No. 6 Indiana women’s basketball needed overtime to defeat Purdue 73-68 Sunday in West Lafayette. With the win, Indiana retained the Barn Burner Trophy and pushed its win streak in the rivalry to six games.
With just over a minute left in the game, the Hoosiers trailed the Boilermakers by 6 points.
Across that final minute, Indiana outscored Purdue 9-3 to tie the game at 60-60. In that span, senior guard Grace Berger scored 6 points and graduate student guard Ali Patberg hit her first three-pointer of the game to send it to overtime.
Indiana came out hot in overtime, hitting a pair of 3-pointers to build a 6-point lead of its own with just under three minutes remaining. Unlike Purdue, Indiana was able to keep its lead and emerge victorious against its rival.
“As long as there's time on the clock for us, we’re always going to be in the game because I have a group of people in that locker room that will just not quit,” head coach Teri Moren said postgame.
Indiana entered the game without two of its starters. Junior forward Mackenzie Holmes, who leads the team in points and rebounds, was out with a knee injury for the second straight game. Graduate student guard Nicole Cardaño-Hillary, who serves as the team’s best perimeter defender, missed the game after being put in health and safety protocols Friday.
Sophomore forward Kiandra Browne started in Holmes’ place again and scored 8 points in the win. In the backcourt, sophomore guard Chloe Moore-McNeil replaced Cardaño-Hillary and scored 10 points to go along with six rebounds in her first career start.
“They all had to make a play at some point, whether it was scoring the ball or getting a big defensive stop,” Moren said.
The crowd of 8,505 in Mackey Arena showed up early and made its presence known throughout the afternoon. Purdue’s student section was filled to near capacity and remained on its feet until the final buzzer. After the game, Berger and Moren said the crowd was imposing, but said they appreciated how many fans showed up to support both teams.
“Really, it was just exciting to play in that atmosphere, whether they’re for you, or they’re against you,” Berger said. “Turning up for a women’s basketball game like that is something we hope continues and we really enjoy playing in front of.”
Berger led the team with 24 points, 14 of which came in the fourth quarter and overtime combined, and she added to her production on offense with six assists. Senior guard Aleksa Gulbe added 21 points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds, including shooting 3-4 from 3-point range.
Indiana will return to Bloomington to play Michigan State at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The game will air on Big Ten Network+.
