No. 12 Indiana Grinds Out Win At Butler
INDIANAPOLIS – Behind 14 points and five rebounds from redshirt junior guard Ali Patberg, No. 12 Indiana battled through a tough one at Butler on Wednesday night, 64-53, in Hinkle Fieldhouse.
KEY MOMENTS
- The Hoosiers (9-1) struggled in the first quarter on eight turnovers which led to a four-point deficit, 16-12, at the end of the first ten minutes of play. The majority of IU’s points in the frame came beyond the 3-point line where they hit three 3-pointers.
- Adjustments in the second quarter helped Indiana hold the Bulldogs (6-3) to just two points in the frame as they outscored them in the quarter 15-2 and shot 75 percent from the field. They started off the quarter on a 7-0 run before Butler scored its only bucket with 6:26 to play in the frame.
- In the third, Indiana went ahead by as many as 13 as Patberg found her way to the rim in transition with 7:20 remaining. Butler would keep the deficit to just 10 going into the fourth, 41-31.
- Patberg would go on to score 10 of her 14 points in the fourth quarter and played all 10 minutes as she connected on four free throws down the stretch
NOTABLE
- The Hoosiers posted their first ever win at Hinkle Fieldhouse and improve to 7-1 in the series
- Redshirt junior guard Ali Patberg led the way with 14 points on the night while going 5-for-8 from the floor. She scored all her points in the second half and added two assists.
- Two others scored in double figures with 12 points from sophomore guard Grace Berger and 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting from freshman forward Mackenzie Holmes
- The Hoosiers would shoot 53.7 percent from the floor as they spread the wealth in the win with nine players scoring and seven scoring six points or more.
- IU won the margin on the glass, 33-28, behind a team-high six rebounds from senior forward Brenna Wise. Holmes and sophomore forward Aleksa Gulbe also pulled down five boards each.
- Indiana junior guard Bendu Yeaney made her return to the lineup after missing the first nine games since suffering a ruptured Achilles in the NCAA Tournament in March. Yeaney came off the bench for 10 minutes of action.
QUOTABLE
Indiana head coach Teri Moren
“Good for the Hoosiers, but I’m disappointed in our turnovers category. I feel we are a veteran team led by a veteran point guard that struggled tonight. Grace Berger is coming back from injury and she isn’t usually that turnover prone. I thought tonight’s game was one where you have to grind it out because you can’t get into any kind of rhythm offensively. We received enough from others on the floor to give us a lead and hang on to it but we have to much better and we know that. We played great basketball down in the Virgin Islands, we were just okay at Miami, and just okay against North Florida and I thought tonight we were just okay. We have a lot room to grow, we have to get better and it starts with our point guard play.”
UP NEXT
Indiana returns home to host Youngstown State on Sunday afternoon. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET.