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(03/11/20 3:09am)
Indiana junior Cooper Trinkle, who played his freshman season at the University of Evansville, stood at the plate with two outs in the ninth.
He eyed his former teammate Michael Parks, who stood on the mound ready to deliver the 1-1 pitch. Indiana trailed by just one run and was in desperate need of a spark to ignite its offense. Trinkle was tasked with giving his new team the lift it needed to stay in the game against his former squad.
The first two Hoosiers batters of the inning couldn’t create anything, with junior Elijah Dunham and redshirt senior Jordan Fucci flying out for the first two outs of the inning.
Trinkle then stepped to the plate, and on the 1-1 pitch, grounded out to the second baseman to end the game.
Indiana baseball dropped its first midweek road game Tuesday against Evansville, 5-4.
The Purple Aces entered the matchup just 4-11, with their only wins coming via a three-game sweep of Butler and a 5-3 victory over UT Martin. Both of these common opponents are of interest to Indiana, as IU beat UT Martin 3-2 at the South Alabama tournament a couple weeks ago and will play Butler in a midweek matchup on March 24.
Entering the contest, Evansville native Dunham had been Indiana’s top producer on offense. The junior outfielder has posted a .440 average so far this season and has added nine RBIs and six doubles to his tally as well.
He was silenced in his homecoming, going 0-for-5 with two fly outs and three ground outs, one of which resulted in a double play.
Cole Barr had Indiana’s only extra base hit of the evening with a triple to right center that scored two in the fourth inning. Barr finished with two of Indiana’s three RBIs in the game. Grant Richardson was the only Hoosier to collect multiple hits on what was a disappointing night offensively for an Indiana team that put up 17 runs against rival Purdue less than a week ago.
Freshman John Modugno took the mound for the Hoosiers in Evansville, throwing three innings and giving up five hits and five earned runs. It wasn’t exactly the outing coach Jeff Mercer would have wanted, with the 6-foot-6 righty giving up four of his runs in the third inning.
Second-year IU head coach Jeff Mercer sent in another freshman, Nathan Stahl, to operate in the fourth and fifth. He fared better than his classmate, working four strikeouts and allowing only one hit against the seven batters he faced.
Braden Scott was charged with taking care of the next three innings. He too kept the Hoosiers in the game, striking out three in his three innings in which he allowed only one hit and no runs.
Indiana had a chance to tie the game in the top of the eighth. With Richardson up to bat, Drew Ashley running on first, and the speedy Jeremy Houston on second, Richardson hit a ground ball straight to the second baseman. In an attempt to break up the double play, Ashely slid into the shortstop, causing him to skyrocket his throw to first and allowing Houston to score from second. The Hoosiers would have tied the game in the top of the eighth with only one out and a runner on first before the second base umpire called Ashley and Richardson out because of an illegal side by Ashley.
Evansville’s upset brings Indiana’s record down to 8-6, as the Hoosiers stranded 11 runners in what is now its third loss in a row after dropping the second and third games of the series against the University of San Diego last weekend.
Indiana will return to action right away, taking on the University of Cincinnati on Wednesday in Bloomington. The Bearcats' 7-7 record would indicate that they shouldn’t pose much of a threat to Indiana. However, Cincinnati has won seven of its past eight games, the lone loss coming against a 10-6 Kentucky team in Lexington. Prior to their recent stretch, the Bearcats were swept by No.12 Florida State in a somewhat competitive series in Tallahassee.
In fact, all seven of Cincinnati’s losses have come on the road, a good sign for an Indiana team that will look to bounce back at Bart Kaufman Field for a 4:05 p.m. first pitch that can be seen on BTN+.
(03/08/20 3:57am)
INDIANAPOLIS — Maryland and Indiana matched up for the third time Saturday, this time in the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.
In their first meeting, Maryland handled Indiana easily, winning 76-62 on Jan. 20. Indiana turned the ball over 15 times in that contest and was out-rebounded 40-28. In the second matchup, Indiana lost inside Assembly Hall 79-69 and turned the ball over 17 times.
The third contest could have been confused for either of the first two. Maryland dominated in every facet and completed a three-game sweep of Indiana with a 66-51 victory. After a competitive first half, Maryland shut Indiana down to the tune of 19 turnovers and being out rebounded 44-31. Let's hand out some grades.
Ali Patberg: B+
In their first contest, Patberg scored 15 points, and in their second she scored 16. Looking at these stats, Patberg’s 16 tonight were on par — except Saturday, those 16 points were a disappointment. That’s because over Indiana’s past five contests, Patberg has been a one-woman wrecking crew. She's averaged 25.2 points per game in that span and hasn’t scored fewer than 20 in any of them.
She was unable to will her team to victory Saturday against a strong defensive Maryland squad. Patberg fought through some pain that was consequence of a couple of hard hustle plays in the second half and labored for every one of her 16 points with a 6-for-21 night from the field.
“Their length, their athleticism really puts you on your heels at times." head coach Teri Moren said. “Some of the shots that Ali took were good ones and just didn't drop tonight. But the fact that she took 21 shots for us I think is still a good thing.”
Grace Berger: B-
Berger exploded for 21 points in Indiana’s first loss to Maryland. On Saturday, she was able to capture only 10, but contributed in other areas. She added a tied for team-high six rebounds and a team high seven assists. She also led the team in turnovers with four and was only able to go 3-for-12 from the field.
Jaelynn Penn: C-
Penn was questionable entering this game with an ankle sprain that she picked up on Friday against Rutgers, and when Maryland began to pull away in the second half, her minutes reflected that. She played only 26 minutes, with just eight of those coming in the second half.
