No. 19 Hoosiers Fight Until End But Not Enough Against No. 12 Terps

by | Jan 5, 2021 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

No. 19 Hoosiers Fight Until End But Not Enough Against No. 12 Terps

 

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Junior guard Grace Berger set a new career-high 26 points and No. 19 Indiana gave everything the No. 12 Terps could handle but came up short, 84-80, on Monday night at Xfinity Center.

 

KEY MOMENTS

  • Maryland (7-1, 4-0 B1G) came out blistering in the first quarter and took a 10-0 lead just two minutes in to play. They would see the first half end with a 23-9 lead over the Hoosiers.
  • Berger scored eight of her 10 first half points in the second quarter as IU (5-3, 3-1 B1G) pushed back. Gulbe knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, forcing Maryland to call a timeout with 4:08 remaining.
  • IU had the deficit down to single digits on a couple of occasions, but went scoreless in the final 2:20 to go into the break down 41-29.
  • The Hoosiers would open the third quarter on a 12-2 run, which include three-straight field goals from senior guard Jaelynn Penn and a steal from senior guard Ali Patberg led to transition offense for Berger to cut it to 43-41.
  • However, it would be as close as Indiana would come in the second quarter as Maryland responded right back with a 19-6 advantage to close out the third.
  • In the fourth, IU would get down by as many as 16 before clawing its way back with five points from redshirt junior guard Nicole Cardaño-Hillary and a bucket from Holmes put Indiana back within six.
  • Late in the game, Indiana used buckets from Berger and Holmes to keep its chances alive but free throws in the bonus helped Maryland close it out.

 

 

NOTABLE

  • The Hoosiers had three in double figures on Monday night. Junior guard Grace Berger tallied a new career high 26 points, sophomore forward Mackenzie Holmes had 18 points and senior guard Jaelynn Penn added 10 points.
  • Berger’s team-leading 26 points also served as a career high. The Louisville, Ky. native led the team in assists by dishing out seven assists.
  • Holmes record her fourth career double-double and second of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Her 11 boards were a team high.
  • The Hoosiers had 46 points in the paint compared to Maryland’s 32. They also received the rebound advantage, 38-36.
  • Indiana committed just seven turnovers which ties the season low. They were able to score 15 points off Maryland turnovers.

 

QUOTABLE

Indiana head coach Teri Moren

“First off, you cannot spot a team like Maryland ten points right out of the shoot like we did tonight, you are then playing catch up. We gave them a ton of confidence and energy. We did not have an answer for (Ashley) Owusu, I thought she was really good tonight. The other frustrating thing was that there were moments where we had a nice offensive run going and then could not come down and get a stop. There was a period of time in the middle of the third quarter where we sort of lost our minds and we were not sharing the ball like had, not taking good shots, taking quick shots which led to runouts and open layups or easy layups for the Maryland. That is what we wanted to stay away from. Really proud of the way we battled back but we say we are not about the moral victory. I liked our fight and loved the way Grace Berger played tonight. I thought she was terrific. I thought when Mackenzie Holmes finally settled in the second half, she was much better. Jaelynn Penn was also much better in the second half then she went down with an ankle injury.  Nicole Cardaño-Hilary gave us some good minutes as well but it looks like she is out as she got hit in the eye pretty good and has a swollen eye right now. Time will tell if we will have either one of them on Thursday, I kind of doubt it at this point, but that might be premature. The last thing I will say though, when you get 16 offensive rebounds you have to capitalize. We only scored six second chance points so that was frustrating. I thought we battled back but you cannot dig the hole we did in the first quarter. You are playing up hill all night at that point and I thought that is what it looked like.”

 

UP NEXT

Indiana travels to Penn State on Thursday night. Tipoff from Bryce Jordan Center is set for 6 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network Plus.