BLOOMINGTON— The Cinderella of the East is dead, running out of fairy dust after its season-long supply dwindled in the last 20 minutes and Indiana efficiently brought the knives out and took control of its own kitchen.

For a half, Fairfield rode its rising reputation according to its own game plan, but then for the second half, Saturday afternoon, the host Hoosiers in Assembly Hall dismembered the Stags to run wild in an 89-56 victory in the first round of the women’s NCAA basketball tournament.

That was the most points Fairfield, 31-2, allowed in a game all year and the most points IU has ever scored in an NCAA playoff game.

Ordinarily, the Hoosiers, 25-5, rely on the heavy lifting of center Mackenzie Holmes, who scored 13 points and grabbed 6 rebounds, but this was really a game of Sara Says. Senior guard Sara Scalia answered the Stags’ game plan of counting on three-pointers with five of her own, leading to 27 points – the most by a Hoosier in an NCAA game.

Fairfield came in statistically indicating my way was the three-point way, shooting 242 more of them than IU all season. Scala’s response was Uh-uh.

““It’s always good for a shooter to have good shooting game and kind of go off that. It just brings you more and more confidence. It was definitely a good start to the tournament,” said Scalia, a first-team All-Big Ten performer this season, looking ahead to IU moving on to the second round Monday.

Indiana will face Oklahoma (23-9), winner over Florida Gulf Coast (29-5), 73-70, also at Assembly Hall. Monday’s game time was not scheduled to be announced by the NCAA for Albany Regional play until the middle of the night Sunday.

The Hoosiers, ranked No. 14 nationally entering the tournament, knew better than to overlook Fairfield, champion of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, despite the Stags’ No. 25 ranking and low national profile. Fairfield’s defense was stout, allowing just 64 ppg. and the Connecticut school featured balanced scoring.

These are the kind of teams that often make very loud noises in March Madness, so Indiana was wary. The final score was much more one-sided than early play indicated was likely.

IU was head 20-17 after one quarter and just 38-34 at halftime. Fairfield’s energetic guard Janelle Brown (19 points) was pesky all over the court. After the intermission, the Hoosiers tightened their defense, made more shots, spread the ball around and expanded the lead.

Near the four-and-a-half-minute mark of the third quarter Scalia nailed a three-pointer, giving Indiana a 59-43 lead and the 12,750 fans, raucous all day, shook the rafters with a standing ovation and a bonus throaty roar. IU won the third quarter, 26-15, and the fourth quarter, 25-7. It was “Sorry, thanks for playing,” for the Stags.

“Every time she shoots it, we believe it’s going to go in,” IU coach Teri Moren said of Scalia’s long-range radar.

Scalia keeps adding to her school record for three-pointers made in a season – she is at 100 now. Certainly, Fairfield coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis was not surprised by the Sara Show. She was an assistant at Minnesota when Scalia played there before transferring to Indiana.

“She’s an incredible player,” Thibault-DuDonis said. “She’s added to her game.”

Besides Holmes and Scalia, IU received major contributions from guard Yarden Garzon (13 points, 6 rebounds), guard Chloe Moore-McNeil (13 points, 6 assists), guard Lexus Bargesser (7 points, 4 assists) and guard Sydney Parrish (7 points, 7 rebounds).

Indiana had 25 assists on 31 made baskets, a pleasing statistic for Moren, indicating how well the Hoosiers moved the ball. And Moren and the players were appreciative and took note of the how their fans turned out to scream for them.

It is not as if the players are so focused on game flow they don’t notice the support.

“It gives us so much energy,” Bargesser said. “There’s so much excitement. It’s the loudest arena in the country.”

Fairfield agreed Assembly Hall was something to contend with for a visiting team trying to make a mark on this stage

“The atmosphere was definitely something that was hard to compete against,” said Brown.

As much of a thumping as the Stags took in the end, they charmed their post-game audience, clearly relishing the extraordinary 2023-24 record and noting how much they will cherish their journey. Rarely have losers of such a big game displayed so much graciousness.

A team not used to much national attention felt this was more a beginning to something than an end. Most of the players are scheduled to return. Guard Emina Selimovic called the players “sisters. I’ve never had more fun playing basketball.”

For all but one team in the NCAAs the season concludes with a loss. IU gets to play on for at one more day – and maybe longer. The winners get to have more fun.

“It’s always fun to play in Assembly Hall,” Garzon said. “I’m really looking forward to Monday.”

Indiana will face Oklahoma (23-9), winner over Florida Gulf Coast (29-5), 73-70, also at Assembly Hall. Monday’s game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and will be shown on ESPN2.