When she was on the floor, it looked like her ankle was bothering her. She was just 1-for-5 from the field and threw up two air balls from deep in the first half.
“We knew at best she was probably going to be 65, 70 percent,” Moren said. “We were really cautious.”
Brenna Wise: B+
The first time Maryland and Indiana matched up; Wise was held scoreless. On Saturday, she finished with seven and added a tied for team-high six rebounds. Her strongest contributions, however, came from the morale she provided for the team.
In classic Brenna Wise fashion, she played hard defense down low and hustled for every 50/50 ball. Her lone 3-point shot came in the fourth quarter, and brought Indiana back to within 11, the closest they had been since halftime.
Mackenzie Holmes: C+
Holmes fought hard with Maryland forwards Shakira Austin and Stephanie Jones, two of the best in the Big Ten, to the tune of 10 points and five rebounds. However, to say that Holmes got the best of them is going too far. The freshman was forced into four personal fouls and had to play smart on defense down the stretch.
Aleksa Gulbe: C-
Gulbe committed two fouls and turned the ball over twice before halftime. The good news is she only committed one more foul and didn’t turn the ball over again. The bad: Gulbe also only scored six points and was only able to bring down three boards.
Between Holmes, Gulbe, and Maryland’s two starting forwards, the Indiana duo was out-rebounded 18 to eight.
As these grades show, none of the Hoosiers actually played badly, but they were rather simply outplayed by a superior opponent in every phase of the game. This comes as no surprise after the first two meetings of these teams, but Maryland is projected to be a one-seed in the NCAA tournament for a reason.
The good news for Indiana: this loss isn’t the end of the world, and it isn’t even the end of the season. Last year, the Hoosiers were unsure of their fate in the month of March at the end of the Big Ten tournament. This year, there is no doubt that the Hoosiers will play more basketball, and it will be on the biggest stage.
The question now becomes if Indiana has put together a resumé worthy of a top four national seed that would earn home court advantage in the first two rounds of the tournament. As it stands, they are on the outside of the top 16 teams in the country looking in. They will find out who their next opponent is, and where they will play them, on Monday, March 16th during the women’s NCAA tournament selection show that will be aired at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
(03/05/20 1:14am)
Indiana baseball opened their home schedule Wednesday in what was a non-conference matchup with rival Purdue.
Last season, The Hoosiers captured a 7-6 win in their only contest against Purdue, with Cade Bunnell walking it off with an RBI single in the 10th inning. Including Wednesday’s game, the Hoosiers and the Boilermakers will meet four times this season.
This year, no such extra inning magic was needed. In fact, the game ended early after Indiana and Purdue mutually agreed to a seventh inning mercy rule finish that saw Indiana capture a 17-2 victory.
Player Grades:
SP McCade Brown: C-
Brown started in Indiana’s lone matchup with Purdue last year as well, that contest did not go to plan. He exited after only facing five batters and without recording a single out, giving up four walks, a hit and two earned runs in the top of the first.
The sophomore faced adversity early again in this contest. After letting the second batter he faced off the hook by hitting him with a 3-2 count, Brown then also walked the next batter he faced, and hit the very next batter, loading the bases with only one out in the first.
Brown then walked another batter, giving Purdue a free run and forcing pitching coach Justin Parker to make a mound visit. Parker left Brown in the game and Brown responded by stopping the bleeding, striking out the next two batters in a row and leaving three runners stranded for Purdue.
Brown exited the game after the first for precautionary reasons with a sore arm, his final line included one run, off of no hits, two walks and two hit batters on 39 pitches.
DH, Drew Ashley: A
Ashley was one of the many Hoosiers with a productive day at the plate. He finished 2-for-2 with two RBIs, and also walked twice. He added a sacrifice fly in the second inning and legged out an infield single in the third.
CF, Grant Richardson: D-
Richardson’s day wasn’t very good, but Indiana didn’t need him to be. He finished with one hit that could have arguably been counted as an error, in five at-bats. The sophomore stranded five runners on a day where Indiana as a team only left eight total runners stranded. Ethan Vecrumba took over for Richardson in the field in the top of the 6th, finishing his day.
3B, Cole Barr: A-
Barr homered last season in Indiana’s only contest against Purdue and finished with two RBIs.
Today was an equally impressive outing for the third baseman, he went 3-for-4, and reached on a hit by pitch in the fourth inning. Barr’s only RBI was the last one for Indiana, with a single to right in the fifth inning that pushed the score to 17-1.
“Cole had a nice day, he’s a really good player.” Said Mercer, “He’s hit a lot of balls hard, kind of had some tough luck, it was good to see him finds some holes and get some hits.”
LF, Elijah Dunham: B+
Dunham, much like Ashley and Barr, had a solid day at the plate. He started out the game drawing a walk to load the bases, Jordan Fucci promptly hit him in with a double to deep left center. That would be the first of three runs that Dunham would go on to score.
Dunham didn’t record an RBI but moved runners into scoring position twice with singles in the fourth and fifth innings. Dunham’s average is now up to a team-best .488 after 10 games.
1B, Jordan Fucci: A+
Fucci was the big bat for the Hoosiers today, hitting in five RBIs on two hits while also scoring two runs in his five plate appearances.
Fucci’s day started out with his double to deep left center that scored Dunham, as well as two other Hoosiers to give Indiana its first lead in the ball game at 3-1 early in the first. The graduate transfer from Samford University hit a deep sacrifice fly to left in the fourth that drove in a run, and then picked up his fifth RBI in the fifth inning on a single to right field that put Indiana up 12-1.
