No. 18 Indiana Rolls Past Purdue 66-45 for Third-Straight Win
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Everything changed with 8:53 left in the second quarter at Mackey Arena Thursday afternoon.
Purdue's Kayana Traylor had just completed an and-one, tying the game up at 15. Then the tide completely shifted, and No. 18 Indiana completely took over.
The Hoosiers closed the second quarter on a 17-0 run and took a 32-15 lead into halftime.
Offensively, it was Mackenzie Holmes and Grace Berger taking care of putting the ball in the basket. Holmes had 14 points at the half, and Berger had seven, including a 3-point buzzer-beater to end the half. Berger also had five assists.
Defensively, Indiana completely stifled Purdue. The Boilermakers did not score in the final 8:53 of the second quarter, and they missed 13-straight shots, only scoring three points the entire quarter.
That stretch was the difference in the game as Indiana went on to defeat its in-state rival 66-45.
"I thought that second quarter defensively we were really, really good," head coach Teri Moren said.
Purdue's first points since that 8:53 mark in the second quarter came with 7:30 remaining in the third quarter. So Indiana held the Boilermakers scoreless for over a full quarter.
Berger credits Indiana's coaching staff and the job they were able to do when scouting Purdue. Moren specifically mentioned assistant coach Rhet Wierzba, who always does the Purdue scout job, and said he does a great job every time.
"Our coaches do an excellent job of scouting. We kind of knew what to expect from them," Berger said. "We take defense seriously every game. Defense wins championships."
It continued to be the Holmes and Berger show on the offensive end in the second half as well. Berger finished with a game-high 22 points on the day while Holmes contributed 20.
Purdue has a lot of size and length on the interior, but Holmes didn't let it bother her, shooting an efficient 8-of-13 from the floor.
"I don't think size and length bothers her," Berger said. "Every time I throw it into her I think it's going in."
Aleksa Gulbe also filled up the stat sheet. She scored 10 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and four steals.
It's part of the consistency Gulbe has brought to the team all season, but Moren admitted after the game she thinks Gulbe can still give more because she knows how talented she is.
"I just think there's more in the tank," Moren said. "I think she's capable of averaging a double-double if she wants to."
The only thing Moren wasn't pleased with this game was how Indiana's starters played in the fourth quarter. The Hoosiers may have been up double digits, but Moren wanted her squad to close things out strong, and she didn't think Indiana did so in the fourth.
With the win, the Hoosiers are now 8-3 overall and 6-1 in the Big Ten. All six of Indiana's Big Ten wins have been by 20-plus points.
The schedule isn't going to get any easier from here, but Indiana hopes to continue to put together complete performances like the one in Mackey Arena on Thursday.
"Really good win for us on the road," Moren said. "It's hard to win. I thought for the most part we did some really, really good things today."