Indiana Women's Basketball to Host Purdue in Front of Assembly Hall Sellout Crowd
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — It's a big day Sunday at noon as the No. 2 Indiana women's basketball team will host rival Purdue in front of a sellout Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall crowd.
The Hall can hold 17,222 fans, and all of those seats will be filled to witness the second rivalry matchup of the season plus watch seniors Grace Berger and Alyssa Geary take part in Senior Day for the final regular season home game.
"The sellout's really cool," Indiana head coach Teri Moren said. "We've gotten close, but we've been about 4,000 shy of getting this place completely packed.
"I'm as eager to see this as our players are."
Berger has overcome plenty of her own adversity this season as the guard missed eight games with a right knee injury. She's looking a lot more like herself again as she's still putting up great numbers averaging 12.1 points per game and is second in assists behind guard Chloe Moore-McNeil's 127 with 100 assists.
"Here's what I do know about Grace Berger," Moren said. "There's no softness in Grace Berger. If there's any moment she'll have, it'll be after the game, but I don't even know if we'll see that."
Senior forward Mackenzie Holmes, who still has eligibility left and will not participate in Senior Day, is leading the team with 22.7 points and 7.4 boards per game. Despite a slow fourth quarter for her in Thursday night's win over Michigan, the Gorham, Maine native still totaled a whopping 27 points.
This will be the second time this season No. 2 Indiana has faced its in-state rival. Last time in West Lafayette, the Hoosiers defeated the Boilers 69-46 in front of their sellout crowd.
Purdue is led by fifth year guard Lasha Petree averaging 13.9 points per game while senior guard Jeanae Terry crashes the boards with 7.8 rebounds per contest.
The Boilermakers are currently seventh in the Big Ten standings, but are coming off two recent wins over Rutgers and Northwestern following their defeat to Indiana.
Purdue has been a great defensive team this season as it's ranked third in the conference holding its opponents to 64.3 points per game while Indiana is at the top of the list limiting its foes to a flat 60.
Moren and her squad just reached a single-season school record of 25 wins, so what does practice look like when there's no ebbs and flows in the season?
Moren said she's trying to shave off some practice minutes and change up the duration of drills while being intentional on where to put focus.
"I like order," Moren said. "I like detail, and so we're very specific going into practice exactly what our intentions are, but what our goals are for that particular practice."
She said it's hard for her to cut back in practice, but she knows fresh legs and minds is a recipe for success. Moren said she doesn't like the noon tipoff on Sunday since it's such a quick turnaround, but her team has been met with challenges like this before.
"They're going to want to know how to beat Purdue, and we'll make sure whether it's in film or just walkthrough [Friday]," Moren said.
How to Watch Purdue vs. No. 2 Indiana
- Who: Purdue Boilermakers (17-7)(8-6) vs. No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers (25-1)(15-1)
- When: Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023, 12 p.m. ET
- Where: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall — Bloomington, Ind.
- Broadcast: BTN
- Radio: WHCC 105.1
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