Indiana Women's Basketball Gets Major Road Win at Iowa 85-72
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — It was released before the game that Indiana would be without starting senior guard Jaelynn Penn for the remainder of the season.
Penn had decided to opt out, and head coach Teri Moren wanted to see how her team would respond without the multi-dimensional guard.
The Hoosiers have played a couple games without Penn when she had an injured ankle in early January, so they've had experience doing it before.
With the move now permanent for the rest of the year, Moren was very pleased with her team's response in Iowa City on Sunday.
The No. 17-ranked Hoosiers took down the Hawkeyes 85-72 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
"What a great win at a really difficult place to win at," Moren said. "Our kids to come in and respond the way they did was really just — I can't tell you how happy I am for those guys."
Indiana found itself down eight points early in the second quarter and all the momentum was on Iowa's side. But after a pair of threes from Nicole Cardaño-Hillary and an and-one from Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana was able to regain the lead.
The Hoosiers ended the half with a 33-30 lead.
"We knew they were gonna make runs throughout the game," senior guard Ali Patberg said.
The third quarter was indeed a game of runs as Indiana jumped out to a 10-point lead and looked as if it'd pull away with it. But then Iowa made a run to end quarter, and the Hoosiers only led by two heading into the fourth quarter.
That was when senior point guard Ali Patberg took over the game. Moren had called for Patberg to be more aggressive numerous times this season, and she answered the bell in the final 10 minutes.
Patberg scored 12 of her 23 points in the final frame, allowing Indiana to gain a comfortable lead to the finish line.
"We put in the work, so we're prepared for anything," Patberg said. "The coaches always get us ready."
Despite Patberg's big scoring day, Holmes was the team's leader in points, scoring 25 points to go along with 13 rebounds.
Holmes also did an impressive job defensively, holding Iowa's Monika Czinano to a struggle shooting the ball in the second half.
"I thought Mac was a terrific rim protector," Moren said. "That's one of the things we've always lacked the last couple of years was someone who could protect the rim."
Iowa's Caitlin Clark had a big day, scoring 30 points, which is her fifth 30-point game this season.
Moren thought when she took Patberg off Clark and put Cardaño-Hillary on her, they were able to hold Clark at bay a little more consistently.
"I thought she was really pesky today defensively," Moren said. "She really stepped up and was up to the challenge."
Cardaño-Hillary also contributed a season-high 17 points on the day, including shooting 3-of-6 from behind the 3-point line.
With Penn out for the remainder of the season, those are the types of contributions Indiana will be hoping to get from Cardaño-Hillary.
"She's done a really good job," Holmes said. "She fits so well in what we try to do. Push the ball, play great defense and I think she stepped up huge tonight."
With the win, the Hoosiers improved to 11-4 on the season and 9-2 in the Big Ten. Next up for Indiana will be a game against Penn State at home on Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET.
Related Stories:
- PENN OPTS OUT OF SEASON: Indiana senior guard Jaelynn Penn has opted out for the remainder of the year. CLICK HERE
- BERGER NAMED TO WATCHLIST: Grace Berger has become the first player in program history to be named to the Cheryl Miller Award top 10 watchlist. CLICK HERE
- CARDANO-HILLARY PROVIDING SPARK: Transfer Nicole Cardaño-Hillary has been a huge lift for IUWBB off the bench this season. CLICK HERE