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(01/03/22 1:03am)
After 11 straight losses to the Maryland Terrapins, the Indiana women’s basketball team has finally done it. In a game that needed to go into overtime to decide the winner, the No. 8 Hoosiers defeated the No. 6 Terrapins 70-63 to get a signature win which will help them down the road. Head coach Teri Moren said she couldn’t be more proud of her group making history at Simon Skjodt Assembly hall on Sunday afternoon.
“I’m just so happy for our kids,” Moren said. “They had to play a lot of minutes today, and I thought we were great defensively. Give our kids credit, we had to control the pace for the game to be in the 60’s for Maryland. [We] really wanted to limit our shot opportunities, this is a team that really thrives on possessions. They want to come down and guard real quick in hope you turn it over. And I thought our kids executed the game plan almost perfectly.”
(12/23/21 10:53pm)
In the finale of the non-conference portion of No. 8 Indiana’s schedule, the Hoosiers came out victorious 70-37 against the Southern Illinois Salukis. Mackenzie Holmes and Grace Berger led the charge for Indiana offensively, each scoring 18 points. Indiana ends the non-conference part of their schedule with an 8-2 record, and head coach Teri Moren said this will serve a great purpose when the team resumes Big Ten play.
“We certainly have those would’ve, could’ve should've down in the Bahamas against Stanford and then NC State here,” Moren said. “[But also] playing Kentucky, going on the road and playing a really good Quinnipiac team, and teams like Southern Illinois and Fairfield. So we’ve seen so many different looks and actions that we’ve had to plan for.”
After getting some more time to prepare for this game due to the cancellation of the Wright State game, it seemed as though Indiana did not miss a beat. Nicole Cardaño-Hillary and Berger opened up the game nicely with some aggressive drives to the basket. Followed by this was some nice work in transition from Berger along with Kiandra Browne. These quick baskets propelled Indiana to a scorching 8-0 start, forcing a Southern Illinois timeout.
While the Hoosiers remained solid offensively, the defense was the story of the first quarter. Indiana held the Salukis to only four points in the first quarter, marking it the lowest they’ve held an opponent in a quarter this season. IU was making Southern Illinois very uncomfortable on the offensive end, forcing them into six turnovers in the quarter while also making them take some wild shots. A Browne charge to end the quarter capped off an excellent defensive first 10 minutes of play, as well as firing up the Hoosier bench.
Indiana started off the second by working the ball in to Holmes inside. Her size seemed to be too much for the Salukis, as she got many second-chance points thanks to her ability to rebound the ball. When the Hoosiers weren’t getting the ball inside, they were excellent scoring in transition. The speed of Cardaño-Hillary finding Holmes and Berger at the basket had Southern Illinois in a disarray defensively.
For the Hoosiers, the defensive energy never disappeared, especially at the end of the first half. Thanks to some great perimeter defense from Berger, Cardaño-Hillary, and Ali Patberg, Indiana was able to wear down the Salukis on offense. Southern Illinois is solid offensively, so for Indiana to hold them to a season-low eight points in the first half is quite the impressive feat. Moren said she is proud with the way her defense has been playing these past couple of games.
“Early on, I think our offense was ahead of our defense,” Moren said. “I think now we’ve caught up and also exceeded our offense a little bit. It’s experience, it’s reps, it’s playing different styles with our non-conference schedule, learning how to play different coverages and just becoming better. But it also requires a group of individuals who are interested in guarding, and interested in that side of the ball. So I think our guys feel that if we are sound defensively, we’re always going to give ourselves a chance.”
Southern Illinois got a little more offensive going to start off the second half. They scored the same amount of points in the first five minutes of the third quarter as they did the entire first half, thanks to getting some open layups and 3-pointers to fall. Indiana was able to do the same. Berger’s slashing ability proved to be deadly to the Saluki defense, which opened up more shots for Holmes and others down the stretch.
The Hoosiers did a nice job of moving the ball down the stretch and passing to open teammates. Patberg had some great passes while driving to the basket, or even just finding an open teammate further down the floor. Passing the ball like they did put Southern Illinois in a difficult position to defend, as they have held some great teams to not a lot of points scored this season. As Berger hit a jump shot to beat the buzzer, IU went into the fourth quarter riding a comfortable 36-point lead. For the team, Patberg’s ability to get her teammates looks is something special
“I think all of our guards are very unselfish,” Holmes said. “They’re always looking to make the next play. I think it’s just how we practice, and Ali is just an unselfish player. She had some great looks tonight, as well as all of the guards.”
Moren emptied her bench for the fourth quarter, but this didn’t stop the Hoosiers from playing great defense. Kaitlin Peterson did a phenomenal job of staying with some crafty Saluki guards and forcing them into some uncharacteristic mistakes. Mona Zaric and Arielle Wisne also did a great job on the interior end of rebounding the ball to make sure Southern Illinois did not get any second-chance points.
The Hoosiers look forward to their third conference game in Piscataway where they will take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Rutgers welcomes some new faces to their team this year after losing both star players from last year in Arella Guirantes and Diamond Johnson. Nonetheless, it seems as though the Scarlet Knights have started to get on a roll, winning three games in a row before resuming their conference play as well. It should be quite the defensive battle at Jersey Mike's Arena, as these are two of the best defenses in the conference.
(12/20/21 3:08am)
An excellent third quarter ultimately put the Hoosiers over the top of the Western Michigan Broncos, as No. 10 Indiana won 67-57 at Assembly Hall on Sunday afternoon.
(12/13/21 3:45pm)
Last season, Indiana’s calling card was defense. The Hoosiers would apply lots of pressure and force their opponents to commit multiple turnovers just in the matter of minutes.
This season, head coach Teri Moren has been wanting her team to guard harder and show shades of last year’s group. Sunday’s game against Ohio State may be the game they have gotten their confidence on the defensive side of the ball, holding the highest scoring offense in the Big Ten to a season low in points en route to a 86-66 victory over Ohio State. Moren explained that this is how the program has always been defensively.
“We hang our hat on the defensive end,” Moren said. “I’ve got a tremendous staff that does a ton of work with our players and always has them prepared. So I thought we played stingy on that side of the ball as we always do. That’s Indiana women’s basketball right there, locking our heels into the floor, and making the opposing team really work to get anything easy.”
On the offensive side of the ball, another milestone was achieved. Mackenzie Holmes joined the 1,000-point club on Sunday night, becoming the 30th member in program history to do so. Her 30-point performance propelled the Hoosiers to a massive road victory, as she continues a phenomenal junior year. Grace Berger and Nicole Cardaño-Hillary were also key on the offensive end, scoring 23 and 17 respectively.
The Hoosiers jumped out to a quick 10-0 start in the first five minutes, but it was the swarming Hoosier defense that led the charge. Indiana forced the Buckeyes into five turnovers in the first five minutes, which gave them energy on the offensive end. Holmes gave IU their first six points of the game, as it seemed like OSU had no answer for her. Patberg, Cardaño-Hillary, and Berger all chipped in to score as well.
But Ohio State eventually figured things out, cutting the lead all the way down to four. The guard play of the Buckeyes really showed their strengths, as Taylor Miskell began to find her groove. Despite a couple shots going in for both teams, it was a pretty quiet first quarter, as there were 34 combined points between the two teams.
Both teams went back and forth to start out the second quarter. Indiana did a good job of continuing to turn the Buckeyes over on offense and getting out in transition to score the ball. The Buckeyes answered right back, as Hevynne Bristow got some putback buckets to keep Indiana from going on a run. Play on both sides got a little sloppy, so it was obvious that substitutions needed to be made.
