1/16/2022 basketball Edit

Hoosiers' relentless effort helps lift them to gritty win over rival Purdue

Alec Lasley • TheHoosier

Senior Writer

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Indiana came away with one of its most gritty wins of the season on Sunday, taking down Purdue 73-68 in overtime.

Down two starters, All-American forward Mackenzie Holmes and Nicole Cardaño-Hillary, Indiana went into Mackey Arena to face off against in-state rival Purdue knowing it would be a tough test.

Then, the Hoosiers lost veteran guard Ali Patberg for the last few minutes to an ankle injury. But, Teri Moren has built a winning mentality and standard around this program and that came to light on Sunday afternoon.

Down eight with 3:21 left in regulation, Moren called a timeout to get her team regrouped.

"Give our kids credit for the focus, they were relentless," Moren said. "As I always say to them, as long as there's time still on the clock, we still have a chance to win the game."

That relentlessness helped the Hoosiers go on a 13-5 run to close out the game and force overtime.

Indiana came away with a gritty win over rival Purdue on Sunday. (IU Athletics)

As Indiana mounted its big run, Grace Berger did what she has done for her entire career -- hit the big shots.

Berger came down the floor and hit a big time shot to take a one-point lead with just eight seconds left. That came after Ali Patberg hit a three to cut the lead to one with 19 seconds left.

"I thought Grace Berger really showed up in the third, fourth quarter especially," Moren said. "As I said to my kids, they all had to make a play at some point whether it was scoring the ball or get a big defensive stop."

Then, as both teams were hitting their stride in overtime, Patberg hit a three at the top of the key as the shot clock was winding down to stretch a three-point lead to six. But, as she did, she landed on the Purdue defender's foot.

Patberg would leave the game and not return. Now, just a six point lead with 2:50 left in overtime, the short-handed Hoosiers needed even more help from their role players.

Aleksa Gulbe, who has stepped up in a big way for Indiana this year, continued to do so on Sunday. She had 21 points, 12 in the first half, and nine rebounds.

Berger led the Hoosiers with 24 points while Patberg chipped in 10 before exiting with her ankle injury. Chloe Moore-McNeil, in her first career start, had 10 points while Kiandra Browne, in just her second start, added eight points. They played 43 and 30 mintues respectively.

"Everybody had to step up," Gulbe said, "And as a team, we all took on that challenge."

Indiana would not trail in overtime and held Purdue to 38.2 percentage from the field. It was the16th opponent of the season that the Hoosiers held to less than 70 points.

The Hoosiers have now won six in a row against Purdue and have now won nine straight games, 12 straight road games and 15 consecutive Big Ten games.

"They don't blink," Moren said. "They keep their head down and they try to execute to the best of their ability... I have a group of people in that locker room that will just not quit."