost Garzon up in recent games was simply calling the same plays she normally would to get her the ball. It’s the same approach she’s relying on with Sydney Parrish, who has gone through similar struggles of late. 

“I think that can give them the best vote of confidence from me and our staff because we feel like they can come through for us,” Moren said. 

It helped Garzon get on track right out of the gate against Washington. The Hoosiers swung the ball around the perimeter on one of their first possessions to get her an open look. She hit nothing but net and remained locked in for the rest of the night.  

‘We rely on her’

Garzon’s 35 points are the most since Amanda Cahill scored 38 in a four-overtime win over Michigan State in 2018. Garzon’s career-high eight 3-pointers tied for the second most in a game in school history. 

Indiana isn’t expecting Garzon to score 30-plus points every night, but Moren has made it clear on multiple occasions this season that the Hoosiers face an uphill battle when Garzon struggles to score. 

It’s why Moren found Garzon’s 21-point performance against Iowa earlier this month so encouraging. 

After knocking down a 3-pointer right in front of the Hawkeyes’ bench early in the game, the Hoosiers relied on Garzon like they did with Mackenzie Holmes and Sara Scalia last year. 

Garzon had a series of clutch moments against Washington as well — she ended a late-game scoring drought by banking in a contested mid-range jumper that set up a 3-point play and made a 20-footer coming off a screen in the final minute. 

Indiana improved to 8-1 when Garzon scores 20 or more points and it was further proof that when she plays at a high level that the Hoosiers are capable of beating anyone.

“I’m trying to do my best,” Garzon said. “If it goes in, it’s just fun and I’m happy to help the team win. That’s the most important thing.”

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.