No. 15 Indiana women’s basketball opened up Big Ten play with a victory Saturday afternoon, taking down Rutgers, 66-56, in Piscataway, N.J.

Here are three observations from the Hoosiers’ conference-opening victory:

Hoosiers win rebounding game

Coach Teri Moren challenged her players after what she thought was a lackluster rebounding performance against Stetson last Sunday. The Hoosiers (8-1) trailed on the offensive glass as much as 10-1 against the Hatters, and IU finished the game with a 15-10 disadvantage.

Moren told the Hoosiers to be better on the glass — while IU still gutted out a 38-point win over Stetson, that rebounding performance would not fare well in Big Ten play.

More: Sydney Parrish confirms she'll return next year for fifth season

'Going to call them out on their crap.' Teri Moren challenges IU ahead of Big Ten play

And the Hoosiers listened.

IU was more aggressive under the basket Saturday afternoon, highlighted by a gusty play by fifth-year senior Mackenzie Holmes. When senior guard Sydney Parrish missed a layup late in the third quarter, Holmes fought through a triple-team to get the offensive rebound and put the ball through the hoop herself.

"It was a huge emphasis," Holmes said. "We worked a lot on it in practice, just knowing that a lot of their points come from second-chance opportunities. We knew that if we could limit those, then we would be in a good spot."

IU won the rebounding battle in its conference-opener against Rutgers, 33-30. The Hoosiers also limited the Scarlet Knights (who averages 14 offensive boards per game) to nine offensive rebounds and eight second-chance points and scored six second-chance points off nine o-boards themselves.

"I wanted us to be able to outrebound Rutgers tonight, and we were able to do that," Moren said. "I didn't care what the margin was, the only goal on the board was to win the boards."

Little production from bench

The Hoosiers averaged 17.6 points per game from their bench through nonconference play. But on Saturday, all of the scoring came from IU’s five starters.

Moren only played three off the bench: sophomore guard Lexus Bargesser, sophomore center Lilly Meister and freshman guard Lenee Beaumont. Bargesser played the 12 minutes off the bench, the most of the three, and had two assists. Beaumont and Meister both took one shot in four and nine minutes, respectively, while Bargesser did not attempt a shot.

"Those young kids are going to continue to grow in our program, and they're going to continue to get better," Moren said. "Hopefully their minutes will continue to increase as the season goes because it is a long season. Tonight was just one of those nights we had to keep our vets on."

All of IU's starters, four of whom also started last season, played over 30 minutes. Four finished in double figures, and Holmes led the Hoosiers with 25 points. Parrish followed with 14 points, while guards Yarden Garzon and Chloe Moore-McNeil had 11 points each.

"We had to keep our vets on the floor because our shots weren't going down as easy as we would have liked," Moren said. "And you can't rely on inexperience when you're in a tight game like this. You rely on experience, and that's what we did tonight. I wouldn't say we're set on any rotation."

IU struggles to defend the arc

It was either a great shooting day beyond the arc for the Scarlet Knights, or a bad defending day for the Hoosiers. Or both. IU came into the game allowing an average of 27.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Rutgers blew through that average, keeping itself in the game with timely 3-pointers.

Antonia Bates led the Scarlet Knights, going 3-of-4 beyond the arc.

The Scarlet Knights stayed within 10 points most of the game by shooting 35.7% (5-of-13) from beyond the arc. The Hoosiers only went 3-of-16 beyond the arc, in contrast, as a team.

"I don't think we need to hit the panic button when we have nights like this," Moren said of the Hoosiers' 3-point shooting. "I don't want it to be consistent when we have nights like this ... winning on the road is hard."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Hoosiers women's basketball beats Rutgers in Big Ten opener