Sydney Parrish injury: Did the Indiana guard play against Northwestern?

The No. 14 Indiana Hoosiers returned to action Sunday against Northwestern, but with a major question: Would standout wing Sydney Parrish return to action against the Wildcats? Parrish sustained a right foot injury in practice on Jan. 19. The exact nature of the injury has not been disclosed, and IU coach Teri Moren's immediate comment was that Parrish was out "indefinitely."

Sydney Parrish's injury

Since hurting her right foot in practice, Parrish had been spotted with a walking boot. Moren said that losing Parrish to injury was an adjustment for IU.

The only blemishes on the Hoosiers' resume are a pair of road losses – at then-No. 15 Stanford in the season's second game and at then-No. 3 Iowa earlier this month.

In their first game without Parrish, IU struggled to edge a 9-9 Purdue team, having to rally in the fourth quarter to post a 74-68 victory on Jan. 24. Sophomore Lexus Bargresser replaced Parrish in the lineup, and played 34 minutes, but did not score.

Parrish vs. Northwestern

Indiana guard Sydney Parrish has been off the court since a foot injury on Jan. 19.

Sunday brought a matchup with 7-12 Northwestern. Parrish did not see any time for a second game, but the Hoosiers didn't miss a beat, posting an easy 100-59 win. Indiana started Bargresser again, and while she again failed to score, she contributed nine rebounds and four assists.

Parrish's career

The foot injury interrupted a fine senior season for Parrish. The 6-foot-2 guard from nearby Fishers, Indiana, played two years at Oregon, scoring 410 points for the Ducks before she transferred to IU before the 2022-23 season. As a junior, Parrish averaged 12.0 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game.

In her senior season, Parrish is averaging 10.8 ppg and 5.8 rpg. She is also shooting a career-best 39.3% from 3-point range. Before the injury, Parrish had scored in double figures in five consecutive games.

Indiana's gameplan

The Hoosiers (17-2, 8-1 Big Ten) will finish January with a road game at Maryland (12-8, 4-5) on Wednesday night. A more imposing matchup is next Sunday, when the Hoosiers will visit No. 12 Ohio State (17-3, 8-1). OSU just completed a perfect month of January, highlighted by a home win over then-No. 2 Iowa and Caitlin Clark.

No definite return time has been announced for Parrish. A projected return against Ohio State would be 16 days after her injury. Parrish was in attendance Sunday and seemed to be in good spirits, but Hoosiers backers will probably be in better spirits if she can make it back in time to face the Buckeyes.