Thursday night, the fans in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall saw freshmen Damezi Anderson, Rob Phinisee and Romeo Langford lead the way to a 96-62 exhibition win over Southern Indiana.
Friday night, the Hoosier faithful saw a similar sight as IU’s freshmen Grace Berger and Aleksa Gulbe showcased their talents in the team’s 78-52 exhibition victory over Northwood University.
Berger finished the night with 13 points, six rebounds and five assists, with her scoring coming in a plethora of ways.
Some moments, she would use a ball screen to get the defender at her back and step into a smooth mid-range shot, ranging from 12 to 18 feet each time and knocked them down. Other times, Berger would drive in and pull off a nifty euro-step to juke the defender and easily lay it in. No matter her move, she had a calm look on her face for the duration of the 40 minutes, making it look easy.
“I think I got some of the jitters out in the first half,” Berger said. “My teammates gave me a lot of confidence going into the second half.”
Gulbe scored 15 points on the night and did most of her damage on the defensive end as she rejected five shots. She also pulled out a smooth euro-step to find a basket and hit some outside jump shots as well.
Berger started in place of sophomore guard Bendu Yeaney, who was out due to soreness in her Achilles tendon. Starting with her was sophomore guard Jaelynn Penn, junior guard Ali Patberg, junior forward Brenna Wise and senior forward Kym Royster.
It was a slow start for the Hoosiers as the Timberwolves took a 22-17 lead at the end of the first quarter.
IU Coach Teri Moren said the team had a sluggish start specifically on the defensive end, and that she was disappointed by how they guarded dribble penetration.
That turned around in the second quarter as IU outscored Northwood 20-6 and took a nine-point lead into halftime.
“Second and third quarter we improved,” Moren said. “I liked the way our pieces were working off of each other.”
Patberg was a mediator in the point guard position as she dished out eight assists to go along with her nine points. The ball was moving around the court in fluid motion and IU found baskets on off-ball screens and backdoor cuts. The team in total had 19 assists.
“It’s a team sport,” Patberg said. “Everyone can score at all levels on our team, which I think is unique. We just have to facilitate the ball.”
For the most part, Moren was pleased with the team’s play excluding the shaky first quarter, which she said is understandable from all the jitters.
A scary moment came in the third quarter, when Penn tweaked her ankle on defense, forcing Moren to call a timeout and take her out of the game. Penn, who had 14 points on the night, stayed on the bench for the rest of the game.
Moren said she expects to have Yeaney, and hopefully Penn, in the lineup when the Hoosiers kick off the regular season at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at home against Milwaukee.