“He hit well to the middle of the field and had a bunch of RBIs,” said head coach Jeff Mercer, “that first double that cleared the bases was a big one, really set the tone.”
C, Collin Hopkins: B+
Hopkins only recorded two officials at-bats but walked and was hit by a pitch in two other plate appearances. The senior catcher recorded an RBI and scored two runs before being pitch hit for by Jake Skrine in the bottom of the sixth.
The highlight of Hopkins day was a textbook strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play from his position behind the plate in the top of the third.
RF, Hunter Jessee: B
The freshman outfielder had another solid day at the plate, he went 2-for-5 and drove in a run, while also scoring two himself. His two outs were productive, hitting a hard-line drive that forced Purdue’s third baseman to make a tough grab in the third and a groundout in the fourth that moved two runners up into scoring position.
The freshman has shown he can be a consistent producer in the lineup, hitting at a .325 average early on in the season. With more performances like this, Jessee has quickly solidified himself as the Hoosier’s everyday third outfielder along with Richardson and Dunham.
2B, Cooper Trinkle: B
The junior went 1-for-4 from the plate today but drove in two runs. In the first inning, he broke the game open for the Hoosiers with a single into right that scored two runners and pushed the early lead to 5-1, from that point on it was all Indiana.
Trinkle was another Hoosier that found a way to be productive even in at-bats where he recorded outs, in the fifth inning, he grounded out to third, but advanced two runners into scoring position.
SS, Jeremy Houston: A
Houston rounded out the order with a productive day. The Chicago native attempted to lay down a sacrifice bunt in the first, but reached on what probably should have been scored as an error. Nonetheless, he drove in a run to push the lead to 6-1.
In the fourth Houston showed strong plate discipline, drawing a walk that garnered him another RBI. In the fifth, he hit an RBI single that scored another run and left runners on the corners and bringing the top of the order back up to bat.
He finished the day with three RBIs, the second most on the team behind Fucci, on two hits and a walk.
RHP, Cal Krueger: A-
Krueger came in early, taking over for Brown after the first inning. The senior made quick work of the Boilermakers in the second, after giving up a single, he quickly forced a Purdue batter to roll a ground ball to second base for a routine double play.
Krueger likewise kept the third inning quiet, and finished the day with three strikeouts, and gave up only two hits and no runs on 26 pitches. His only negative was hitting a batter in the third, but he quickly made up for it by striking out the next and getting out of the inning.
RHP, David Platt: A
The freshman impressed with two clean innings. After taking over for Krueger in the fourth, he retired three runners without allowing a hit.
In the fifth, Platt sat Purdue down 1-2-3 and completed his outing. He finished with two innings pitched, no hits and no runs and struck out two on 26 pitches.
Purdue will have a chance to write a much-needed new game plan when these two teams match up again in May, where they will play three conference games.
“I don’t know that I necessarily had expectations on what we would do as far as the outcome of games,” said Jeff Mercer, “but [this team] has meet and exceeded my expectation on the way that we would play the game. It’s a really tough group, it’s a resilient group, it’s a focused, disciplined group.”
(02/23/20 1:49am)
The Indiana women’s basketball squad beat Minnesota 75-69 Saturday in an important win for the Hoosiers. After a disheartening loss at home to Ohio State, Indiana used this opportunity for an important get-right game with postseason play inching closer.
In their contest against Minnesota earlier this season, the Hoosiers came out on top after a dominant performance from Grace Berger. She took over the game going 10-for-13 from the floor and dropping 25 points while grabbing 11 boards to propel the Hoosiers to victory.
Saturday, Berger was at it again. The sophomore scored 18 and grabbed a team-high nine boards along with five assists. Berger led the team in both those categories, along with steals, and played all but five minutes.
But Saturday, the story was all Ali Patberg. She dropped a game-high 29 points and dished out four assists. She was all over the floor, draining 12 shots on 22 attempts.
(02/15/20 2:30pm)
Indiana’s 2020 baseball season will be defined by a reshuffling of talent after a school-record 10 Hoosiers were selected last year in the MLB draft. While this is undoubtedly a sign of a program looking up, it leaves in its wake an Indiana baseball squad with some significant holes to fill.
Key Loss: Matt Gorski
Along with Swiss Army knife Matt Lloyd, Gorski was a massive producer in Indiana’s offense last season. He hit .271 and smashed 12 home runs, the third-most on the team. His 58 runs scored was a team-best.
Not only is Gorski a loss in production, but a loss in consistency and stability. The centerfielder was one of only four players on Indiana’s roster last season who started more than 50 games for the Hoosiers.
Gorski was drafted in the second round with pick 57 to the Pittsburgh Pirates, which is the highest a Hoosier has been drafted since Kyle Schwarber went in the first round in 2014.
Captain of the ship: Elijah Dunham
Dunham has already proved that he is one of the best players in the Big Ten. Last season, he earned All-Big Ten Third-Team honors for his team-best .310 average and 29 RBIs. His strong sophomore season was also recognized by the Pittsburgh Pirates, who selected him in the 40th round with pick 1,204 in the MLB draft.
Injuries kept him off the lineup card for parts of the 2019 season, and Gorski was the undeniable commander of the outfield. This year, its Dunham’s turn. If he stays healthy, Dunham is primed for an exceptional season. He ended last year on an 18-game reach-base streak and has already racked up Preseason Big Ten Honors, as well as being named Preseason All-Big Ten by Perfect Game for this season.
