Indiana Women's Basketball Finishes Nonconference Play With Win Over Southern Illinois

The Hoosiers celebrate their tenth win of the season following a 70-37 victory over the Southern Illinois Salukis. Indiana finished its nonconference schedule with just two losses and will transition into Big Ten play next week.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.— The No. 8-ranked Hoosiers round out their nonconference schedule with a 70-37 win over the Southern Illinois Salukis at home.

"That's exactly how you want to finish the nonconference season," Indiana head coach Teri Moren said. "I feel good about giving our kids a couple days off to enjoy their families."

Indiana shot 53 percent from the field, out-rebounded Southern Illinois 37-33 and limited themselves to only eight turnovers achieving Moren's goal of 11 or less.

Moren was especially pleased with her team's defense putting graduate student guard Ali Patberg at the forefront of her praise.

"I thought we were really sound," Moren said. "I thought Ali did a great job, and it's things that don't show up on this thing (the stat sheet) that only shows up when we watch film and you rewatch, and it turns up how well we played defensively to sort of get them on their heels."

Moren said Patberg always has the tough assignment of guarding the best perimeter player, a job she managed quite well.

"When she came out, the first thing out of all of our mouths from a staff is what a great job she's done defensively," Moren said.

On the offensive side of the ball, senior guard Grace Berger and junior forward Mackenzie Holmes led the charge with 18 points a piece. 

The first two minutes of the game were scoreless until Berger grabbed the first bucket with less than eight minutes to go in the quarter. Graduate student guard Nicole Cardaño-Hillary followed up with a layup.

Indiana capitalized on an 8-0 run with four minutes left before closing the gap 15-4 at the end of the first quarter.

Holmes started off the second with the first basket. The Hoosiers got cooking quickly forcing the Salukis to call a timeout once Indiana got the 15-point lead off a Cardaño-Hillary layup.

Patberg continues to play unselfishly as she herself got a good look under the basket but passed it on to Holmes who had a slightly better angle at the low post.

"All our guards are very unselfish," Holmes said. "We're always looking to make the next play, and even though Ali might be driving down the lane, she's looking at 'what do I have? Do I have a kick out?' I think that's just how we practice, and Ali's a selfless player."

Gaining more momentum off a 15-0 run and steady defense, the Hoosiers limited the Salukis to score only four points in the second quarter after shooting a total 15 percent from the field in the first half. Indiana led 38-8 at the half.

"Early on (in the season), I think our offense was ahead of our defense, and I think we've probably caught up, and we've also probably exceeded our offense a little bit now," Moren said.

To jumpstart the second half, the Hoosiers went on two 6-0 runs leaving Southern Illinois south of the Hoosiers' score. 

A Berger jumper at the third quarter buzzer put Indiana up 58-22, and a three pointer by senior forward Aleksa Gulbe put the Hoosiers above 60 points giving them more than a 30-point lead in the fourth.

The Salukis remained scoreless for more than three minutes in the fourth sending the Hoosiers to its tenth win of the season for its last nonconference game.

The purposely tough nonconference schedule served the Hoosiers well, Moren said. Her team is ready to move on to Big Ten play after the holidays. 

"We've seen so many different looks and so many different actions that we've had to plan for and prepare for, and so I don't think we had any other option but becoming better," Moren said. 

Up next, the Hoosiers head to Piscataway, N.J. on Dec. 30 to start the rest of Big Ten play versus Rutgers. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET.

Related stories on Indiana women's basketball

• HOOSIERS TO PLAY SOUTHERN ILLINOIS: Indiana will take to the court again after its game with Wright State was canceled due to COVID-19 issues within the Raiders program. After four days without a game, the Hoosiers welcome the Southern Illinois Salukis to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for Indiana's final nonconference game of the season. CLICK HERE.
• WRIGHT STATE CANCELS GAME VERSUS INDIANA: The sports world is starting to become affected by COVID-19 related cancellations once again. Wright State cancelled Tuesday's game versus Indiana due to positive COVID-19 cases among its tier one individuals. CLICK HERE.
• INDIANA CLIMBS TO NO. 8 IN AP POLL: After two weeks at No. 10, the Indiana Hoosiers climb up to No. 8 in the AP Top 25 Poll after a pair of wins over Ohio Sate and more recently their 67-57 victory over Western Michigan on Sunday. CLICK HERE.