BLOOMINGTON — Mackenzie Holmes gave her usual dance lessons to the University of Minnesota on Wednesday night.

Two steps to the left, two steps to the right, then spin.

The artistry was mostly followed by baskets as Holmes scored 32 points on eye-opening 15-for-17 shooting from the field.

The Indiana University graduate student is probably thinking grander than becoming an Arthur Murray dance instructor for her career, but evident by her nonstop, almost-always-successful footwork on the basketball court, the job should always be there for her.

Holmes was a major portion of the highlight show for the Hoosiers in an 85-62 Big Ten triumph over the Gophers at Assembly Hall in a game IU needed to win and needed to look good doing so.

That was because the previous time out, the No. 16 nationally rated Hoosiers were blasted by No. 2 Iowa 84-57, and coach Teri Moren bluntly told her players she was displeased at their lack of inspiration and showing up flat for a big game. Let’s just say the in-house film session scored very low on the Rotten Tomatoes scale.

Not so this follow-up game for the 15-2 Hoosiers, who always marvel at how no matter who is covering her or how many opponents, Holmes shows why she is an All-American. In this instance, IU received complementary outside scoring from Sara Scalia (who transferred from Minnesota) and Sydney Parrish, each hitting five three-pointers.

Moving on from the Iowa disappointment was a big theme for IU against 13-4 Minnesota, a dangerously efficient team.

“The Big Ten doesn’t wait for anybody,” Holmes said. “We’ve got to be ready (for anyone).”

They were. The Hoosiers, fourth in the country in field goal percentage, shot 61% in the first half while building a 47-29 lead. All of Parrish’s 15 points came on long-distance shots, and Scalia, who is from Stillwater, Minnesota, and played for the Gophers, matched her long-range and totaled 22 points.

Scalia knew where her allegiances lie but admitted it is always going to provide a bit of a jolt seeing others wearing the Minnesota name on their shirts.

“Obviously, Minnesota is always going to be home to me,” Scalia said.

Holmes, a 6-foot-3 center, reached the 30-point level in a game for the sixth time in her career. She has said if she does her “work,” meaning positioning in the low post, she is confident other players will feed her the ball.

“The closer I get, the easier my looks are going to be,” Holmes said. “I know my teammates are going to find me anyway.”

This was a little more challenging since the Gophers started 6-5 Sophie Hart on Holmes. Hart seemed determined to make Holmes fight for the ball. But it didn’t really work.

“Mac had a special night,” Moren said.

The Hoosiers had looked forward to the showdown with Iowa. Then their travel plans were disrupted by snowfall. They commendably did not use that as an excuse, though they arrived in Iowa City on the morning of a night game instead of the night before.

IU held things together, barely, for the first half but disintegrated in the second half, drawing pointed criticism from Moren for looking disconnected and committing the major sin of not seeming to play hard for all 40 minutes.

“I never hold back,” Moren said of her truth-telling assessment to the team. “That’s what I’m here for.”

Often, points are what fans look at, but against Minnesota, others made subtler significant contributions. Guard Chloe Moore-McNeil drew the assignment of covering Gopher top scorer Maria Braun and shut her down. Braun flared up with hot shooting for 14 points late, but it was too late for her team by then.

Also, although she battled foul trouble, Yarden Garzon had a stellar floor game with nine rebounds, four assists and two steals, always being in the middle of the action. Garzon hurled one long fast-break pass to a streaking Scalia for a layup that drew roars from the crowd.

Moren is not the roaring kind, but she saw what she needed to see in the win over Minnesota after faltering against Iowa — no hangover. The Hoosiers remain second in the league standings going into a Sunday afternoon game at Purdue.

And they get another shot at Iowa in an already-sold-out Assembly Hall on Feb. 22. Hawkeye star Caitlin Clark just moved into fourth place on the career NCAA scoring list, and some predict she may set the all-time record in Bloomington.

That possibility would add extra spice to the game, but the Hoosiers don’t care if Clark sets bushels of records as long as they capture the game.