Poised for a breakout year: Grant Richardson
Richardson’s freshman campaign showed flashes of a player that is capable of a remarkable career. Appearing in 46 games, Richardson finished with a .264 average, 37 RBIs and nine home runs.
Richardson was never really able to find his footing all the way, having a streaky season at the plate. He showed a flash of greatness against Maryland last season, in a 20-5 win, pelting three long balls and tallying six RBIs in six plate appearances. Those are the types of games Richardson is capable of, and look for him to have a good deal more of them in this upcoming season with a more pronounced role while still being only a sophomore.
Also keep an eye on: The freshmen
With a significant roster turnover from last season, three of Indiana’s six listed outfielders are freshmen. Two more are sophomores, with Dunham being the only junior. With that sort of youth, and still only in his second season at the helm, head coach Jeff Mercer will surely experiment with his lineups to find a combination that works.
Indiana brings in Garret Manous, a righty from Munster, Indiana; Ethan Vecrumba, who bats lefty and throws righty; and Hunter Jesse, a pure lefty from South Lebanon, Ohio. These freshmen will likely get chances throughout the season to showcase their talent with such a young outfield crew.
The outfield has the potential to make or break Indiana this season. Coming off a Big Ten regular-season championship, the Hoosiers will have to have a lot of young talent step up if they want any chance at repeating.
(01/31/20 4:40am)
Ali Patberg caught the inbound pass with just 20 seconds left in the game. Down by three, Patberg dribbled to her right and forced her defender into a screen at the top of the key. At the same time, Jaelynn Penn was receiving a screen at the baseline.
Patberg dished the ball to Penn, who had beaten her defender off the screen. She caught the ball with her feet already set and sent the shot into the air.
Just like that, Indiana had tied the game for the first time since tip-off. And in overtime, Indiana dominated.
The Hoosiers escaped Assembly Hall with a 75-65 win over Wisconsin after trailing by as much as 16 and not leading once in regulation.
A number of Indiana players stepped up in order to force an overtime period. Here are my grades for each player:
Ali Patberg: A
Patberg asserted herself as the unquestioned leader of Indiana with the way she rallied her teammates to the task of overcoming a double-digit deficit. She finished the game with 20 points and six assists, both team highs.
"I was proud of just her leadership tonight," head coach Teri Moren said, "and how she just would not let her team quit."
She also put in her best 3-point shooting night of the season, going 4-for-8 from behind the arc and hitting most of them when they were crucial to the cause.
The only reason Patberg doesn't receive an A+ is that overall from the field, she wasn't terrific. She finished 7-for-19 from the field.
Jaelynn Penn: A+
Penn was the hero of Thursday's game, not only sinking the game-tying three in regulation but also helping Indiana rally to have the opportunity to tie the game with her shooting all night. She finished with 15 and hit three 3-pointers in the process.
"I was throwing it to her," said Patberg of Penn, "because I knew if I got her the ball she was going to make it, I had no doubt."
Penn and Patberg are emerging as night-in, night-out dependable offensive players on a team where dependability has been an offensive word most of the season. This is both of their third straight games scoring in double figures and leading the offense. Having both Patberg and Penn continue to put up significant numbers in the scoring column on the same night could be what ends up putting this team back on the track it started the season on.
Mackenzie Holmes: A-
Holmes had a rough first half, entering the locker room with just two points and two fouls to go along with it.
Coming out of the half, though, Holmes found her rhythm and produced much of the offense for a team that was otherwise stagnant on the offensive side of the floor until the fourth quarter.
"I thought the second half," Moren said, "she seemed way more comfortable, way more confident."
She finished with 19 points on the night and added 10 rebounds to give her the double-double. She went 11-for-13 at the line and contributed to forcing Wisconsin's Abby Laszewski, the Badgers' highly skilled post player, into fouling out.
Brenna Wise: B-
Tonight's performance was Brenna Wise's best in the year 2020. She had an awful first half, with no points or rebounds to her name.
In the second half, especially towards the end of the fourth and in OT, she cranked up the volume. Wise scored seven points in the second half, including getting Indiana an important bucket in the third quarter to end a five-minute scoring drought. She also hit a three to bring Wisconsin's lead within 10 points towards the end of the third period.
Aleksa Gulbe: C+
Gulbe's performance won't jump out of the scorebook, but she did an impressive job against Laszewski while she was on the floor as well. Laszewski entered the night averaging 11.3 points per game and left Assembly Hall with just eight, and five fouls to go along with it.
Gulbe finished the night with eight points and five rebounds but didn't play much of a role in crunch time.
Grace Berger: D
The only reason Berger doesn't receive an F here is because she was able to hit a three in overtime and played smart defense after picking up her fourth foul with 36 seconds to go in the third quarter.
"Berger must not have ate or drank, what she did the other night," said Moren.
After having quite possibly the best night of her career on Monday, Thursday's performance was catastrophic. She shot 2-for-13 from the field, and her first point didn't come until there was 1:25 left in the fourth quarter.
On the defensive side of the ball, she also looked lost. For much of the night, she matched up with Wisconsin's Sydney Hillard, who was able to drive past Berger with ease, catching her body turned in the wrong direction on more than one occasion. Hillard scored many of her 23 points with Berger guarding her.
The good news is, Berger is a good enough shooter to continue to put up shots in volume and not let a night like this impact her performance in future games.
