Hoosiers Women's Basketball Knocks Off Princeton to Advance to the Sweet 16

The Hoosiers defeat Princeton 56-55 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to advance to the Sweet 16. Senior guard Grace Berger led Indiana with 15 points and totaled seven rebounds for the last game in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall this season.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — No. 3-seed Indiana is headed back to the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row!

Following the Hoosiers’ 56-55 defeat over the No. 11 Princeton Tigers in the second round of the NCAA tournament, the third largest crowd in women’s basketball history of 9,627 fans were up on their feet in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

“I think tonight was our crowd willing us to this win,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said. “They're going to share as much in it as we are, and so we are really, really grateful that we had our fans tonight inside the Hall.”

Indiana senior guard Grace Berger was the head of the offensive snake as she led the team with 15 points and also had seven rebounds. Graduate student guard Nicole Cardaño-Hillary grabbed 12 points, and junior forward Mackenzie Holmes broke 10 to round out the double figure club.

Grace Berger

The Hoosiers shot 51 percent from the field compared to Princeton’s 34 percent, but it didn’t come easy for Indiana.

“They (Princeton) were great defensively,” Moren said. “I don't think that these guys, any of us felt like we were getting anything easy over there on the sideline, especially I thought it picked up their defense in the second half.”

Princeton actually took 19 more shots than the Hoosiers and lived up to their reputation by forcing 17 turnovers.

Berger had six of those turnovers but still served as the offensive leader. The fans didn’t hold her errors against her and got on their feet multiple times throughout the game when she would drive to the basket showing off her impressive ball handling skills.

“Growing up I was told that if I could handle the ball, there was always a spot for me on the team by my dad,” Berger said. “Just 10 minutes a day every single day growing up, that's what I did, and I still do it. I have the same routine that I had when I was seven years old that I do before the game now.”

Despite the mistakes, the Hoosiers were still better and found themselves running through the student bleachers after the final buzzer.

“I ran over there, and I was like, screw it, I'm going to go run up and I'm going to go high-five them and make them feel like they're part of this victory because they are,” Holmes said.

To start off the game, Princeton junior guard Grace Stone swished a three-pointer to which Cardaño-Hillary immediately responded with a three of her own in the next play.

The fast-paced game score bobbled back and forth as Cardaño-Hillary hit a difficult hook shot to tie it up 9-9 for her fifth point of the game.

The Tigers were aggressive from the jump and already totaled five fouls in the first five minutes compared to Indiana’s two.

Off of a steal, Tigers junior guard Julia Cunningham was passed the ball and hit a three-pointer in transition.

Sophomore guard Chloe Moore-McNeil played copycat and hit Indiana’s second three-pointer of the night to take back the lead with two minutes to go.

Chloe Moore-McNeil

Indiana's Chloe Moore-McNeil (22) defends Princeton's Kaitlyn Chen (20) during the first half of the Indiana versus Princeton women's NCAA second round game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Monday, March 21, 2022.

The Tigers fouled Cardaño-Hillary again, and this time, she sank both shots to tie it up 17-17 at the buzzer.

To kick off the second period, graduate student guard Ali Patberg made a three-pointer and was fouled. She made it a four-point play as the fans in the Hall erupted.

Holmes came alive making two back-to-back layups before Indiana went into a scoring drought and did what Moren was afraid of: commit four turnovers. Princeton forces about 19 turnovers per game.

Indiana got back in its groove off of Moore-McNeil’s three-pointer as part of a Hoosiers’ 8-0 run. Meanwhile Princeton entered a rough stretch going 1-for-9 over three and a half minutes.

Berger made her signature pullup jumper for the last field goal of the half securing a 39-29 lead over the Tigers.

Off a jumper, Berger hit double scoring figures to start the third quarter. Princeton chipped away at its deficit off of Stone’s three-point shot to bring the Tigers within seven.

Both teams slowed down as Princeton missed five shots and Indiana entered a four minute scoring drought. The Tigers used this as an opportunity to gain traction and went on a 6-0 run to come within five points.

In the last quarter, Holmes made a layup to bring the Hoosiers back up to a seven-point lead, but Tigers sophomore guard Kaitlyn Chen’s pair of free throws and senior guard Abby Meyers’ bucket as part of an 8-0 run gave Princeton the lead just above the five-minute mark.

“We're a veteran team so we've been in these positions before, honestly, whether it's in practice playing against our black squad or whether it's in a game, and we've been in these situations,” Holmes said. “So I think we were ready and didn't panic when they started to make a little bit of a run.”

Cardaño-Hillary made an important layup to give Indiana the lead once again before heading into a timeout with four and a half minutes left to determine who got a trip to the Sweet 16.

Nicole Cardaño-Hillary

Indiana's Nicole Cardano-Hillary (4) shoots over Princeton's Ellie Mitchell (00) during the first half of the Indiana versus Princeton women's NCAA second round game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Monday, March 21, 2022.

Excellent defense held each team from scoring for more than two minutes a piece. Meyers hit a pair of free throws to take back the lead while Berger’s trip to the stripe tied it back up.

“By God, we had to go all the way down to the end with them, but at the end of the fourth quarter, it's the fight that won the game,” Moren said. “They've shown that throughout.”

Indiana took a timeout with 38 seconds on the clock to regroup before Berger could secure a layup.

Senior forward Aleksa Gulbe finished off the Tigers with two free throws to lock in a four-point lead. Despite Princeton’s last made three-pointer, Indiana would be one point better.

“Aleksa and I shoot free throws on that specific rim every single day during practice, so when we break up to shoot free throws, that's Leks and I's hoop, so I was like, ‘Leks, you've got to make this,’” Holmes said. “‘This is our hoop; you've got to make these.’”

Up next, Indiana will face UConn in the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Tournament in Bridgeport, Conn.

“It's unbelievable,” Berger said. “I mean, playing for IU means everything for me, and I remember four years ago we were just struggling to even get in the tournament, and then we got that win and it was huge for us, so now to see us get to the Sweet 16 two years in a row, it's just really special.”

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• GRACE BERGER - INDIANA'S QUIET LEADER: She may not be that loud, but her competitive spirit says enough. The talented guard Grace Berger will return for her fifth year at Indiana next season, but until then Berger has more work to do and more players to lead deep into the NCAA Tournament. CLICK HERE.
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