Bloomington, IN — The Indiana Hoosiers Women’s basketball team opened the 2022 NCAA tournament as a 3 seed versus the 14th seeded Charlotte 49ers.
Though the seeding had such disparity, the Hoosiers’ record was only one game better than the 49ers. Charlotte competes in Conference USA, whereas Indiana competes in the Big Ten Conference. Lucky for Indiana, however, they have the home court advantage as they opened their “new season,” as Teri Moren put it in the pre-game press conference, in front of a crowd of 6,389 on Saturday in Bloomington.
The crowd was almost as loud and intense as it had been for any men’s game this year. The women’s team, which is coming off an Elite Eight run from last year, finished fifth in the Big Ten, and then finished second in the Big Ten Tournament, has certainly earned such adoration from their fans. The crowd erupted for each starter to the point that one couldn’t even hear their names. The environment was electrifying from the tip as the crowd buzzed with excitement.
Charlotte opened by Williams hitting the first three for them. Soon after Patberg answered with a layup followed by a Gulbe three-pointer on the next possession that sent the crowd into a frenzy. Charlotte then tied it up at seven, momentarily neutralizing the crowd. Grace Berger then hit a mid-range jumper to settle the team back in.
Despite the Hoosiers’ hustle, Charlotte kept hanging around in the first quarter. They managed to tie the game at 11-11 until Moore-McNeil hit a corner three that made the crowd explode with applause. She then assisted on the Hoosier’s next possession to Holmes which allowed the Hoosiers to pull away with a lead. The quarter ended at a 22-12 Hoosier advantage as Holmes sank a mid-range jumper at the buzzer off her own rebound.
The second quarter opened with a steal by Gulbe before the Hoosiers would turn it over back on the other end. Berger would then steal on the next possession, miss the layup, but Browne followed it ith a put back. The next Hoosier possession, Berger nailed a jump shot off an assist from Gulbe, extending Indiana’s lead to 14 before the timeout. Berger nailed another mid-range jumper after the timeout, fading from the left side. On the next Hoosier play, Gulbe got fouled on an and-one layup and then sank the free-throw. At this point, the Hoosiers were comfortably in control.
Jett-Wilson finally ended the run by hitting a two for the 49ers to make it 33-15 Indiana with five minutes to go in the second quarter. However the Hoosiers never wavered as Gulbe would soon answer with a three-pointer and the Hoosiers cruised to 42-24 halftime lead off of a Grace Burger turn-around fadeaway at the buzzer - sheer poetry. The Hoosiers shot 48% for the half while the 49ers shot 33%. Indiana outrebounded Charlotte 22-18 and went 3-8 from the three-point line while Charlotte was just 1-6.
Patberg opened the second half with a mid-range jumper from the elbow, followed by a basket from Cardano-Hillary to get the second half rolling from where the first left off. Cardano-Hillary then forced a turnover off a 49ers inbound and then earned a trip to the free-throw line. The Hoosiers proved to be all too much for the 49ers in the third quarter as they closed out the third quarter with a 64-35 lead.
Guble got right back to work in the fourth quarter opening with a contested layup underneath. Berger would do the same on the very next possession. Patberg soon followed with a smooth three from the top of the key. Holmes continued to be solid in the fourth quarter as well. The crowd erupted once more as Peterson came up with a steal and transitioned that into a layup in the open court. Soon after, Moore-McNeil would assist to Holmes off of a rebound, which delighted the fans in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
The Lady Hoosiers went on to win the game 85-51 behind 19 points from Holmes, 18 from Berger, and 15 from Gulbe. They will go on to play the winner between 6 seed Kentucky and 11 seed Princeton on Monday.
Gulbe said that it's an honor to host an NCAA tournament game, and a "sweet result" of all the work they've put in. When asked about Berger's performance, Holmes maintained that it's a product of her work and that she never takes a play off. She said that she's witnessed her continual hard work over the years.
Moren said that the team continues to "check off" goals that were set for this program eight years ago. She says it's nice to have the opportunity of home-court advantage and to share it with the fans. Winning the games that they won in the Big Ten Tournament put them in a position to be able to do so. She said that because of their time off, their timing and rhythm could be tightened up before Monday. Moren insisted that the team tries to play downhill with balanced scoring. They certainly did that in their victory today.
Moren emphasized that what will carry them through this tournament is their defense. Watch for your Indiana Hoosiers as they play for a chance at returning to the Sweet 16 on Monday.
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