Indiana has now captured three straight victories and seem to be back on the right track after a three-game skid. The team's next contest will come against Purdue in West Lafayette on Monday, Feb. 3. The game tips off at 6 p.m. and can be found on BTN or WHCC 105.1.
(01/28/20 2:57am)
With her shoulders slumped and a disgusted look on her face, you could tell plain as day, Grace Burger was frustrated. She was 0-for-1 from the field, and Minnesota’s defense was controlling the game.
Berger then went on to score eight straight buckets and firmly place Indiana in the lead. She finished the game with 25 points and 11 rebounds, both team highs, propelling Indiana to a 65-52 victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
“She was cooking,” head coach Teri Moren said, “without question. And when Grace shoots it like that, and she sees that thing go in, just her confidence, I think goes to a whole ‘nother level.”
Midway through the second quarter, Berger decided she would be the focal point of the offense. And after she got her first bucket, she scored in bunches, recording eight straight baskets for the Hoosiers and pushing them ahead of a Minnesota team that didn’t trail at all in the first quarter of the game.
“I knew the midrange was going to kind of be open off of screens and my teammates were setting good screens for me and spacing the floor,” the sophomore guard from Louisville said, “I was just knocking them down.”
After a scoreless first quarter, Berger scored her first points with 6:27 left in the second; she then went on to hit four more midrange jumpers in a row, propelling Indiana to a 27-24 lead at the half.
The break didn’t cool her off, though, as she came out of the locker room and scored Indiana’s first 12 points of the second half.
“When someone’s playing like that offensively, we're just going to keep getting them the ball,” said junior Ali Patberg, “and Grace was awesome tonight.”
Berger was the performer of the game, but it shouldn’t go unnoticed that Patberg and Jaelynn Penn both put in their second straight solid performance.
Against Penn State this past Thursday, Patberg scored 18 points and nine assists, while Penn added 11. On Monday, they both scored in double figures again. Patberg added 11 and Penn 15 to complement Berger’s monstrous night.
That trio was so good Monday, those three didn’t come out of the game at all in the second half. Patberg played the full 40 minutes, with Berger playing all but two minutes of the game and Penn sitting for only four.
It was tough for either team to find a rhythm offensively in the second half, mostly due to the number of fouls committed by both sides. In total, there were 34 fouls called in the game. Indiana took advantage of this, picking up a lot of points and shooting 20-for-24 from the free-throw line.
“It was good that we shot it at 83 percent tonight from the free-throw line,” Moren said, "although I do think, and maybe I’m just a greedy head coach that wants more, but I think we should be shooting it in the 90s.”
A home win is something Indiana hasn’t captured in almost 20 days, with its last one coming on Jan. 9 against Purdue. Because of their three-game losing streak, every Big Ten game is now crucial for the Hoosiers to pick up if they want to keep their hopes of winning the Big Ten regular-season title alive.
They’ll have a chance to pick up another one this week against one of the weaker Big Ten opponents left on their schedule when they take on Wisconsin. The Badgers are 10-10 on the year and have only been able to manage two Big Ten wins.
At home, Indiana will look to solidify its regained confidence with another conference win. Wisconsin travels to Assembly Hall on Thursday for Indiana’s annual breast cancer awareness game. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., and the game can be found on BTN+ or listened to on WHCC 105.1.
(01/24/20 2:20am)
A 76-60 road win against Penn State — a team now 7-12 on the year and just 1-7 in the Big Ten — in itself, really doesn’t mean much for this Indiana team.
However, given their recent struggles, and this game being at Happy Valley, the Hoosiers will be happy to head back to Bloomington with a check in the correct column for the first time since Jan. 9.
The Nittany Lions didn’t make it easy on Indiana, though. They have played their best basketball all season on their home floor. Five of Penn State’s seven wins have come at home. The Lions fought hard in the first half, forcing Indiana to go into the locker room with just a one-point, 39-38 lead.
However, Indiana was able to settle in and pull away in the second half and started the season back on the right trajectory.
This was by no means an end-all to the Hoosier’s woes, though.
The Good
Indiana’s most veteran players, Jaelynn Penn, Ali Patberg and Brenna Wise, all played better than they had over the rough stretch Indiana has recently experienced.
Penn played classic Jaelynn Penn basketball. She spread the floor, played solid defense, and shot well from deep. She finished with 11 points and made two threes.
Ali Patberg is Indiana’s best player. She played like it Thursday. While her previous three games weren’t bad by any means, she didn’t dominate play as she had earlier in the season. On Thursday, she commanded the floor and made everyone around her better, and did so to the tune of 18 points, nine assists, and five boards.
Brenna Wise, in particular, felt the sting of the Hoosiers’ midseason lull. After recording a scoreless night in their loss to Maryland, she rebounded in Happy Valley. She added seven points to the Hoosiers’ totals, but she made her presence most well known on the boards, where she pulled down a game-high 10.
At the beginning of the season, head coach Teri Moren set a standard of 15 assists as a team in every game this season. Against Maryland, Indiana recorded just two assists from players not named Patberg. The Hoosiers were much better Thursday and beat Moren’s mark with 18 assists.
Mackenzie Holmes kept rolling right along. After capturing her third Big Ten freshman of the week honors last week, she put her name right back in the mix again with this performance. She scored 18, tied for best on the team with Patberg, while shooting 9-for-11 from the field.
The Bad
There’s still a lot the Hoosiers need to improve on to get back on the right track and play as well as they did early on in the season.
