Hoosiers Now

Indiana Women Beat Purdue For 2nd Time This Season, Winning 64-57 In Front of Large Crowd

There were 7,891 fans who witnessed Indiana take down rival Purdue 64-57 on Sunday, the fifth-largest crowd in program history at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Nicole Cardaño-Hillary led the Hoosiers with 19 points, and sophomore Chloe Moore-McNeil earned her first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Haley Jordan

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — For the second time this season, Indiana shut down the Purdue Boilermakers 64-57 with 7,891 fans — the fifth highest attendance in women's basketball history — there to witness it.

"We're very grateful to have such a big crowd like that on a game we need it the most," sophomore guard Chloe Moore-McNeil said. "We knew they were going to come in here and play with everything they had."

Graduate student guard Nicole Cardaño-Hillary said the fans help the Hoosiers get back up when they're dealing with the lows on the court.

Cardaño-Hillary was Indiana's leading scorer with 19 points after playing a full 40 minutes. Last time the Hoosiers played Purdue on Jan. 16, Cardaño-Hillary was out on COVID-19 protocol.

"We figured because she's such an important piece of what we do defensively that she was going to be a major piece of why we were going to have success today," Indiana head coach Teri Moren said.

Moore-McNeil came off the bench to get her first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds after 29 minutes of play. She was one of the key players to capitalize off of Purdue's 18 turnovers that contributed to an extra 23 points for the Hoosiers.

"We know the potential Chloe can bring to our team," Cardaño-Hillary said. "Chloe not only gives us energy on defense, but on offense when she's knocking down every shot."

Four Hoosiers scored in double digits, and graduate student guard Ali Patberg was not one of them. Patberg went 1-for-8 from the field but proved to be an exceptional asset on defense as she held Purdue's leading scorer Madison Layden, who normally averages 12.6 points, to 0 points.

"We put Ali Patberg on the best perimeter player on the opposing team," Moren said. "That says a lot. I thought she was great this afternoon defensively for us."

Indiana started the game with five missed shots allowing Purdue to strike first. Cardaño-Hillary got the Hoosiers rolling with their first two buckets followed by a jumper from senior guard Grace Berger.

"I thought we got off to a slow start, had to find some scoring rhythm," Moren said.

Moore-McNeil entered the game and cashed in on the and-1 to bring the Hoosiers within one point.

Indiana took the lead after scoring three field goals in a row including Moore-McNeil's three pointer to give Indiana a 14-10 lead.

Purdue caught up with two shots from junior guard Janae Terry but still trailed the Hoosiers 17-14 at the end of the quarter.

In the early second quarter, Purdue tied it up 18-18 off of a shot from freshman guard Ava Learn.

Purdue then entered a scoring drought for more than five minutes all while Moore-McNeil heated up with her second three of the night for a 10 point lead. 

After two more minutes of play, the Hoosiers kept their lead and finished the half 34-24.

In the third, senior forward Aleksa Gulbe swished a three-pointer followed by Berger's jumper as part of a 9-0 run with just under five minutes to go. Purdue had five turnovers but redeemed itself by going on an 8-0 run of their own off a pair of threes.

Cardaño-Hillary stole the ball in the fourth quarter for a full court fast break layup that got the Hall loud and proud, but Purdue remained in the fight responding with a three pointer from senior guard Brooke Moore to close the gap to eight points.

"It just seemed like everything that we had done in the third that gave us some level of success, we stopped doing," Moren said. "Way too many miscues in the fourth quarter that led to some run outs for them (Purdue)."

Moore struck again with another three that brought the Boilermakers within five with two and a half minutes left in regulation. 

As the whistle blew every few seconds within the last 30 seconds from timeouts and fouls, the Hoosiers held on with four made free throws from Berger before the clock finally expired.

"You got to give credit to this league," Moren said. "They're really good. It doesn't matter who you're playing or where they are in the standings. If you're not ready to play, you're always in jeopardy of getting beat."

Not today though.

Up next, the Hoosiers will face Illinois on the road Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. ET. 

Related stories on Indiana women's basketball

  • INDIANA FACES PURDUE FOR SECOND TIME THIS SEASON: The Hoosiers will face the Boilermakers at home this time on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Indiana claimed the Barn Burner Trophy in its last meeting with Purdue and have already had two games of practice since then without starting forward Mackenzie Holmes who's still out with a knee injury. CLICK HERE. 
  • HOOSIERS VS. SPARTANS IS BACK ON: Four games on Indiana's schedule have been postponed this season due to COVID-19 protocol. The matchup versus Michigan State is the first game to be rescheduled. Fans are encouraged to "Head to the Hall" for only $1 tickets on Feb. 12 for the rescheduled game. CLICK HERE.
  • INDIANA DEFEATS MINNESOTA BY 10 AFTER ELECTRIC FOURTH QUARTER: The No. 5-ranked Hoosiers remain undefeated at home in Big Ten play after beating Minnesota 80-70 in a near-empty Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Senior forward Aleksa Gulbe led Indiana with a career high 28 points going 11-for-15 from the field. CLICK HERE.
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Haley Jordan
HALEY JORDAN

Haley Jordan is a Sports Illustrated/FanNation video director, staff writer, host and reporter for Hoosiers Now, Fastball and Fastbreak sites. She is a graduate from Indiana University with degrees in Sports Broadcast Journalism and Spanish.

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