BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Sara Scalia scored 27 points to lead fourth-seeded Indiana to an 89-56 victory over No. 13 Fairfield on Saturday in the first round of the women's NCAA tournament.
Scalia sank five of the Hoosiers' 10 3-pointers. Yarden Garzon, Chloe Moore-McNeil and Mackenzie Holmes each scored 13 points for the Hoosiers.
The Hoosiers (25-5) will face the winner of No. 5 seed Oklahoma and No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast on Monday night.
Fairfield (31-2) saw its 29-game winning streak come to an end. Janelle Brown led the Stags, who earned the first Top 25 ranking in school history earlier this month, with 19 points.
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IU led 38-34 at halftime but dominated in the second half. The Hoosiers used a 13-0 spurt in the third quarter to take a 59-43 lead with 4:23 left in third quarter. Scalia scored 10 of those 13 points with two 3-pointers.
Indiana led 64-49 after three quarters and kept expanding its lead in the fourth quarter.
The Hoosiers shot 51% from the field while hold the Stags to 32% IU held a 44-29 rebounding advantage. IU held a 40-18 edge of points in the paint and 17-2 edge in points off turnovers
IU had a big advantage in free throws, too, making 17-of-22 free throws while Fairfield only took four from the line.
Trailing 31-26 with 4:46 left in the second quarter, the Hoosiers outscored the Stags 12-3 the rest of the quarter to take a 38-34 halftime lead.
Garzon led IU with 12 points in the opening half, including a 3-pointer that gave the Hoosiers the lead for good at 32-31.
Holmes had converted a 3-point play to give IU a 20-17 left with 52 seconds left in the opening quarter.
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