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Indiana Runs Away Late To Beat Purdue And Claim Barn Burner Trophy

IU junior forward Amanda Cahill suffered a late injury scare in the first half but returned to score 19 points and grab eight rebounds in a win against Purdue.
IU junior forward Amanda Cahill suffered a late injury scare in the first half but returned to score 19 points and grab eight rebounds in a win against Purdue. (TheHoosier.com)

Purdue brought the Barn Burner Rivalry Trophy south to Bloomington on Thursday.

Indiana will keep it.

The Hoosiers (13-6, 3-3) outscored the Boilermakers 24-14 in the fourth quarter at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall to reclaim the Barn Burner Rivalry Trophy for the first time since the 2014-15 season 74-60. Indiana had lost eight in a row in the series against Purdue (12-8, 303) but has now split the last six, including two Barn Burner wins under Teri Moren's guidance.

"It's just a really good feeling, especially after coming off a loss" sophomore forward Kym Royster said. "I think this win was something we needed to get back on track, and it just feels good just to be able to win over Purdue."

The victory didn't come without its share of scares.

Junior forward Amanda Cahill went down late in the first half with what appeared to be either a left ankle or knee injury in a non-contact fall. She subbed out of the game with 4:22 left and showed signs of obvious pain on the bench.

While Cahill's teammates finished the half, Cahill limped off the floor with the training staff to get x-rays. When the Hoosiers returned to the floor, Cahill was the last to join the group, and it appeared she may have suffered a serious blow.

But then suddenly, she appeared dressed to play.

When the second half began, Cahill was on the floor, too. She went on to score 19 points and grab eight rebounds in 34 minutes of work despite battling through a "tweaked ankle" that she even tried to hide postgame.

"What ankle?" Cahill said, laughing as she downplayed the injury. "Okay, I'll stop. I don't know. I just tweaked it a little bit. I honestly don't know. I ran into Karlee. It's not that bad. Just a little tweak. It'll be a little stiff, but I'll be alright."

Cahill clearly wasn't herself in the second half as she made her way up and down the floor. Even so, she scored 12 of her points in the last two quarters where IU outscored Purdue by 10 points.

As soon as Moren saw Cahill in pain, she had one question: "Is it your knee?"

Cahill assured her it wasn't, instead saying it was her ankle. Relief set in.

"That made me feel a whole lot better," Moren said. "Give B credit, that's hard to do. That's a toughness she has...Give her credit just for finding something, digging down deep and being able to play in that second half because you guys know we need her."

With Cahill fighting through pain, Indiana fought off a barrage of Purdue comeback efforts.

The Hoosiers and Boilermakers exchanged blows in the third period before going into the final quarter separated by just four points. It was at one point tied with just under 14 minutes to play.

But Indiana began to pound the post in the fourth quarter all while making Purdue a perimeter-oriented team. After the Boilermakers accounted for virtually their entire offense in the paint in the third, the Hoosiers forced them to spread the floor with little luck over the last 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, IU senior center Jenn Anderson and Royster held the fort down for Indiana on the offensive end. Anderson finished with 10 points while Royster registered a new career-high with 14 on 7-of-10 shooting.

"Those two post players were huge for them," Purdue's Dominique McBryde said. "(Royster) was attacking and finishing well inside. We were doing our best not to foul, and they did well finishing."

It was Royster in particular who caught Moren's attention. After slumping a bit as of late, Thursday's game was a reminder of her potential.

"How about Kym Royster tonight, right?" Moren said. "Focused. I thought offensively she played within herself. She didn't force shots. She didn't seem rushed. Really just felt like she allowed the game to come to her but was very aggressive."

Purdue head coach Sharon Versyp lamented an "uncharacteristic" performance from her team. She was disappointed in her offense slipping late in the game and costly turnovers that allowed the Hoosiers to run away.

And when they did, they took the Barn Burner Trophy with them.

"It's exciting for us to be able to kind of level (the series against Purdue) out," Moren said.

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