No. 18 IU women's basketball got off to the strong start it lacked in its recent games, leading the way to a 66-54 win over rival Purdue for the Barn Burner Trophy.
With the win, IU swept its season series with Purdue and won the trophy for the fourth consecutive season. One of the main factors in IU’s strong start was the fact the team grabbed an early lead and used unrelenting defense to keep it that way.
Leading 16-10 at the end of the first quarter was a nice change for an IU team that had to battle back from early deficits in its last two games.
The lead seemed to loosen the Hoosiers up offensively as they pushed their lead to 13 at halftime thanks to an eight-point quarter from sophomore guard Grace Berger.
“First half was really good,” IU head coach Teri Moren said after the game. “I thought that was about as good as we’ve looked defensively in a while.”
Berger finished the evening with 15 points and her shooting outburst in the second quarter looked like the one she had against Minnesota. But unlike that game, the Hoosiers didn’t need to rely solely on Berger for offense against the Boilermakers.
Sophomore forward Aleksa Gulbe chipped in eight points, senior forward Brenna Wise had seven points and seven rebounds while hounding the offensive glass and junior guard Jaelynn Penn poured in 15 more points.
Junior guard Ali Patberg had perhaps the best night of all with 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Her flirtation with a triple double was key for the Hoosiers offensively, but she did her part on defense too.
She collected two of IU’s seven total blocks, and keyed an IU defense that held Purdue to seven field goals in the first half.
The Hoosiers’ 13-point halftime lead shrunk quickly with the Hoosiers offense and defense faltering. Not only did the Hoosiers allow the Boilermakers more makes in the third quarter than in all of the first half, the Hoosiers turned the ball over eight times.
Purdue seniors Ae'Rianna Harris and Dominique Oden combined for 14 of the team's 21 points in the third quarter as the IU lead was trimmed to six.
“We knew they were going to make a run,” Moren said. "Oden and Harris are just too good. It was obvious the two of them were going to try to get (Purdue) back in the game, and they did."
IU adjusted nicely and allowed only three turnovers in the fourth quarter while holding the Boilermakers to 12 points.
It was still a close game with 5:51 remaining, but Berger’s and-one basket sealed the game, pushing the lead into double digits for good.
IU now awaits No. 13 Maryland on Thursday in a game that will have huge implications on the Big Ten standings with only seven games remaining in the regular season.
