Four Score In Double Figures As No. 13 Indiana Defeats Samford

 

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Behind 13 points each from junior guard Grace Berger and sophomore forward Mackenzie Holmes, No. 13 Indiana improved to 2-0 after a 71-26 win over Samford.

 

KEY MOMENTS

  • In a first half of runs for the Hoosiers, Samford (0-3) would score first in the game on the opening possession. However, IU (2-0) would respond with a 14-0 run to extend its lead to 15-4 at the end of the first 10 minutes of play.
  • It was the same story in the second quarter, as the Bulldogs would go without a field goal in the final 8:09 of the quarter and took an 18-0 run into the locker room at halftime, leading 33-7.
  • Senior guard Jaelynn Penn and Berger led the way in the first half, scoring eight points each, as Samford was limited to a combined 10.3 percent from the field.
  • The Hoosiers would cruise in the final two quarters of play, combining to outscore the Bulldogs 38-19 en route to the victory.

 

NOTABLE

  • The 26 points scored by Samford was the fewest by an Indiana opponent in the Teri Moren era. The previous low was 32 vs. Oakland in the 2018 season.
  • The 26 points is the fifth fewest points by an opponent in program history. It is the 17th time in program history the Hoosiers have held an opponent under 30 points. It is the fewest points allowed since a 62-25 win over Ball State during the 1973-74 season.
  • Indiana held Samford to 11-of-53 shooting (20.8 percent) for the game.
  • After Samford scored the opening basket at the 9:55 mark of the first quarter, Indiana went on a 14-0 scoring run to go up 14-2. Indiana held Samford scoreless for a period of 7:26 in the quarter.
  • After Samford scored the first three points of the second quarter, the Hoosiers used a 18-0 scoring run to go into halftime with a 33-7 lead. The Hoosiers held the Bulldogs to 3-of-29 (10.3 percent) from the field in the first half. Samford did not score the final 8:22 of the second quarter.
  • The Hoosiers had four players score in double figures, with Mackenzie Holmes and Grace Berger each recording 13 points, Ali Patberg with 12 and Aleksa Gulbe with 11. Gulbe added nine rebounds. Berger added six rebounds and six assists.
  • Jaelynn Penn scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds.
  • The Hoosiers have outscored their first two opponents of the season by over 40 points (49 vs. EKU, 45 vs. Samford).
  • Indiana has shot over 50 percent in each of their two games and are 69-of-131 (52.7 percent) from the field this season.
  • Indiana forced 26 Samford turnovers and converted that to 27 points off turnovers.
  • The Hoosiers held a 27-8 advantage in points off turnovers and 38-18 edge on points in the paint.

 

 

QUOTABLE

Indiana head coach Teri Moren

“I thought our defense was really good. Obviously to only hold them to 26 points is fantastic. Two people in particular, I thought Leks (Alexa Gulbe) was unbelievable on Armstrong tonight. She did an incredible job making everything difficult for her. Mack (Mackenzie Holmes) got herself into foul trouble. I thought Jaelynn did an outstanding job on Battle as well. She watched film on that kid, and she has been dynamic on all three levels. I thought Jaelynn, with the help of our post players today, did a tremendous job. I am frustrated a little bit on the offensive end. I thought 15 turnovers was too many tonight against that team. So, that is a little frustrating. We had too many fouls. The early foul trouble hampered us and got us out our flow. Maybe that is why offensively we were just average at best. Free throw shooting, not good enough and won’t be good enough. We are too good of free-throw shooters. We spend too much intentional time on free-throws in practice, so it is another frustrating area for us. It was a really solid win. We knew we were going to have to come out and guard hard. After looking at the stat sheets again, Lex is one rebound away from a double-double. Jaelynn Penn was terrific tonight, I thought offensively and defensively. Chloe Moore-McNeil came in there in the second half, and I thought she did some nice things. She was really aggressive in getting to the basket. Some individual pieces that I thought stood out tonight, but we still have a lot of work to do.”

 

UP NEXT

Indiana hits the road for its first game away from Bloomington this season at No. 11/12 Kentucky on Sunday afternoon. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. ET on ESPNU.