Grace Berger is Back and Without a Minutes Restriction, Season-High Points in Return

Indiana women's basketball star point guard Grace Berger is back after a month and a half of nursing a right knee injury. Berger earned a season-high 16 points in the Hoosiers' Sunday win over Northwestern in her celebrated return.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana women's basketball senior guard Grace Berger is back after a month and a half of recovering from a right knee injury she suffered at the Las Vegas Invitational.

Back in late November, the starting point guard went down in the Hoosiers' third offensive possession versus Auburn. Indiana head coach Teri Moren was emotional then and still is now watching Berger get back in the game.

"There's not a lot of players like Grace that can score and facilitate, put pressure on the defense and then sprint to the other end and want to guard the way she wants to guard," Moren said.

One can imagine with a credential like that from an esteemed coach how missed she was until her return on Sunday versus Northwestern. Before that, senior forward Mackenzie Holmes picked up the slack and was often double-teamed by multiple defenses who tried to shut down the Hoosiers' leading scorer.

"Having Grace back helps in all aspects of the game," Holmes said. "Offensively, defensively, as a leader. We all know what Grace means to us."

In Berger's return, she put up a season-high 16 points and team-high five assists showing there wasn't much rust to shake off in the Hoosiers' 72-50 win over the Wildcats. Moren said she has no minutes restriction and actually prefers playing the majority of the game to prevent getting tight on the bench.

Welcome back, No. 34. 😄@grace_berger34 | #IUWBB pic.twitter.com/347dvbcVCd

— Indiana Women’s Basketball (@IndianaWBB) January 9, 2023

However Moren said that won't be Berger's decision, and the staff will do everything they can to protect her.

"(Grace) has only been in practice for a week," Moren said. "Not that she looks like the Grace we're used to seeing, but she looks dang near close to it, and I think it gives everybody a shot in the arm."

As for Berger, she said she felt like herself and her knee didn't bother her at all.

"Felt really great, almost surreal just cause it feels like it's been forever since I played a game," Berger said.

"I was definitely a little nervous. I think a bit anxious at first but truthfully just really excited and I feel just really fortunate that I had the chance to get back out there with a good bit of the season left."

Berger said it was easy to stay positive because she knew she'd be back around this time. While recovering, she loved seeing the younger kids like freshman guard Lexus Bargesser get more minutes.

Moren said a couple games ago, the team is grooming Bargesser to become another point guard option, a blessing to have so much depth at the position.

"I think it's not only great to have me back but (Kiandra Browne) back as well just because the Big Ten is so tough every single game," Berger said. "Just the depth is something that I think's going to separate us down the road especially when we have tough games back to back to back."

Berger wasn't worried when she was out. She knew Holmes would take care of the team with plenty of pieces surrounding her to generate huge wins — and that's what happened. Although the Hoosiers missed Berger, Indiana fared well without her winning seven of eight games despite the absence.

Now that she's back, imagine the productivity the ranked team can have. Moren said Berger is going to be a pro since she makes everyone around her better. In adversity, there's always room for growth, and Berger took time in practice to work on herself and cheer on her Hoosiers.

"I can only imagine what it's going to be like Thursday night when she's introduced as a starter," Moren said. 

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