This ended up benefitting the Hoosiers in the long run, as they would go up by as much as 14 to end a strong first half. IU eventually got some 3-pointers to fall down, which was huge in building a lead on Ohio State. Cardaño-Hillary, who has been reliable all season from beyond the arc, hit some big 3s to put Indiana by double digits. After a slow first half, Aleksa Gulbe hit some shots as well, as Indiana went up 43-29 in a strong defensive first half.
But the third quarter is really where Indiana dominated this game, as the team went on a big run to extend the lead to at most 21 points. Indiana did much of its damage inside, as the Hoosiers scored more than 50 points in the paint on Sunday night. While Holmes led the charge with that scoring 30 in her career night, she got some help with Berger and Gulbe, as they were able to drive into the paint in transition to extend Indiana’s lead. Holmes said a night like this could not have been done without her teammates
“I’m a post player, so every pass I get is from my guards,” Holmes said. “And I believe I have the best guards in the country on my team. They’re just great teammates, selfless, and at the end of the day I just want to win and that’s what is most important to me.”
While Ohio State cut the lead a bit down the stretch in the third, Indiana followed that up with a little run of its own. The Hoosiers did a good job getting to the line and getting some free points. Cardaño-Hillary was aggressive in getting to the basket, as she had all game, which really helped the Hoosiers’ momentum. OSU got a little more momentum down the stretch, but Indiana still led by 20 heading into the final quarter of play.
OSU star guard Jacy Sheldon really got it going in the beginning of the fourth, as she led a Buckeye charge that cut the lead to 14. However, once again, Indiana responded with its own run and got the lead back to 20. The great interior defense from Holmes and Gulbe made room for Berger and Ali Patberg to make plays in open space and score inside. It was too little, too late for Ohio State once the Buckeyes found their offense, as Indiana walked out of Columbus with a dominant 86-66 victory.
“Winning on the road in this league is incredibly difficult,” Moren said. “So this obviously gives our group some confidence. So the kids will go into finals week feeling good about what we did here, finish out the non-conference [schedule], and then jump right into the conference on the road at Rutgers. So I hope this is a sign for what we can expect from our group that we can still be locked in and have the energy we need in order to win games on the road.”
This significant victory puts IU at 8-2 on the season and an improved 2-0 in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers begin a three-game homestand to wrap up non-conference play starting with a matchup with the Western Michigan Broncos next Sunday. The Broncos are coming in on a hot streak, winning five straight as they continue their four-game road trip. The Hoosiers will need to quickly rebound in order to take on a confident WMU team.
(12/10/21 3:35am)
A season-high 91 points from the Hoosiers led them past the Fairfield Stags with ease, as Indiana took its first win back in non-conference action. The Hoosiers shot a very efficient 61 percent from the field thanks to some effective post play from Mackenzie Holmes and Aleksa Gulbe, as they had 23 and 21 respectively.
But maybe the biggest positive Indiana got out of this game was the offensive resurgence of Grace Berger. After a rough couple of games offensively, Berger was on fire Thursday, as she went 7-for-10 from the field with 19 points and seven rebounds. Head coach Teri Moren said there was never a doubt Berger would find her groove again.
“I think we called it in the locker room tonight that she was due,” Moren said. “She had a couple of games where [the ball] didn’t go in for her. But she took the shots she normally took and they went down, and that’s why you don’t panic on a kid like that. Just because you know she will eventually find it.”
The Hoosiers came out hot offensively in the first few minutes of the first quarter, hitting six of their first eight shots and going on a 15-4 run. Holmes and Gulbe took advantage of the lack of size Fairfield had, combining for eight of those 15 points. The other seven came solely from Berger, as she couldn't miss a jump shot, even with a defender in her face. Slow starts have hurt the Hoosiers in the past, but in these past couple of games, strong first quarters have become the key to these dominant wins.
Indiana didn’t let up after the hot start, especially Gulbe. As good as her post game was, she stepped out to hit a couple of jump shots to extend Indiana’s lead to as 20. While the Hoosiers stayed hot at a 71 percent clip from the field, the defense started out great as well, holding the Stags to only eight points in the first quarter. Getting new faces in the game as time went on, Indiana hoped to sustain this momentum the rest of the game.
And that they did, as IU went on a quick 10-0 run to start off the second quarter. Berger, Nicole Cardaño-Hillary, and Chloe Moore-McNeil helped IU go up by as much as 27 at one point. Moore-McNeil has been a highlight off the bench in recent games, as her length defensively and ability to shoot the ball has allowed players such as Berger to get more rest without worrying about losing the lead.
Fairfield eventually figured it out on the offensive end after a slow start, knocking down shots from the outside. Callie Cavanaugh and Sydney Lowry made some big baskets that stopped some Hoosier runs and kept them from extending the lead. However, the Stags’ offense could not keep up with the Hoosiers, as Indiana would end up going up 51-27 to end the first half.
Like it has done all season, Indiana started off the second half strong, going on an 11-2 run to start things off. Moren found a way to get everyone involved during that run, as all five scorers put the ball in the basket. Differently from the first half, the Hoosiers began to find some scoring in transition to try and tire out Fairfield. Cardaño-Hillary and Berger did a great job of getting out in open space and making good passes to Gulbe and Holmes in the post for some easy buckets.
Fairfield tried to get its offense going, but the Hoosiers just countered that with great play on both sides of the floor. Defensively, Indiana did a much better job of defending the basket, but the Stags were able to get some free points at the line due to some uncharacteristic fouls by the Hoosiers. That, along with some late turnovers, allowed Sydney Lowry to get to the lane and score in the open floor, which is one of her strengths. Indiana led the Stags pretty substantially 71-38, however, Moren said she isn’t happy with the defense the team was playing late in the game
“I was frustrated because I thought we were being too overzealous,” Moren said. “That’s just silly. We didn’t have to do that, we were in complete control of the game. And that’s when you lock your heels in the floor and just be sound, be solid, and don’t do anything extra. And we were guilty of being overaggressive and overzealous.”
Being up by so much going into the fourth, it sure didn’t seem like the Hoosiers were playing like they were leading by 34. Indiana’s energy remained at a high level throughout the fourth quarter, as the players stayed aggressive on the defensive end and kept trying to score as well. Whether it was diving on the floor for a loose ball or getting an offensive rebound on a missed free throw, Moren’s team stayed scrappy the entire 40 minutes of the game.
As both teams emptied her benches late in the fourth quarter, the Hoosiers didn’t miss a beat offensively. Kaitlin Peterson showed potential to be a great ball handler for this team. Her quickness and high basketball IQ gives Indiana some guard depth if any of the starters were to get in foul trouble. Grace Waggoner also had a nice take to the basket to score, as she was the one to put Indiana over 90 points on the day. As Fairfield hit a wild buzzer beater to end the fourth, Indiana took a 91-58 win back in non-conference play and stayed in the win column. For the team, this home stretch is special and the players thanked the fans for the growing support.
“I think it means so much to all of us,” Berger said. “Every time we get to run out of that tunnel and just see how many fans are there to support us, whether we are playing an out-of-conference opponent, a Big Ten game, or a top-10 matchup, the support is still the same. It’s unbelievable to see how excited people are about women’s basketball, especially coming off a year with no fans, it makes us even more grateful. We just hope they continue to support us because we are going to need them down the stretch.”
IU improves to 7-2 on the season, as yet another big test for this team comes this Sunday. Indiana travels to Columbus to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday afternoon. Indiana defeated the Buckeyes last year on the road in a thriller, where making shots down the stretch was a key for IU winning the game. If the Hoosiers can do the same, they definitely have a shot of defeating OSU in a primetime Big Ten matchup.
(12/03/21 3:23am)
The crowd at Assembly Hall sure got their money’s worth Thursday night, as they saw two excellent basketball teams with No. 6 Indiana and No. 2 NC State square off in a rematch of last year’s Sweet 16. Hoosier fans did not, however, get the result they wanted, as the Wolfpack defeated the Hoosiers 66-58 in front of the biggest crowd this Indiana team has had in a while. Although Indiana lost, head coach Teri Moren said she is confident the team’s best basketball is just ahead of them.
“We will be better,” Moren said. “That’s a good basketball team. They have a chance to go to the Final Four and they’re picked to win the ACC. And we had every chance to win tonight, but unfortunately the ball didn’t go in the basket like we needed it to.”
Those shooting woes hurt Indiana early on in the game, as the team started off 2-for-10 from the floor and 0-for-4 from 3-point range in the first five minutes. Grace Berger and Mackenzie Holmes were the only scorers early on, and it seemed as though the Hoosiers needed to find a spark offensively. NC State’s Elissa Cunane could not be stopped inside, as she went on a 6-0 run by herself in the first few minutes. Getting all the jitters out from having a packed Assembly Hall, it would be interesting to see what adjustments Moren had made.
While the shooting didn’t get any better, IU was much better in making the Wolfpack uncomfortable and turning the ball over. NC State had four turnovers in the final five minutes of the half , and that seemed to get the Hoosiers’ confidence back on the defensive end after Cunane’s strong run. Knowing the struggles the team had shooting, Indiana tried to work it more inside to get higher percentage shots. With NC State having such a strong defense, IU needed a spark offensively to get the crowd at Assembly Hall back on their feet.
Cunane getting two early fouls was huge for the Hoosiers being able to stay in the game. Her absence allowed for a much more undersized Camille Hobby to play some major minutes leading to Holmes figuring out her game offensively. Ali Patberg’s defense was also huge in holding a talented NC State team to some careless turnovers and shots. The Hoosiers hoped to turn their outstanding defense into points on the other end.
Diamond Johnson caused lots of problems for the Hoosiers down the stretch in the second quarter. Her ability to shoot the ball and quickness while driving to the basket helped NC State stay in the game while their other stars struggled to score. Chloe Moore-McNeil sparked the offense for Indiana. Her catch-and-shoot ability caused the Wolfpack defense to spread out more, allowing for Holmes to get some baskets inside. Indiana led the Wolfpack 23-21 in what was shaping up to be the ultimate defensive battle. Moren talked about the threats Johnson and Cunane posed as players.
“Johnson made us pay a couple of times,” Moren said. “Just because she just has so much wiggle in her game, and that obviously hurt us. But I thought we did a great job on Cunane. I was a little bit nervous at the beginning, but as the game we threw double teams at her.”
Holmes took over the first few minutes of the third quarter, as she had six of the first eight points for Indiana. The Hoosiers did a great job of executing against a very solid NC State defense in the halfcourt, and it seemed Holmes was not afraid to go right at a premier shot blocker in Cunane and get to the basket. As NC State hit some big shots to bring the IU lead back down to one, Indiana players knew they needed to continue to be themselves and get quality shots.
NC State really turned it up a notch towards the end of the third. Johnson as well as Raina Perez and Kayla Jones hit some big-time shots to give the Wolfpack a 4-point lead. Indiana was unable to sustain its momentum offensively after Aleksa Gulbe’s first made shot of the night, but the team remained solid defensively, holding a high-octane Wolfpack offense to just 38 points through three quarters.
The fourth quarter was an absolute battle back and forth. Holmes continued to be on a roll, as she pulled out many different post moves in her arsenal in order to get past Cunane. For NC State, Johnson continued to orchestrate the offense. The pick and roll with her caused Indiana to foul when going on top of the screen, allowing NC State to get into the bonus with a couple minutes to play in the fourth.
The final 2:48 was the nail in the coffin for the Hoosiers. The Wolfpack outscored the Hoosiers 9-1 in just a minute to extend the NC State lead to double digits for the first time all night. With missed shots and a couple of late turnovers, IU found themselves in a very deep hole that would be hard to come back from against an excellent Wolfpack team. As NC State knocked down some big free throws, Indiana suffered its second loss of the season, 66-58.
The loss puts Indiana at 6-2 on the season, and the Hoosiers will have a bit of a break from non-conference play next week. Indiana opens up Big Ten play back at Assembly Hall on Monday against the Penn State Nittany Lions. Penn State is an even 4-4 on the season, coming off a big loss to Boston College Thursday night. Although this one stings, the Hoosiers will need to put this one behind them and focus on the start of conference play. IU showed its appreciation for the large crowd that came to support the Hoosiers on Thursday night.
“It’s great seeing the support that we have,” Holmes said. “It was disappointing that we performed that way in front of that crowd. So I just hope that they keep coming back and that they keep supporting us.”
(12/02/21 12:23am)
Last year Indiana defeated the NC State Wolfpack in a thriller of a basketball game 73-70 in the Sweet 16 in San Antonio. All five Hoosier starters were in double figures, and it was quite the gutsy and emotional win Teri Moren’s team needed to take the program to the next level. And now, the two teams meet up again in the Big 10/ACC Challenge for what is to be another exciting top-10 matchup for the Hoosiers.
Indiana was able to win last year’s game thanks to a huge run to start out the second half, as the Hoosiers were at one point leading by 14 after being down 7-0 to start off the game. It was the IU defense turning NC State over and getting baskets on the offensive end that helped Indiana go on that run, as they forced a very good Wolfpack team into 17 turnovers. Mackenzie Holmes and Aleksa Gulbe’s interior defense sparked Ali Patberg and Nicole Cardaño-Hillary to get out in transition and use their speed to score.
The Hoosiers also did a good job at scoring in a variety of ways to keep NC State on its heels defensively. With the threat of Patberg and Cardaño-Hillary driving, Grace Berger’s mid range, and the play of Gulbe and Holmes inside, the Indiana offense looked unstoppable in the second half. Although NC State came back and eventually cut it to two points, Indiana was able to hang on for the upset victory.
Taking a look at the Wolfpack
Not much has changed for the No. 2 Wolfpack since last season, as they return all five of their starters from last year. Elissa Cunane and Jakia Brown-Tucker headline the returners, as they were named to the ACC’s Blue Ribbon team at the start of the season. NC State’s dynamic duo combines for 24.7 points per game, so limiting their touches and opportunities at the basket will be crucial for No. 6 Indiana. Moren recognizes the talent and the impact that Cunane has on the game.
“Cunane is a problem,” Moren said. “She’s outstanding with her back to the basket, [and] she has a good 3 or 4 inches over Mackenzie and Aleksa. So we’re going to have to pick and choose when we double her and make her guess like we did a year ago.”
But this Wolfpack team is a little bit like Stanford in a way, as they have multiple threats on the offensive end that can beat you. Raina Perez was a big focal point last year for Moren, as she was the second leading scorer in the last matchup between the two teams. As much of a threat as she is from beyond the arc, she also has the ability to make crafty moves to the basket and score inside. I would expect Moren to throw a couple of different matchups on her to limit her scoring.
There will be some news faces for Indiana that they haven’t seen from NC State yet. Kayla Jones missed the Sweet 16 matchup, so the Hoosiers will have to figure out a game plan to slow her down. Being a threat from 3-point range and having the size to score inside, it will be essential that Gulbe and Holmes will need to have an outstanding defensive performance on Thursday night in order to stop her.