To start, Indiana hates the right side of the floor, offensively. No, really, they didn’t score a single bucket from the right side of the floor. Every single point they scored came from the lane of the left side of the floor. If a team can scout that trend and force Indiana to score from the right side of the floor, it might be a barren offensive night for them.
IU’s defense also looked like it struggled, allowing 38 points in the first half to the fifth-worst offensive team in the Big Ten.
Leading the charge for the Lions was Kamaria McDaniel. She dropped in 24 points and got just about anything she wanted in the first half. Indiana was better on her in the second half, but they will have to be able to contain elite scorers better against Big Ten teams with more threats around them that they can dish the ball to when Indiana starts to shut them down.
Turnovers again plagued Indiana. A lot of their passing was careless, and they turned the ball over 17 times, allowing Penn State to score 15 points off of them. Penn State is the worst team in the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio, and second-worst in turnover margin. Against competition that poor, Indiana has to be better to compete with strong teams.
In the end, this win puts IU back on the right track after a disheartening three-game losing streak. Moving forward, the next four games for the Hoosiers may be the most decisive in the story of their season.
Next, they’ll return home to Bloomington to play a Minnesota team that is currently on the bubble for the NCAA tournament. Despite being 12-7 on the season, the Gophers are just 2-6 in the Big Ten. Coming into Assembly Hall, the Hoosiers will need to handle them to regain some real confidence against a winning team.
Following that, Indiana takes on Wisconsin, another team bottom-feeding in the conference. Another home game for Indiana to continue to stabilize themselves will be crucial before traveling to take on rival Purdue in West Lafayette.
If Indiana can come out of those three games unscathed, their rematch with Maryland on Feb. 6 back in Assembly Hall will arguably be the most crucial game of the season for Indiana.
The game against Minnesota in Bloomington on Jan. 27 will be aired on the Big Ten Network and can also be heard on WHCC 105.1.
(01/07/20 3:16am)
The Indiana women’s basketball team was unable to find the bottom of the net for the first two minutes and 42 seconds of its matchup against Illinois in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Monday, and that’s about the only negative thing you can say about Indiana’s performance.
Following their slow start, the Hoosiers were dominant, running their Big Ten opponent out of the gym in an 83-42 victory. Illinois’ 42 points were the lowest total for an Indiana opponent so far this season.
“We always talk about how we want to finish the game the right way,” said head coach Teri Moren, “I thought tonight…We finished the game the right way.”
While most would have been able to predict Indiana coming out on top, the absolute rout of a Big Ten opponent will put the conference on notice. Illinois was no slouch of an opponent either, coming into Bloomington with a 9-4 record.
In fact, Indiana and Illinois’ most recent meeting last season took an overtime period to decide. Indiana won that matchup in December 2018, 85-83. On Monday, IU left no question who the superior team was.
As it has often done this season, Indiana relied on its defense to carry the team to victory. Illinois’s leading scorers — Petra Holešinká (14.8 points per game) and Kennedi Myles (10.8 points per game) — were held to five and two points, respectively.
Illinois entered this matchup averaging 68.2 points per game, and left Assembly Hall with only 42, and even that doesn’t tell the entire story. Beginning the second half already down 43-19, the Illini did not even have to play against Indiana’s starters for much of the second half. This game also did not feature Indiana’s best defender, Bendu Yeaney.
Even so, the Hoosiers were able to force 19 turnovers and capitalize with 22 points off of them.
And even more impressive, Indiana’s defense may not have even been the most dominant part of the win.
Moren’s squad showed its dominance best on the glass, outrebounding Illinois 41-21. Also of note, 13 of the Hoosiers’ boards came on the offensive end.
In the first half alone, Indiana grabbed 25 boards and held its opponent to just 11. Aleksa Gulbe led the way on the glass, pulling down nine, with Mackenzie Holmes following close behind with eight.
Holmes also put up an impressive 16 points. Fresh off being named Big Ten Freshman of the Week last week, the Maine native has certainly put her name in the hat to be drawn for that honor again this week.
Her numbers could only be matched, unsurprisingly, by Ali Patberg, who again put in a performance fit for a preseason Naismith Trophy watch list member.
Patberg gave the Hoosiers 19 points and shot 4-4 from behind the arc and did so in just 21 minutes. For reference, Patberg has averaged 32.6 minutes per game this season.
So, what does this all mean for Indiana?
Aside from putting the entire Big Ten on notice by blowing out a conference opponent by 41 points, the Hoosiers showed their impressive depth. The starters did not play for much of the second half, and the bench players alone could have competed with the Fighting Illini, scoring 33 points themselves.
“I thought the bench was terrific when we went to them,” Moren said. “People say that when you go to your bench you lose something, but I thought tonight that was not the case.”
Even more importantly, Indiana now sits alone atop the Big Ten leaderboard. The only team left undefeated in conference play; they possibly have now established themselves as the front runners in the conference.
With their No.12 ranking, the Hoosiers are already the top-ranked team in the Big Ten, and their 13 wins are also the most in the conference. With the only other ranked teams, Maryland and Michigan, both sitting at 2-1, the Hoosiers have an early advantage on the other front runners early on in conference play.
Indiana will look to continue its undefeated run in the conference, and will next play host to Purdue at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 9. The game can be viewed on BTN+.
(12/21/19 5:02am)
Indiana began nonconference play hoping to capture a ranked win before Big Ten play began. On Sunday, they will have the opportunity to pick up their third ranked nonconference win.
UCLA travels to Bloomington as the No.10 team in the country, just two spots above the Hoosiers. The two top 15 teams will face off at noon tomorrow in Assembly Hall; the game can be seen on BTN or listened to on the radio on WHCC 105.1.
