It has been an interesting few days for No. 20 IU women’s basketball both on and off the court.
IU stormed back from a 16 point deficit in the third quarter to defeat Wisconsin by 10 in overtime 75-65 on Thursday. Then the next morning, the news broke that junior guard Bendu Yeaney would be leaving the program and entering the transfer portal to be closer to home.
IU will have to turn its attention ahead to Monday now as it prepares to take on in-state rival Purdue with a chance to secure the Barn Burner Trophy. The Hoosiers will face the Boilermakers at 6 p.m. Monday at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette.
A victory would mark the fourth consecutive game win for the Hoosiers and would match their win streak to open up conference play at 4-0 and would put IU at 8-3 in the Big Ten.
Depending on how Maryland and Northwestern’s games shake out, IU could end the day in a three-way tie for second place in the Big Ten at 8-3.
For now, here are some of the key things to know for Monday’s matchup in West Lafayette.
Tale of the tape
While the Hoosiers have won seven of the last 10 matchups, including a 66-48 win Jan. 9, the Boilermakers have a firm grasp on the all-time record leading the series 53-33.
Purdue at one point handed IU 18 consecutive defeats dating from February 1988 all the way through February 1996.
The Hoosiers have come a long way since then. They have been ranked in the AP poll every week this season and show no signs of stopping.
Both teams are riding a three-game win streak, and if Purdue were to win, they could draw even with IU at 7-4 in the Big Ten standings.
The Hoosiers score on average nine more points per game than the Boilermakers, but the Boilermakers are an adept team from three.
Needless to say, there is a lot more than just a trophy riding on Monday night’s game.
Players to watch for IU
It’s a given that most nights Holmes and Patberg can be relied on to guide IU's offense. When things go south for them, they go south for the team.
Take Thursday, when outside of Patberg’s eight first-quarter points, she was held scoreless in the second and third quarter. IU could hardly shoot 30% from the floor.
In the fourth quarter and overtime, when IU went from down 10 to up by 10, Holmes scored 11 in the fourth and Patberg chipped in four in the fourth before scoring eight of her team’s 14 points in the OT period.
The work senior forward Brenna Wise is doing shouldn’t be discounted either. Wise hasn’t had high scoring games recently , but she did score seven points along with four rebounds Thursday, earning the praise of Head Coach Teri Moren.
Player to watch for Purdue
Purdue is a good shooting team, led by Junior guard Karissa McLaughlin. She has the highest points per game on her team with 13.5 and shoots the ball at 34% from deep.
Complementing her in the post is senior forward Ae’Rianna Harris. She is the reigning Big Ten Player of the week and averages 13.2 points per game.
Not to mention at 6 feet, 1 inch tall, Harris has collected 8.6 rebounds per contest and three blocks per game.
Limiting this duo will be the key for IU in its efforts to secure their 18th win this season.