Rutgers transfer Diamond Johnson has also been getting some valuable minutes from the Wolfpack. Being the threat she is from beyond the arc, Cardaño-Hillary, Patberg and even Berger will have to keep an eye on her at all times. Having not played Rutgers last season, it should be interesting to see how Moren gameplans for a player like Johnson. The team will have to play some outstanding defense if the Hoosiers want to beat a high-octane Wolfpack offense.
“One of the things we’ve always tried to do is be stingy defensively, no matter who we’re playing,” Moren said. “The tendencies are really important as we go into this game in terms of what these individuals are capable of doing. They’re outstanding from beyond the arc, so we’re going to have to try and run every one of them off the 3-point line.”
As good as NC State is on offense, its defense has really been the story to start things off this season. The Wolfpack have been giving up around 55 points per game to opposing teams this year, including only 60 to a talented Maryland team. NC State has also been forcing teams into double-digit turnovers every game as well as limiting their turnovers offensively, showing their versatility as a team overall.
Keys for IU
Transition offense will be the biggest key for Indiana, as that is what won the game for IU last year. Patberg and Cardaño-Hillary got to the basket with ease last year after forcing some Wolfpack turnovers. Knowing that NC State has had a strong start on defense, the speed of Cardaño-Hillary and Patberg will play a key role in not allowing the Wolfpack to set their half-court defense.
While they are in the halfcourt, it will be crucial that Indiana does not turn the ball over and give NC State extra opportunities. Last game against Miami, the Hoosiers had 24 turnovers, setting a new season high. If IU does the same thing against a much better NC State team, things might not go so well on Thursday night.
Playing confident and with energy will also be another key for the Hoosiers if they want to take home a win at Assembly Hall. The Wolfpack come into this game feeling very good about themselves, as they just dominated two tournament teams from last year in Washington State and Maryland. A fast start in the first quarter would do wonders for the Hoosiers going down the stretch in this game.
A rematch of one of college basketball’s best games last year should be a fun one to watch. With Indiana winning the last matchup, I expect to see the Wolfpack come out with lots of energy to start the game off. But the question of who can maintain that energy and keep the same mentality going for 40 minutes will decide this game.
“This is going to be an NC State team that’s going to come in here with a lot of motivation,” Moren said. “We knocked them out of their opportunity to perhaps get to a Final Four. So I think that there’s a lot of motivation on their part from their staff to their players.”
(11/29/21 4:03am)
Mackenzie Holmes’ first double double of the season led the Hoosiers past Miami in a nailbiter 53-51. In a low scoring game, No. 4 IU scrapped out a victory and bounced back into the win column. Going 1-1 in the Baha Mar tournament, Indiana will celebrate this win, but move onto another massive game at home in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Holmes finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds in the win, which was the finale in the Bahama-based tournament after IU fell to No. 7 Stanford on Thursday.
(11/26/21 12:27am)
After erasing an 8-point deficit in just one minute and 40 seconds, Grace Berger was fouled and was sent to the free-throw line to try and tie the game late in No. 4 Indiana’s showdown with No. 7 Stanford.
She missed both, but Indiana was lucky enough that Stanford’s star player Cameron Brink only made one free throw and kept it a one-possession game. Ali Patberg had a look from 3-point range to tie it with the clock winding down, but it would not fall and Indiana suffered its first loss of the season 69-66 to the Cardinal.
A huge contributor to Thursday’s loss was the inability to get Mackenzie Holmes going on offense. Holmes went 3-for-12 from the field and had a season-low six points on the night, as she struggled with the amount of size Stanford had. Despite the loss, head coach Teri Moren said she’s staying optimistic and says there’s a lot the team can take away from that game.
“I feel for my kids today. I thought they competed on a day we didn’t shoot great,” Moren said. “If you look at three of our starters, Aleksa [Gulbe], Mackenzie, and Grace, they struggled today and yet we still have a chance. I guess if there’s a silver lining there it’s that we can compete with anyone in the country on a day we didn’t shoot the ball as well as we wanted in order to beat a team like Stanford.”
The two teams found themselves in a defensive slugfest to start, as each team got its fair share of blocked shots early on in the first. Offensively, Indiana did a great job of scoring in transition against a very sound Cardinal defense. As soon as Stanford scored, Nicole Cardano-Hillary and Patberg did a great job of pushing the ball up the floor quickly and getting it to Berger for a score.
However, Stanford would adjust to Indiana’s gameplan, as the Cardinal went on a quick 8-0 run thanks to some great post play from Francesca Belibi. Berger continued to shoot the ball very well, scoring seven of the first 15 Hoosier points of the day. In a bit of a dry first quarter, Indiana hoped to pick it up offensively as the game progressed.
Brink was a problem for the Hoosiers all day long. Being 6-foot-4 and having the skills she has, she was able to score in a variety of ways to create defensive breakdowns for Indiana. Whenever Indiana seemed to stop a Stanford run early on, it seemed like the Cardinal had a way to score right back at Indiana. Whether it was a 3 from Hannah Jump or a layup by Lexie Hull, you could tell you were watching last year’s national champions in how this team ran its offense.
After Stanford started to pull away from IU a little bit in the second, the Hoosiers did a great job of persevering and not giving into being down double digits to the defending champions. Cardano-Hillary did a great job of taking care of the ball, getting to the line, and knocking down some free throws. The shooting also started to get going, as Cardano-Hillary knocked down back to back threes to cut Stanford’s lead to three at the half.
The size of Stanford continued to be a problem to open up the third, as it seemed like the Hoosiers couldn’t establish any post scoring with Brink blocking almost anything going her way. This put IU in a place it hadn’t been all season, as with Holmes being neutralized, the Hoosier offense found themselves trying to score in other ways more than usual. While the offense tried to figure things out, the defense did a pretty good job challenging a talented offense. Although the defense had its moments, rebounding is an area that needs to improve for the team.
“We didn’t do a good enough job [rebounding],” Moren said. “We got to be much better in order to beat a team like Stanford. You can’t give up that many offensive rebounds.”
Haley Jones, one of the star guards for the Cardinal, began to figure her game out on the offensive end. Making a couple of midrange jump shots and using some crafty dribble moves to get to the basket, Jones helped keep the Cardinal lead over a Hoosier team that was gaining a bit of momentum on offense. With Indiana being down three points at the end of the third quarter, this had all the makings of an instant classic in the Bahamas.
Although it wasn’t a very exciting opening stretch of the final quarter offensively, the two teams went back and forth and kept the momentum even on both sides. A positive sign for Indiana is that the Hoosiers seemed to settle inside and get some more layups than they had earlier in the game. But like they had all game, it felt like the Cardinal had an answer offensively once Indiana got going.
That was until the Cardinal went on a quick 6-0 run in just 30 seconds to put Stanford up eight with two minutes left. Just about everyone thought that two free throws from Hull would seal the deal—except the Hoosiers. Indiana erased an 8-point Cardinal lead in just 1:40, thanks to some great shooting from Cardano-Hillary. The team even had a couple opportunities to win, but Berger missing free throws and a Patberg missed 3-pointer, the Hoosiers took their first loss of the season. For the team, despite the loss, Patberg said they’re happy the effort was there.
“We’re disappointed with how we played, but our fight was there,” Patberg said. “They made their run in the first quarter, and when they tried to make their run in the second half we had answers. So it gives us confidence that we can play with some of the best teams in the country.”
Indiana now falls to 4-1 on the season, with a chance to bounce back in just a couple days. The Hoosiers take on the Miami Hurricanes on Sunday night in the Bahamas, and that game will be no pushover. The Hurricanes have a very gritty team that defends at a high level. Indiana cannot afford to have shooting woes like they did tonight if they want to hop back into the win column.
(11/24/21 10:25pm)
Indiana has had multiple wins, especially in the past couple years, which have taken the program to new heights. Whether it’s defeating Ohio State on the road in conference play, or upsetting NC State in the Sweet 16 last year, the Hoosiers have proven to show up in big games.
Now, IU has another opportunity on Thursday to make another jump as a team against one of the elite college basketball programs in the country — the defending national champion Stanford Cardinal. No. 4 Indiana faces No. 7 Stanford to start the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Classic in the Bahamas.
Along with winning the championship, the Cardinal ended the year with a 31-2 record and defeated their Pac-12 rival Arizona in the final game. This season, Stanford is coming into this game against Indiana with a 3-1 record, with its only loss being to a very good Texas team. The Cardinal are also coming off a quality win on the road against Gonzaga, so the Hoosiers will likely see a confident Stanford team hungry for another quality win come Thanksgiving day.
Stanford is led by a tandem in two terrific guards in Haley Jones and Lexie Hull, with both averaging double digits in scoring. Jones’ absence due to injury was felt in the last game the Cardinal had against Gonzaga, as Stanford found itself down by as many as 17 points in the first quarter. There has been lots of speculation on if one of the nation’s top guards will play against the Hoosiers on Thursday. If Jones gets the green light, Indiana will need to come up with a plan to limit her touches and impact offensively.
Stanford’s Lexie Hull is not a player you can afford to get hot if you’re the Hoosiers, as she is up for the Ann Meyers Drysdale award this year, which is given to the nation’s best shooting guard. The junior is off to a solid start this season, averaging 11.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 43 percent from the field. Indiana’s perimeter defense is going to have to be near flawless, as the Cardinal’s dynamic duo is one that is very explosive.
Not only does Stanford pose a challenge with its guard play, but its entire starting five is a threat to score the ball at any time. Francesca Belibi and Cameron Brink give the Cardinal some size that will give Mackenzie Holmes and Aleksa Gulbe quite the challenge on Thursday. Indiana head coach Teri Moren said she knows there’s a lot to account for when playing an excellent team like Stanford.
“They are going to test us in every way,” Moren said, “with their size and certainly with the way they move the ball and the way they cut away from the ball.”
After what should be an exciting game on Thursday, the Hoosiers will take on another solid team in the undefeated Miami Hurricanes on Sunday to finish off the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Classic. Even though Miami has squeaked by some teams it should have beaten by more, the Hurricanes have looked better each game that they play, so the Hoosiers will need to bring lots of energy to take on a very fast and hungry Miami team come Sunday.
Miami prides itself on defense, and it shows in their past few games. The Hurricanes are holding teams to an average of 48.8 points per game this season, and teams have been shooting in the low 20s to high 30s on average against Miami. Granted, Indiana will be by far the best offense Miami has seen so far, but the Hoosiers cannot afford to turn the ball over against a team that is gritty and passionate about its defense.
Similar to Stanford, the Hurricanes are also led by a strong guard duo in Kelsey Marshall and Mykea Gray. Marshall will be the main focus on defense for Indiana, as she has scored in double figures three out of four games played. With the senior being 5-foot-9, look for the 5-foot-11 Ali Patberg to be assigned the task of guarding Marshall and limiting her chances.
Gray may not be the most consistent of scorers, but that’s not why she gets the minutes that she does. Tied for the most assists per game on the team, Gray is talented at finding the open teammate. Whether it be Marshall or one of their forwards, she always seems to find an open teammate somewhere for a basket. Defensive assignments are going to be a big factor in deciding Sunday night’s game.
Overall, these next couple of days are a big opportunity for Indiana to continue its strong start to the season, or even erase any doubt viewers may have after watching the Quinnipiac game on Saturday. How the Hoosiers play against an elite program in Stanford and a scrappy Miami team are going to be huge indicators for this team’s success as Big Ten play approaches. For Moren and company, defense will be a huge factor in going 2-0 this weekend.
“We’re still giving up way too many easy baskets,” Moren said. “We’ve always prided ourselves on that side of the ball. It’s going back and it’s watching film, and trying to clean up some of that stuff. But by the end of last season we were really sound defensively. And so I would say I look forward to the same sort of growth that we will continue to get better.”
(11/21/21 3:32pm)
Despite being down 13 points on the road at one point, the Hoosiers managed to scrap out a win on the road against the Quinnipiac Bobcats 67-59.
Grace Berger was huge for Indiana down the stretch, as she picked up 17 points, five rebounds and three assists. There were three other Hoosiers in double figure scoring Saturday, as Ali Patberg had 12, along with Mackenzie Holmes and Nicole Cardaño-Hillary both having 10 respectively.
IU’s offense got off to a slow start early on in the first quarter, as their first points didn’t come until two and a half minutes into the game. A layup from Cardaño-Hillary would be the team’s only points for another two minutes, as Quinnipiac went on a 10-2 run to put the Hoosiers in quite the unfamiliar position. Foul trouble was also not in Indiana’s favor, as the Bobcats got to the line fairly early in the first quarter.
Turnovers also continued to be a problem for Indiana, as the Hoosiers struggled to respond after a bucket from the Bobcats. Quinnipiac’s interior defense was also very good down the stretch of the first quarter, as the Hoosiers had trouble shooting the ball inside in the first quarter. With the sloppy first quarter that it was, the Hoosiers were fortunate to only find themselves down six early on.
Two early 3s in the second quarter turned the Bobcat lead from six to 10, and suddenly the Hoosiers found themselves down double digits for the first time this whole season. Indiana had a tough time closing out on the shooters Quinnipiac had, and the shots the Bobcats made seemed to have rattled Indiana on the defensive end. Down by at one point 13 points, the Hoosiers knew a change needed to be made in order to avoid an upset.
And that comeback began as soon as Kiandra Browne muscled her way for two layups of back-to-back possessions against the Bobcat defense. After Browne’s last layup with 4:41 to go in the first half, it seemed the Hoosiers had more confidence on the offensive end with Aleksa Gulbe and Berger hitting some big shots to cut Quinnipiac’s lead to just six at the end of the third quarter. With the Hoosiers being a second half team all year, they looked to use that to make a comeback in the final 20 minutes.
IU was getting the stops it needed on the defensive end early in the third, but just couldn’t respond offensively to take the lead. Patberg and Cardaño-Hillary did a good job of rebounding the ball and trying to get baskets in transition, but they just wouldn’t fall for the Hoosiers. This allowed the Bobcats to extend the lead for a moment, but Indiana found its groove shortly after.
The Hoosiers were very aggressive in trying to wear down the Quinnipiac defense, and it ended up working out at the end of the third quarter. Holmes got a couple of layups and Berger hit some big jumpers to eventually tie the game up and revive Indiana’s energy. Ending on a Patberg 3-pointer with six seconds to go in the third, Indiana had the confidence necessary to put away the Bobcats in what was a much closer game than expected.
And the Hoosiers were all business to start off the final 10 minutes of play, hitting their first four shots of the quarter and extending their lead to eight points. The defense came out with lots of energy to start the fourth as well, turning over the Bobcats a couple of times to get some easier shots.
But give credit to Quinnipiac, as it didn’t just take one big Hoosier run to put the Bobcats away. The Bobcats managed to keep it a two possession ball game late in the fourth, putting some pressure on the Hoosiers to make some big plays. With the Hoosiers knocking down their free throws at a 92.3 percent clip, closing out the game was not a problem, as IU escaped Hamden, Connecticut with a win 67-59.