Jaelynn Penn’s chance at history
Indiana’s Jaelynn Penn will have the opportunity Sunday to put her name in the Indiana record books. The 5-foot-10 junior from Louisville is just 15 points shy of 1,000.
Penn has been an overlooked contributor for Indiana on offense so far this season. In six of her 11 starts, she has scored in double figures. She averages 10.1 points per game and is shooting 42 percent from the field.
On an Indiana team that has been highlighted by breakout scorers like Grace Berger, and national award watchlist players like Ali Patberg, it has been easy this season for Penn to get lost in the shuffle.
But her contribution of 17 points against Miami helped Indiana seal a road top 25 win, and her ability to shoot from beyond the arc has helped Indiana spread the floor in every matchup.
Penn is a consistent scoring threat that defenses don’t have the luxury of being able to forget about. If UCLA makes the mistake of doing so, she will not only be able to join the 1,000-point club but will also likely lead Indiana’s offense to a victory.
Indiana’s battle-tested season
Indiana has something UCLA doesn’t — a win against a ranked opponent. In fact, UCLA’s most substantial win so far is its nine-point victory over a 7-4 Georgia team.
The Hoosiers, on the other hand, have been able to topple No. 5 South Carolina and No. 21 Miami, both on the road.
Welcoming in a largely unproven top-10 UCLA to their home court is something Indiana is both unfamiliar with this season and will take advantage of.
Home court advantage has been good to Indiana so far this season, as they are 5-0 at home and have allowed just 50.2 points per game inside Assembly Hall.
Can Indiana’s defense stay dominant against a high-powered offense?
The story for Indiana on defense will be to bend, but not break. At home this season, Indiana hasn’t faced much of a challenge so far, which contributes in part to its low defensive points allowed stat. However, UCLA averages 75.6 points per game so far this season. Indiana’s 11th-ranked scoring defense will be tested against one of only 11 teams left undefeated this year.
The good news for Indiana: UCLA has a pair of outstanding guards. Senior guards Michaela Onyenwere and Japreece Dean lead the offense with an average of 19.2 and 13.0 points per game, respectively.
Why is this good news for Indiana? Because in addition to having Berger, who averages 1.6 steals a game, they also will enjoy the return of Bendu Yeaney. Yeaney is a defensive specialist who averaged 1.5 steals a game last season and often was given the No. 1 assignment before rupturing her Achilles in the postseason last year.
Yeaney made her first appearance of the season on Dec. 11 against Butler. She and Berger will likely take on Onyenwere and Dean, and will undoubtedly be the best defensive duo the two UCLA guards have faced this season.
UCLA also averages 12.3 turnovers a game, while Indiana has forced 17.4 turnovers per game. Indiana’s defense has been, in large part, what has propelled the team to the successful season thus far.
With Big Ten play quickly approaching, Indiana will have one more chance to capitalize on a top 25 non-conference win Sunday. UCLA will present a high-volume offense to the Hoosiers, but that’s nothing new for a team that has already taken on two top-10 teams. Home court advantage will loom large, as Indiana looks to close out a tough nonconference schedule with an 11-1 record and a six-game winning streak.
(09/08/19 8:59pm)
Kendall Beerman looked to provide a spark for the Hoosiers after a tough first set loss Friday.
Oklahoma had just captured the first point of the second set after downing Indiana in the first, 25-23. Indiana’s 6-foot-2 outside hitter hadn’t seen any action yet this weekend, but it became apparent to head coach Steve Aird that if the Hoosiers wanted any chance of making it out of Wilkinson Hall with a win Friday night, it would have to involve Beerman.
Indiana took its first game Friday against Oregon State easily in three straight sets. Even without Beerman on the floor, Aird’s squad looked strong against the Beavers.
The nightcap proved to be more a significant challenge.
Even with Beerman on the floor, Indiana wasn’t able to overcome Oklahoma’s dominant size, losing in five sets.
This weekend’s three games from the Hoosier Invite offered four significant storylines to watch for moving forward:
(03/14/19 9:49pm)
Indiana had a chance to secure a ticket to the big dance, but as has become standard this season, couldn’t get it done. Entering their matchup with Ohio State, the Hoosiers were on the outside looking in, but a victory over the Buckeyes would have likely pushed them into the field of 68.
A back-and-forth matchup that for a while looked as though it would end up as a blowout went down to the seconds. After fighting back from a 20-point deficit, Indiana pulled the game to within three with 55 seconds left.
However, strong outing from Keyshawn Woods and Kaleb Wesson for Ohio State ensured that it was not to be.
Here are three takeaways from what could possibly be the final game of the season for the Hoosiers.
The Hoosiers started slow, and the offense was streaky throughout
Indiana’s offense started slow, scoring just five points in the first six minutes of the game. The Hoosiers shot 3-17 from the floor in that time span and finished the half shooting only 30% from the field. And as has been a problem for them all season, gave up 10 turnovers in the first half alone.
“I feel like the energy level wasn’t there,” freshman Rob Phinisee said, “we turned it over a lot more than we usually do and they got a lot of points off of turnovers and that got them rolling.”
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It was much of the same for the majority of the second half. The offense couldn’t jump start behind a slew of turnovers and allowing OSU to go on a 10-point run. The Hoosiers were unable to find the bottom of the bucket for almost four minutes at one point, giving the Buckeye’s a commanding 63-43 lead.
Behind the efforts of Devonte Green, IU responded with a run of their own, putting up 13 straight and closing the gap to 63-56 inside five minutes.
