WEST LAFAYETTE — IU women’s basketball senior guard Sydney Parrish entered Mackey Arena on crutches with a boot on her right foot Sunday ahead of IU’s game against Purdue.
Parrish was officially listed as questionable on the Hoosiers’ injury report, but she did not play in the Hoosiers’ 74-68 win over the Boilermakers.
3 reasons: Chloe Moore-McNeil, Sara Scalia step up, lead IU past Purdue
Parrish last played 32 minutes against Minnesota on Wednesday night, going 5-of-8 from 3-point range for 15 points. Coach Teri Moren said Parrish suffered the injury Friday, and they won’t be sure about her timeline to return until she has another doctor’s appointment Monday afternoon.
“It’s unfortunate, but every team has adversity at some point,” Moren said.
Parrish has started all 17 games this season, averaging 10.6 points per game on 43% shooting. The Hoosiers will be missing a potent 3-point shooter, putting more emphasis on guards Sara Scalia and Yarden Garzon.
Sophomore guard Lexus Bargesser filled Parrish’s spot in the starting lineup on Sunday afternoon for her first start after 46 games coming off the bench. Freshman Julianna LaMendola, who is usually Parrish’s direct backup at power forward, could also be an option off the bench.
Both Bargesser and LaMendola played increased minutes Sunday afternoon, combining for just two points. All but two points of IU’s scoring came between the Hoosiers’ four main starters — Mackenzie Holmes, Scalia, Chloe Moore-McNeil and Garzon.
“Somebody has to step up, and I thought all of those starters — Sara, Mack, Chloe, Yarden — really stepped up in her absence,” Moren said.
IU has been prepared for the situation of one of its guards being out — the same thing happened last year, when Grace Berger missed seven games with an injury around this same time of the season.
“I think we all had the mindset, with Syd being out, that we had to do a little bit more,” Moore-McNeil said. “We kind of had to do the same thing last year with Grace Berger, so this is nothing new to us.”
Parrish will have ample time to recover, as IU is off for nearly a full week until it takes on Northwestern on Jan. 28 at home. IU’s next ranked matchup is against No. 18 Ohio State on Feb. 4.