Indiana is now 4-0 on the season, the fourth time in the Teri Moren era that the Hoosiers have done so. This Thursday will be the biggest test coming up for this Hoosier squad, as they take on the No. 3-ranked and defending national champion Stanford Cardinal. We know what the offense is capable of doing in big games, but it will be the defense that needs to show up against all of Stanford’s offensive firepower if the Hoosiers want to get a program-defining win on Thursday.
(11/17/21 4:25am)
A 21-0 run by the Hoosiers in the middle of the game would ultimately decide Tuesday’s contest against the Norfolk State Spartans, as the now-No. 4 Hoosiers won decisively 72-42. Head coach Teri Moren said she was thankful the Hoosiers were able to pull away from a confident NSU team in that run.
“We needed something like that, just to go on a little bit of a run and feel good about ourselves offensively,” Moren said. “But the deal there is you want to build on your lead, and I didn’t feel like we did that. We still got stuck there, in the fourth especially, and I don’t think we manufactured anything easy offensively. It just seemed like everything was really difficult.”
Indiana had a season-high 22 turnovers Tuesday. Coming off an emotional win on Sunday against Kentucky, Moren said it’s not an excuse to come out flat and turn the ball over like they did Tuesday.
“We work every day inside of practice with ball security,” Moren said. “And it’s not like we go in with any intention to turn the ball over, I think it’s just something that you make sure you highlight. They know it, they know they did a poor job of taking care of the basketball. They know our goal is to be under 11 every game. And those are things we are going to have to fix.”
Both teams started off a little slow offensively. In the first few minutes, Indiana shot 33 percent and Norfolk State shot 20 percent. However, Mackenzie Holmes picked up right where she left off on Sunday, scoring the first four points for the Hoosiers. Indiana would need to figure out some other ways to score in order to pull away from the Spartans.
The lack of scoring eventually came back to hurt the Hoosiers in the first quarter, as Spartan guard Camille Downs scored a quick five points to force a Moren timeout. So what did Indiana do to respond? Got Holmes going again, as she scored two more buckets to put IU back up three. After four 3-pointers made in the first quarter from Norfolk State, Indiana hoped to slow the Spartans down from behind the arc. Holmes talked about the keys to having yet another 20-plus point performance Tuesday.
“Just my teammates were finding me,” Holmes said. “We knew we were going to be on a good side, and I just had to seal. I know all the guards had their heads up and were able to find me for some quick scores. So I think it was just continuing to post hard, and post early.”
Norfolk State’s defense forced Indiana to make some critical mistakes in the halfcourt, as Indiana committed eight turnovers throughout the first half. This allowed Norfolk State to get steals and score in transition, which hurt the Hoosiers early in the second quarter. With the Spartans going on a scoring drought early in the second, it was up to Indiana to respond and try to extend the lead.
And then, the Indiana offense came alive. With Holmes drawing so much attention after scoring 18 points in the first half, this opened up opportunities for Aleksa Gulbe and Nicole Cardaño-Hillary to get points on the board and extend the lead. With great free-throw shooting at the end of the half and more energy on defense, the Hoosiers went on a 17-0 run to end the first half, leading 39-21 over Norfolk State.
Gulbe caught fire to start the third, as she scored 10 of the first 14 second-half points for Indiana. Norfolk State eventually got back on track offensively for a bit, but Indiana was able to respond this time and keep the lead. Indiana’s interior defense was also outstanding in the third, minimizing the Spartans’ post threat in Tatiana Jones. Despite a slow first half, Gulbe thanked her teammates for getting her open looks to score 17 in the second half.
“At the end of the day I’m ready to do whatever,” Gulbe said. “And today there were moments where my teammates found me. So together they made this a double-double game.”
Rebounding Norfolk State’s misses is another reason that Indiana was able to pull away even more from the Spartans. Chloe Moore-McNeil did a great job of grabbing some long rebounds and passing it to Patberg in transition for easy points. The offense was a little dormant and the end of the third for Indiana, but nevertheless, the Hoosiers still led the Spartans by 21 points going into the final quarter of play.
It seemed like everything was falling in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, as the team went 5-for-8 during those minutes. Gulbe, Holmes, Ali Patberg and Grace Berger all pitched in to help open the margin of victory to 30 points. Patberg’s perimeter defense was also on point in the beginning of the fourth, getting a couple of steals to get the Hoosiers baskets in transition.
Even when the starters came off the floor and the benches were emptied, the Hoosiers didn’t miss a beat defensively. Kaitlin Peterson and Keyarah Berry did a great job out on the perimeter defending the NSU guards, and Moore-McNeil continued to rebound the ball well like she did earlier in the second quarter. After a slow start, the Hoosiers came alive and were able to defeat the Spartans 72-42. Moren said it was a gritty win.
“It was one of those games we just had to grind out, and we were able to do that,” Moren said. “[I’m] proud of our players for just staying the course, even though things got a little ugly. And sometimes you’re just going to have to grind it out and figure out ways to win, and I was obviously happy with that. But certainly there are things that we are going to continue to have to work on.”
Indiana moves to 3-0 on the season, as the team continues its non-conference quest. Indiana travels to Hamden, Connecticut to take on the Quinnipiac Bobcats this Saturday. The Bobcats are coming off a huge 29-point win against Central Connecticut, so Indiana will need to be ready to take on a confident team come Saturday afternoon.
(11/15/21 3:53am)
What a memorable 150th win it was for Teri Moren, as the No. 8 Indiana women’s basketball team defeated the No. 13 Kentucky Wildcats 88-67 on Sunday. From Mackenzie Holmes’ career-high 29 points to setting a program record in points against a top-15 team, there was a lot to celebrate Sunday night in front of Hoosier fans for the first time in two years. Head coach Teri Moren said she was appreciative of the crowd that came out to support the Hoosiers.
“[I] really appreciate our fans, Hoosier nation, showing up in a big way,” Moren said. “We needed their energy throughout, our guys play off their energy. So that was great to see.”
The Hoosiers gameplan from the get go was plain and simple — feed Holmes. She had the first 11 points of the game for IU, and it seemed like Kentucky could not find a way to stop her at all. Holmes also had a 3-pointer during her run, showing the progression in her game from her time as a Hoosier. Kiandra Browne, Aleksa Gulbe and Ali Patberg were the only other Hoosiers who scored during the first quarter. Holmes thanked her teammates for her scoring efforts Sunday.
“I think what’s so special about our team is I don't have to score 20 points a night to win,” Holmes said. “We have so many great players that can go for 20 and 30, so I think that’s what’s so special about us.”
(11/11/21 3:40am)
An Indiana career-high 29 points and seven 3s from Nicole Cardaño-Hillary propelled Indiana to an 86-63 win in the season opener against Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Outscoring the Bulldogs 26-17 in the fourth quarter, it was similar to games in the past in a sense where the team plays a much better second half. In regards to Cardaño-Hillary’s career game, her teammates aren’t particularly surprised by this type of performance from her.
“I’m certainly not surprised,” Grace Berger said. “I’ve seen this plenty of times in practice and in games before. Every time she shoots I think it’s going in, and I know she’s very confident.”
(11/04/21 10:27pm)
Coming off a historic 21-6 record overall and a program-best 16-2 record in the Big Ten, the No. 8 Indiana Hoosiers hope to build off last season’s success and accomplish bigger things this upcoming season. With all of the starting five returning this year, Indiana hopes to avenge last year’s Elite Eight loss to Arizona and keep this program on the rise. Entering her eighth season, head coach Teri Moren has made it clear that expectations are much higher going into this year than in years past.