“if we would have played the whole game like that, it would have been a different story,” De’Ron Daivs said.
Ohio State managed to keep the margin above eight until the last two minutes of the game, and by the time IU had found its groove again, it was too little too late.
“We just didn’t play at a high enough level for long enough stretches of the game to keep ourselves in a little better striking distance,” Archie Miller said.
Devonte Green tried to put the team on his back
Junior guard Devonte Green did all he could to keep the Hoosiers’ tournament hopes alive, dropping bucket after bucket to pull the Hoosiers back to within single digits.
“Once I hit a couple I was just in rhythm,” said Green, “I started getting hot.”
Green was one of the few players that got hot for the Hoosiers. He got hot at the right times too, scoring 15 points after halftime. 12 of those 15 points came in the final seven minutes of the game.
“He was all we had there for a while, he stepped up and made shots” Miller said of Green.
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Green finished with a game-high 26 points, shooting 8-of-10 from three-point range.
Future of the team uncertain
Coming into the Big Ten Tournament, the Hoosiers were on Joe Lunardi’s last four out, with Ohio State as his last team in the field. This game had win-or-go-home implications for not only the Big Ten Tournament but also for the NCAA Championship Tournament. In the end, Indiana just couldn’t get it done.
“We’ll wait and see, it’ll be difficult,” Miller said, “We’ve played a ridiculous schedule. Are we capable yes, did we do enough I’m not sure?”
It would take nothing short of a miracle for the Hoosiers to hear their name called Sunday. Barring that miracle, it is likely they will receive a bid to the NIT tournament. Whether or not they would accept that bid has yet to be determined.
“I’m not really sure what’s going to happen, it’s really up to coach” said Rob Phinisee.
If the Hoosiers decided not to participate in the NIT, the team would shift all focus to the future as they prepare for the next season.
“If not, we have to figure out what’s the next step and what we have to do next year and make the tournament.” De’Ron Davis said.
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The Hoosiers exit the Big Ten Tournament in appropriately disappointing fashion. After finally heating up in the last four games of the regular season, it looked as though they might just steal an invitation to the Big Dance, but this shoe didn’t quite fit. It is possible this will end up being the final game this Indiana team plays. Now, all eyes turn to selection Sunday, as the fate of the Hoosiers lies in the hands of the selection committee.
(02/17/19 11:58pm)
Friday night’s Indiana high school game of the week between La Lumiere and Culver Academies featured two possible future IU basketball centerpieces.
While most Indiana basketball fans are familiar with the name Keion Brooks, less are familiar with the name Trey Galloway. However, it may be time for them to learn about the 6-foot-5, 200-pound junior.
The 3-star guard has already drawn significant attention from schools around the state and the rest of the Big Ten. Galloway currently holds six offers from Butler, Notre Dame, Purdue, Iowa, Michigan State and Nebraska.
In a game that drew multiple assistant coaches and recruiters from a number of high-major schools into the gym, Galloway finished with 12 points and Brooks with nine.
Brooks and Galloway traded blow for blow all night in a 46-45 overtime win for La Lumiere. After the game, Galloway noted how impressed he was with fellow IU target Keion Brooks.
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“Obviously he’s really good,” Galloway said about Brooks. “He can score on all three levels. It was a good challenge for me to get out there and guard him, obviously he can put some shots down.”
While the 2020 in-state recruiting class isn’t as eye-catching as it was over the last two years, there are still strong options for Archie Miller and his staff to go after. Anthony Leal is the No. 1 recruit in Indiana for the 2020 class, and Galloway sits at No. 5.
The two 2020 guards have a history that could lead to them finding themselves playing together in the backcourt in Bloomington.
“Anthony and I are pretty tight,” Galloway said. “We’ve been playing AAU together for three or four years now.”
Galloway also has a relationship with 2019 Hoosier guard, Armaan Franklin and said he’s trying to get a feel of where everyone’s going before narrowing down his options.
Though he didn’t drop a large spot in the scorebook against La Lumiere, Galloway can certainly score in droves, averaging 16 points per game and shooting 51-percent from the field in his junior season.
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In Culver Academies’ game before La Lumiere, Galloway dropped 23 points against Indianapolis Crispus Attucks, and has scored 20 or more points in six games this season.
However, the junior believes his scoring is not even his strongest attribute.
“I think overall my best attribute is having a feel for the game and my competitiveness, my IQ of the game,” he said.
That competitive edge makes Galloway the type of player to never be content with his strengths. Galloway recognizes he still has areas he can improve upon before stepping up to the college level.
The majority of his points come from inside the paint, or from three-point (258 of his 895 career points have come from beyond the arc). He also has a knack for getting to the rim and finishing, shooting 64-percent from inside during this season. Still, Galloway believes he can elevate his offensive game even higher.
“I can work on my midrange game more, my pullup,” Galloway said. “Trying to create my own shot more.”
Although, IU hasn’t extended an offer to any in-state recruits in the 2020 class, Galloway has already gotten to know the Hoosier coaching staff.
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“I have a good relationship with Coach Ostrom,” Galloway said. “I talk to him a lot and we text a lot. I got to go to the Ohio State game and visit, check out campus and talk to Coach Miller and we’re getting a feel for each other.”
Already a 3A state champion, Galloway will look to add another state title to his name and will likely be in the mix for Indiana Mr. Basketball over the next couple of years.
But as his recruiting process ramps up look for Indiana to make Galloway a top priority in the 2020 class.