GAMEDAY Womens Basketball
Indiana 87, Iowa 78
(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
By MICHAEL MAROT
AP Sports Writer
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Grace Berger finished with a season-high 26 points, nine rebounds and six assists and Mackenzie Holmes added 24 points as No. 2 Indiana used a late scoring run to pull away from No. 5 Iowa 87-78.
The Hoosiers (23-1, 12-1 Big Ten) used a 17-7 fourth-quarter run to earn their 11th consecutive win, this time in front of a record crowd of 13,046. Indiana has broken the attendance mark three times since January and now has a 1 1/2-game lead in the chase for its first regular-season conference crown since the Big Ten's inaugural season of 1982-83.
Caitlin Clark had 35 points, 10 assists and four rebounds to lead the Hawkeyes (19-5, 11-2), who lost for the first time since Jan. 1.
Not surprisingly, the rematch of last season's Big Ten Tournament title game and first top-five matchup in Big Ten play in nearly 30 years lived up to the billing.
Two of the nation's highest-scoring teams played to a 19-all draw after one quarter and a 39-39 tie at halftime. Indiana scored the final four points of the third quarter to take a 62-57 lead as the raucous fans urged them on.
Finally, in a contest featuring 11 ties and 14 lead changes, Berger and Holmes quickly turned the game in the fourth quarter by combining for nearly half the points in a 17-7 run that allowed Indiana to move out to a a 79-69 lead with 3:24 to go.
Iowa never got another chance to tie the score or take the lead.
BIG PICTURE
Iowa: Clark may be one of the frontrunners for national player of the year, and there's little doubt the Hawkeyes are among the nation's top teams. But in a raucous environment, the Hawkeyes lost their poise by turning the ball over 18 times and going just 6 of 23 on 3-pointers. It may cost them a second straight league title.
Indiana: The Hoosiers answered any remaining doubters Thursday with a gritty and gutsy performance. They struggled, at times, offensively, and played through some serious foul trouble to put away a team that swept all three games from them last season. They are 7-0 this season against ranked foes.
February 9, 2023
| Iowa | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| M. Warnock | F | 27 | 5-8 | 2-2 | 2-4 | 2-11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 14 |
| M. Czinano | C | 26 | 3-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| C. Clark | G | 39 | 12-28 | 8-11 | 3-11 | 1-4 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 35 |
| G. Marshall | G | 37 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| K. Martin | G | 35 | 2-7 | 2-2 | 0-4 | 1-7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| H. Stuelke | 21 | 5-5 | 0-8 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10 | |
| S. Affolter | 7 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| M. Davis | 5 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| A. O'Grady | 2 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Totals | 199 | 30-62 (.484) |
12-23 (.522) |
6-23 (.261) |
9-38 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 18 | 24 | 78 | |
| Indiana | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| M. Holmes | F | 37 | 10-17 | 4-8 | 0-0 | 2-6 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 24 |
| G. Berger | G | 39 | 10-20 | 6-10 | 0-1 | 0-9 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 26 |
| C. Moore-McNeil | G | 37 | 1-8 | 8-8 | 1-4 | 1-9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 11 |
| Y. Garzon | G | 24 | 3-6 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 2-4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| S. Parrish | G | 21 | 3-5 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| S. Scalia | 32 | 2-6 | 2-2 | 2-4 | 0-1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| H. Sandvik | 5 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| L. Meister | 4 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| L. Bargesser | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| A. Wisne | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | 199 | 29-62 (.468) |
22-34 (.647) |
7-14 (.500) |
9-37 | 15 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 20 | 87 | |
Officials: Felicia Grinter, Julie Krommenhoek, Roy Gulbeyan
Attendance: 13,046