“There’s luxury with having an experienced team, but also the fear is that there could be some complacency,” Moren said. “And that’s one of the things that we have tried to avoid. So we still have to coach these vets and hold them to the same standards we’ve always had in our program.”
A huge reason Indiana was able to accomplish the special things it did was a breakout year from Mackenzie Holmes. The junior averaged 17.8 points per game and also had 7.6 rebounds per game, leading the team in both categories. She also picked up a first-team All Big Ten nomination, as her presence inside will be key in the Hoosiers’ offense this year.
Along with Holmes, Grace Berger was big on both sides of the floor for Indiana last year, especially during the NCAA Tournament. Berger averaged 15.4 points per game during the course of the season, and her mid range scoring helped Indiana the most in an instant classic against the NC State Wolfpack in the Sweet 16. During the offseason, Berger represented the United States playing for the national team. Moren said the Hoosiers often depend on their leaders, and Berger’s experience with the national team could make her a better leader.
“What we always knew with Grace is that she's an elite-level player,” Moren said. “... Grace has an opportunity to be a significant leader for this bunch.”
Maybe the biggest storyline of this offseason is the return of Ali Patberg, who has been the vocal leader of this team for a number of years. Patberg is entering her seventh season as a Hoosier, and will bring more scoring to an already dangerous Hoosier offense. She earned second-team All Big Ten honors last year, and for Moren said it was such a blessing to hear Patberg will be putting on a cream and crimson jersey one more time.
“If I could have her for another seven years I would in a heartbeat because she’s just so important to our culture,” Moren said. “She has an incredible work ethic, she’s intelligent, but there’s something special about Ali with her relationships individually with each of our players.”
Two other players who could have some breakout years this year could be Chloe Moore-McNeil and Kiandra Browne. Moore-McNeil burst onto the scene late last year, and helped the Hoosiers out in terms of her shooting. Browne will give Indiana some depth in the post coming off the bench. With depth becoming increasingly important at the end of the year, these two could be essential if Indiana wants to make another deep run in March.
Indiana’s schedule consists of a more challenging non-conference slate than in years past. Indiana will have an opportunity for revenge in the third game of the season, as IU will host the No. 13 Kentucky Wildcats. The Hoosiers lost a close one to Kentucky last year at Rupp Arena, so with the majority of Indiana’s roster returning, redemption could be on the mind of the Hoosiers going into this game.
Quite possibly the biggest challenge Indiana will face all season will come Nov. 25 in the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Classic, where the Hoosiers will face the No. 3 Stanford Cardinal. This is an opportunity for Moren to solidify Indiana as an elite basketball program in the country, as a win over the defending national champions could give the team lots of confidence going into the rest of the team’s slate.
Another big game on Indiana’s schedule will be a rematch of last year’s Sweet 16, where IU will host the N.C. State Wolfpack in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Indiana defeated N.C. State in an instant classic 73-70 thanks to some great scoring from Patberg and Holmes. With the Wolfpack’s elite post scorer Elissa Cunane returning, inside scoring will be a key thing to watch on Dec. 2 at Assembly Hall.
With the Big Ten being the gauntlet that it is, Indiana is lucky to have some winnable games in between the games against some of the more elite programs in the conference. However, the Hoosiers have some very challenging road games this year. Taking on teams such as Michigan, Rutgers and Iowa will be tough tests for the team, especially with fans back in the stands for the first time in two years.
During the Hoosiers’ rise to national relevance, one potential win has eluded them time and again: the Maryland Terrapins. Indiana has had many close contests with the Terps in years past, but has not been able to defeat them. With two opportunities to defeat Maryland this year, the team will aim to accomplish this goal this year.
Indiana will face its first challenge of the year in an exhibition match against UIndy at 7 p.m. Friday at Assembly Hall. The Greyhounds finished 11-10 last year, and return some guards who can really score the ball. The Hoosiers are excited to get back on the floor come Friday night, Moren said.
“Obviously coming a game away from the Final Four last year left us coming back to Bloomington with a whole lot of motivation,” Moren said. “We want to get back there and make a deeper run.”
(10/25/21 2:43am)
A series of two goals in seven minutes hurt Indiana in a 2-0 loss to the arch-rival Purdue Boilermakers. The Hoosiers did not qualify for the Big Ten tournament that will kick off this Thursday, which will feature eight teams from the conference. Nonetheless, head coach Erwin van Bennekom and company will wait to see if they qualify for the NCAA tournament, which was the main goal discussed at the beginning of the year
Indiana and Purdue traded shots on goal to start things off. As expected in a rivalry game, the game started out very physical, as there were four fouls in the first eight minutes. Sarah Griffith gave the Hoosiers problems defensively, as she constantly found ways to get to the Indiana side of the field and get shots on goal.
However, as the game went on, Indiana was not bothered by Purdue’s early firepower and began to settle into the game. Alaina Kalin got two shots up in less than two minutes to revive a dormant Hoosier offense as well as helping to set up her teammates. The two teams went into the locker room all tied up at zero, as Indiana did a good job hanging in there with the No. 18 team in the country.
Things continued to get more aggressive to start out the second half, as Kalin along with Purdue’s Skylurr Patrick were both handed out yellow cards within the first five minutes of the half. After a quiet first half, the offenses really started to pick it up in the second half, as there were five shots on goal within the first 15 minutes of the second half.
Disaster struck for Indiana toward the end of the game. The Boilermakers put in two goals within the span of seven minutes to kill all of the offensive momentum that Indiana had going before the goals. A yellow card for Jen Blitchok in the 80th minute was an unfortunate end to what was a great regular season for the Hoosiers, as they fell to Purdue 2-0 in what could be the team’s final game.
Indiana finishes 9-5-4 for the regular season. The team will wait to see its next challenge, as the selection for the NCAA tournament will be approaching soon. However, van Bennekom’s team has shown that the future is bright for Indiana women’s soccer with the young talent playing well on the big stages.
(10/23/21 9:01pm)
Coming off a tough 2-0 loss to the No. 9-ranked Rutgers Scarlet Knights, the Indiana women's soccer team has another challenge Sunday taking on its arch rival — the No. 18 Purdue Boilermakers. Indiana looks to bounce back and get its confidence back on both sides of the ball, as Rutgers dominated both sides of the ball a couple of days ago. If Indiana can do the following, the Hoosiers have a chance to upset Purdue.
1. Slow down a high-octane Boilermaker offense
Purdue has a total of 31 goals on the season, ranking third in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers have scored a goal in their past 12 games, with their last time being a shutout win on Sept. 2 against Notre Dame 1-0. Redshirt senior Sarah Griffith will be a main focus for Indiana on Sunday, as she has scored 13 of the 31 goals for Purdue this season. Limiting her touches will be key for the back line and Caitlin Arbuckle to have a successful Sunday afternoon.
2. Getting the offense back on track
What once started out as an offense with many weapons, the Hoosiers have been suddenly quiet these past few games. Indiana has been shut out in the past three games, and this is the worst possible time to be losing momentum on offense right before the postseason. Especially against Rutgers, the Hoosiers barely got any offensive opportunities due to the Rutgers offense controlling the ball so much on their side of the field. Anna Bennett and the Indiana offense can not afford another poor offensive performance if they want to get a win on Sunday.
