Indiana Fights Until The End, But Falls To Minnesota
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana pushed until the final buzzer but came up short against Minnesota on Wednesday night, 65-61, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
KEY MOMENTS
- Redshirt junior forward Brenna Wise had IU’s first four points but an 11-0 run for Minnesota (16-7, 5-7 B1G) gave them a double-digit advantage with just under three minutes to play. The Hoosiers shot just 23.5 percent in the first and trailed 16-8 at the end of the quarter.
- Indiana (17-7, 6-6 B1G) chipped away at the lead in the second, cutting it to as few as one with a 3-pointer from redshirt junior guard Ali Patberg and one at the line to make it 21-20 with 5:14 remaining before the break.
- But the Golden Gophers closed the quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 27-20 lead at halftime. They would open up the third on another 6-0 run to get their largest lead of the night with 8:45 to play, 33-20.
- The Hoosiers would cut the deficit down to six in the third, 42-36, on consecutive buckets from sophomore guard Grace Berger, sophomore guard Bendu Yeaney and sophomore guard Jaelynn Penn. Despite losing Patberg to injury with six minutes to go in the third, they would keep the game within reach to close out the frame, trailing 48-40. They put up their best shooting percentage in the third, going 46.2 percent from the floor on 6-for-13 shooting.
- In the fourth, IU would outscore the Gophers, 21-17, as it would go on a 10-0 run in the final four minutes and hold Minnesota without a field goal in the final 4:15.
- A Penn 3-pointer would spark the run with 4:02 to go. Wise would come up with another big three at the top of the key with just under a minute and a half left in the game, making it 61-57.
- A steal on the Gopher inbound led to a transition bucket from sophomore guard Keyanna Warthen to come within two, but they wouldn’t come any closer as a good look by Penn for a 3-pointer missed and Minnesota made free throws down the stretch.
NOTABLE
- Penn led the Hoosiers with 18 points. It marked her 12th consecutive game scoring in double-figures and 18thoverall game of the season reaching double digits in scoring.
- Yeaney scored in double-figures for the 31st time in her career with 12 points. She also added four assists and four steals.
- Wise scored nine points and added a team-high nine rebounds.
- Indiana outscored Minnesota 34-20 in points in the paint and 17-6 in fast break points.
- Minnesota was led by three double figure scorers in Kenisha Bell (22 points, 10 rebounds), Destiny Pitts (17 points) and Irene Garrido Perez (11 points).
QUOTABLE
“It was a tough night. I thought our start was not as planned. We talked about getting off to a much better start, and taking care of the ball. I thought we did a poor job, although we only turned it over 6 times in the second half. It was the start. It is always the beginning that will get you if you are not ready. We started making some plays that got us back in the game. I think we got within one. Either we had a breakdown defensively or we fouled and put them at the free throw line and so that was kind of frustrating. We just could never get over the hump tonight and that’s what was disappointing. I have no update on Ali (Patberg). Robert (Black) is taking her right now. She is going to get some X-Rays. It was difficult to play for the first time without our point guard and I thought Bendu, Jaelynn, Grace, and Keyanna did a good job of being able to play without our normal point guard in there. I am really proud in a difficult situation how they handled themselves. Right now, we just have to keep our fingers crossed and pray that whatever we find out with Ali is short term.”
UP NEXT
Two road games are up next for the Hoosiers who travel to No. 23/21 Michigan State on Monday, Feb. 11 and Michigan on Thursday, Feb. 14.