Four Indiana women’s basketball players earn All-Big Ten honors, headlined by two First-Team selections

The Indiana women’s basketball program saw four players receive All-Big Ten honors on Tuesday afternoon, headlined by two All-Big Ten First Team selections.

Leading the charge were Mackenzie Holmes and Sara Scalia who were both consensus First Team selections, with Holmes being a unanimous pick.

Holmes is averaging 20.7 points (second in Big Ten), 7.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. She is also shooting 67.0 percent — the best in the entire country. The All-American center is dealing with a knee injury that took her out of Sunday’s win over Maryland. While her status is still up in the air for the Big Ten Tournament this week, Indiana women’s basketball head coach Teri Moren is ‘optimistic’ it won’t be something that will cause her to miss the NCAA Tournament.

Scalia is averaging 16.3 points per game while shooting 43.8 percent from three. She has a single season record for Indiana in made 3s with 91.

On the All-Big Ten Second Team is point guard Chloe Moore-McNeil. Moore-McNeil, who announced over the weekend that she will be returning to Indiana next year for her covid year, is averaging 10.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game this season. She recorded the fourth-ever triple double in Indiana women’s program history earlier this season.

Wing Yarden Garzon received honorable mention honors. She is averaging 11.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists all while shooting 45.5 percent from three.

Holmes and Moore-McNeil were also selected to the All-Big Ten Defensive Team.

Below is the full release from the Indiana women’s basketball program.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana women’s basketball placed four student-athletes on All-Big Ten teams and a pair on the All-Big Ten Defensive Team in the league’s annual postseason honors, announced on Tuesday.

Graduate student forward Mackenzie Holmes and senior guard Sara Scalia each earned a place on the All-Big Ten first team while senior guard Chloe Moore-McNeil earned second team honors and sophomore guard Yarden Garzon landed on the honorable mention team. All four appeared on the ballots from the coaches and media. This is the fifth-straight year the Hoosiers have placed one or more players on the first team and are one of two schools to have four players appear amongst the All-Big Ten first, second or honorable mention teams.

Holmes closes out her five-year Indiana career as a four-time All-Big Ten selection including a three-time first team honoree. She is a unanimous selection in both the coaches and media voting for the 2023-24 season. The Gorham, Maine native is Indiana’s leading scorer with 20.7 points per game (second in Big Ten), 7.1 rebounds per game, 1.5 blocks per game and shoots a league and nation’s best 67.0 percent. She has scored in double figures in 27 of 28 games this season, a team-high six double-doubles and has 16 20-point scoring efforts along with a pair of 30-point performances. Holmes scored a season-high 32 points in a win over Minnesota and pulled down a season-high 13 rebounds in a win over Penn State. Holmes ranks ninth in the country in field goals (140), 20^th in points per game and 21^st in total points (579). Most recently, she became the program’s all-time leading scorer and has recorded 2,476 career points to date.

Scalia also concludes her decorated career with her fourth All-Big Ten honor including her first time appearing on the first team. IU’s second leading scorer with 16.3 points per game, Scalia is one of the nation’s best 3-point shooters as she leads the Big Ten with a 43.8 clip from beyond the arc. She has connected on 91 3-pointers in her final season in cream and crimson, blowing away the previous school single season record of 74 makes. The Stillwater, Minn. native has scored in double figures in 25 games this season including a season-high 32 points against Bowling Green. She has nine 20-point efforts and shoots 43.9 from percent this season. Her effort at the free throw line is a team-best, shooting 89.4 percent on the season. In addition to her prolific scoring, Scalia adds 3.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 steals and holds a +2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio. She has dished out multiple assists on 20 occasions and 71 total for the year.

Moore-McNeil repeats as a second team selection, leading her team with 4.9 assists per game (136 total) and a +2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Greenfield, Tenn. native adds 10.1 points per game, 3.4 rebounds and a team-high 1.3 steals per outing. She recorded the program’s fourth ever triple double (second ever player) in a win over Michigan State (10 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists). Moore-McNeil has hit double figures 14 times including a career-high 20 points in the Barn Burner Trophy win over Purdue. From the floor, she is shooting 46.5 percent, 40 percent from the 3-point line and 78.7 percent from the free throw line.

Garzon earns her second All-Big Ten honors in as many collegiate seasons coming in on the honorable mention team. The team’s third leading scorer, she averages 11.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game this season. The Ra’anana, Israel sharp shooter holds a 47.3 percent clip from the floor and a 45.5 percent clip from the 3-point line. She has knocked down 56 3-pointers this season and has scored in double figures 16 times while scoring a career-high 30 points against Evansville. Garzon has a pair of 20-point efforts including a team-high 23 points in a win over then No. 19/21 Tennessee.

Holmes and Moore-McNeil are on the All-Defensive team for the second-straight season. Holmes is now a three-time honoree on the league’s defensive unit (2021, 2023, 2024) and is fourth in the Big Ten in blocks (41, 1.5 per game). Moore-McNeil earns a nod from both panels as a lock down defender who is known for frustrating opponent’s leading scorers. She has a team-high 37 steals (1.3 per game) this season and has picked up only 50 fouls this season, one every 17.5 minutes of game action.

No. 14 Indiana (24-4) is the 3-seed in the upcoming 2024 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament in Minneapolis this week. It will face either Michigan or Minnesota/Rutgers in the quarterfinals on Friday at approx. 9 p.m. ET.

Look: Big Ten Tournament bracket revealed as Indiana women’s basketball secures 3-seed

Make sure to follow Hoosier Illustrated, part of the Full Ride Network, on Twitter @Indiana_FRN, Facebook and YouTube to stay up to date on all of the news, updates and coverage of Indiana University athletics. You can also listen to the Talking’ Bout the Hoosiers podcast on Spotify.

Looking for a place to get more Indiana content? Hoosier Illustrated has partnered with Tom Brady’s company ‘Autograph’ to streamline our coverage, so you can continue to do what you do best – follow IU sports. Use the CODE: Indianafr to get started today. For more info, you can start here.