3. Play with energy
It’s a rivalry game — Indiana cannot afford to get demoralized by a couple bad sequences or even letting up a goal. That is where the team got into trouble against teams like Rutgers and Penn State. When things didn’t start to go Indiana’s way, the team got frustrated and started doing uncharacteristic things. These mistakes cannot be made if the Hoosiers want to get a win on Sunday.
Overall, this is a winnable game for Indiana. The Hoosiers will need to show up on the defensive end, but the team has shown that it is capable of putting on defensive clinics in the past. If Indiana can play well on both sides of the ball and the offense figures out its problems, Indiana could pull off the upset in West Lafayette on Sunday.
(10/18/21 3:28am)
Outshooting Maryland 7-2 in shots on goal, the Indiana women’s soccer team had a very good opportunity to win Sunday’s contest against the Maryland Terrapins, but couldn’t find the back of the net en route to a scoreless tie in College Park.
Anna Bennett was huge in getting opportunities on offense, as she had three of the seven shots on goal for Indiana. Indiana will now face two tough opponents to end Big Ten play and focus on the postseason.
IU came out hot, getting two shots on goal in the first three and a half minutes. Anna Bennett and Megan Wampler made some huge plays on offense to put some pressure on the Terrapin defense. Maryland would eventually get some shots up, but Jamie Gerstenberg and the rest of the defense made some great plays to keep the Terps scoreless.
The offenses really picked up in the later part of the first half. Along with that, the Indiana defense did a great job of poking the ball away from the Maryland offense and making them throw it in many times. This led to limited offensive chances for the Terrapins and the Hoosiers seemed confident in their game plan going into the locker room.
Offensively, the momentum shifted more in Maryland’s favor in the second half. The Terps got four shots on goal in the first 20 minutes and gave IU a little wake-up call. As much as it put pressure on the IU defense, the offense eventually got going again and began to get some shots up on goal.
Suddenly the offense went silent for the remainder of the second half. Neither team could really get any momentum going and the two teams went to overtime — Indiana’s fourth overtime game of the year.
IU did a good job of playing a clean first overtime. Maryland was playing very aggressively and committing fouls, but the experience of the Hoosiers helped the team stay calm and execute the game plan, leading to a second overtime to decide the winner.
The second overtime was very quiet on the offensive side, as IU had the only shot on goal the entire period. Maryland committed another three fouls while the Hoosiers maintained their composure in a hostile environment. The clock hit triple zeroes and IU tied the Terrapins 0-0.
This puts the Hoosiers at 9-3-4 on the season with two important games to go. The next challenge for IU will be the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at home on Thursday. Rutgers has been playing great thus far, ranked second in the Big Ten. This will be a game that could really show what this Hoosier team is made of.
(10/14/21 2:15am)
On an unusually quiet night on offense, the IU women’s soccer team suffered its worst loss of the season with a 3-0 defeat to the Penn State Nittany Lions on the road. Although Penn State only outshot the Hoosiers by two, the Nittany Lions were much more efficient and got higher quality looks than IU did.
In their first loss in almost a month, this might just be the humbling defeat the Hoosiers need to focus up for the most important part of the season.
The Hoosiers had a wake up call from the get-go. Two early shots in the first three minutes from Penn State immediately put pressure on Jaime Gerstenberg and the Indiana back line. Amid this early offensive dominance from the Nittany Lions, frustration mounted for IU, as Alaina Kalin was called for a yellow card just minutes later.
Indiana began to settle down and get its offense going as the game progressed. Anna Bennett and Avery Lockwood both had great looks at the back of the net, but PSU goalie Katherine Asman made some spectacular saves to keep Indiana scoreless. After the two teams continued to trade the momentum on offense, disaster struck for the Hoosiers.
With just under five minutes to go in the first half, Penn State’s Jordan Canniff scored her first goal of the season in the bottom right corner to put Indiana at a 1-0 deficit. After many fouls from the Hoosiers, the goal was bound to happen after the amount of second chances Indiana gave PSU.
Just nine minutes into the second half, Hanna Nemeth committed a costly foul in the box that hurt the confidence Indiana had going on offense. This turned into a penalty kick goal for the Nittany Lions to extend the lead to 2-0. A goal like this not only let down the hopes of the offense for finally getting some momentum, but the defense as well for playing a great first 10 minutes of the second half.
As the Hoosiers began to move the ball after Penn State’s second goal, the Nittany Lions struck again. Caniff scored her second goal of the game in the 65th minute to put the game out of reach for an Indiana comeback. After this, head coach Erwin van Bennekom made a couple of big group substitutions to give some other players some minutes and rest the starters.
On a night with not a lot of positives, van Bennekom and company saw some good things during these final minutes. Anna Aehling and Bria Telamaque had great looks on offense in what was an unusually quiet night for the Hoosier offense. However, those shots did not fall through the back of the net and Indiana would suffer a tough 3-0 loss. The Hoosiers let in as many goals Wednesday as they did in the past five games combined, so there will be some good lessons to take away from Wednesday’s defeat.
This loss puts IU at 9-3-3 overall and 3-2-2 in Big Ten play. Indiana approaches the home stretch of its schedule, as the team will wrap up conference play in just over two weeks. The Hoosiers’ final stop on the three-game road trip will be in College Park, where they will face the Maryland Terrapins. Indiana will need to play much better on both sides of the ball in order to beat a Terrapin team who is hungry for its first conference win of the season.
(10/09/21 3:06am)
A goal from Megan Wampler in the 42nd minute gave Indiana the offensive momentum it needed to capture a big road win 1-0 over the Northwestern Wildcats.
Jen Blitchok and Avery Lockwood were also big in not only creating shots on goal, but helping teammates get open as well. Defeating a good team in Northwestern gives Indiana lots of confidence heading into a crucial stretch of games in the next couple of weeks.
It was a very dry game to start things off, as both teams traded the momentum offensively early on. However, Indiana began to pick things up as the game progressed. Lockwood had some good looks early in the first half, but Northwestern goalie Mackenzie Wood blocked her shots. Even though it was a physical game at the start, Melanie Forbes and Camille Hamm were still able to carve through the Northwestern defense and create good looks on offense.
Indiana’s defense did a spectacular job defensively to start things as well, holding the Wildcats to only one shot on goal with 10 minutes to go in the first period. Building off that strong defensive effort, Indiana was able to get the momentum on offense.
Wampler put in a header goal in the back of the net to put IU up 1-0. A late goal like this energized the Hoosiers, as they aimed to keep the lead in what would be a big road win.
The firepower for Indiana did not stop there. Two straight corner kicks and a shot that just went over the top of the net from Kelly Monaco re-established the dominant performance Indiana has had thus far in this game. Indiana’s offensive firepower had frustrated the Wildcats as well, as Northwestern committed some frustration fouls to slow down IU’s momentum.
Although Monaco got a yellow card in the middle of the second period, Indiana still didn’t stop getting opportunities on goal. Head coach Erwin van Bennekom substituted Blitchok in the 66th minute and helped Indiana regain the momentum offensively. Blitchok made an immediate impact, getting two quick shots as soon as she came into the game to try and extend the lead.
With a surge from Northwestern at the end, Jaime Gerstenberg came up huge, making some big saves to complete the shutout and give Indiana its second road win of the season and the team’s first road win in Big Ten play. A win like this gives the Hoosiers a lot of momentum going into another challenge on Wednesday.
The Hoosiers now stand at 9-2-3 overall and 3-1-2 in Big Ten play, and now stand at fifth in the Big Ten. IU will travel to Happy Valley to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions this Wednesday, in what will be a very important game for the team. Penn State ended Indiana’s season in the Big Ten Tournament last year, so Indiana must play a flawless game in order to get revenge next week.