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Bloomington, Ind – The Indiana Hoosiers fought and came up short during the fourth quarter, 96-91, against the Iowa Hawkeyes this past Saturday. The Hoosiers move to 19-5 and 11-3 within the Big Ten Conference.

“I love the fact that we fought back the way we did,” Head Coach Teri Moren stated. “I thought that was who we are. We’ve seen that before but today we just ran out of time. If we would’ve maybe played like that at the beginning of the third quarter and obviously all of the fourth quarter, maybe the outcome would’ve looked a little bit different.”

The Hoosiers could not get anything to go in early and only shot 26.7 percent from the floor as Iowa led the Hoosiers 25-11 after the first quarter. The Hawkeyes continued to put up a fight all night, leading the Hoosiers 46-29 at the half.

The Hawkeyes' lead continued, as their biggest lead of the game was 24 points throughout the third quarter as the Hoosiers trailed 71-49. The Hoosiers came back strong during the fourth quarter, scoring 42 points, setting a new record within the program and Big Ten conference for points scored in a quarter.

“I think more than anything for us, I think it really tested our pride, who we are as competitors," Moren explained. “I thought that especially in the fourth quarter as we tend to do when we get down, we fought like crazy to get back into the game and make it a game. I’m proud that we were able to do that, but I can assure you no one is happy in that locker room. You know we let this one slip away in front of such a great crowd today in the hall.”

Aleksa Gulbe, scored 22 points shooting 5-for-12 from the field and 11-for-12 from the free-throw line. She also had four rebounds.

Senior guard Grace Berger scored 21 points, recording her 17th time in her playing career that she has scored 20 or more points in a game. She shot 9-for-21 from the field, 2-for-5 from the three-point line, and 1-for-2 from the free-throw line. She also had six rebounds and four assists. She tied her career-high with five steals.

“From the beginning, we didn't have energy, we didn't have a fight,” Ali Patberg stated. “Defensively, I don’t know if we executed any of the game plans. So, that’s really frustrating because we had the game plan and we didn’t go out and do it. And you saw the result of that.”

Graduate student guard Ali Patberg scored 18 points, shooting 7-for-14 from the field Patberg is coming up to her final few games as a Hoosier.

“We know how Ali is and how much she loves Indiana,” Senior forward Aleksa Gulbe stated. “Obviously being a Hoosier for such a long time, is you know, were her family. The Hoosier nation is her family, and being so close with the coaching staff, it's hard. And I feel like, it's rough as you can see in her face.”

“I love playing here,” Patberg explained. “So it's tough, and to lose is even tougher. But, you know we're not done at all, so however many games I have left as a Hoosier, I will give it my all because I do love IU, my teammates, and my coaches."

Nicole Cardaño-Hillary scored 11 points for the Hoosiers and Chloe Moore-McNeil scored 11 points. Junior forward Mackenzie Holmes was in just her second game back from injury and she scored eight points for the Hoosiers.

Overall, the Hoosiers shot 31-for-72 from the field, 6-for-21 from the three-point line, and 23-for-26 from the free-throw line. Indiana as a team had a total of 27 rebounds, 10 assists, nine steals, and eight turnovers.

The Hoosiers look forward to facing Iowa again, Monday night, for a rescheduled game from earlier this season. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. ET at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

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