Local Sports News: October 7, 2024

#23 Indiana University Football Bowls over Northwestern to remain unbeaten  The #23 Indiana Hoosiers are 6-0 for the first time since 1967 and became the first team in the FBS to become Bowl Eligible with a 41-24 win over the Northwestern Wildcats Saturday afternoon on Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium in Evanston, IL. Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti is 6-0 as the Hoosier Head Coach and 20-1 in his 19 games as Head Coach with a 14-1 record in his last 15 games at James Madison before coming to Indiana.  Indiana will be headed to their 14th bowl game in program history and Cignetti will be the 7th different Head Coach to lead Indiana to a bowl game. The Hoosiers still have six regular season games left and are 3-0 in the Big Ten. Indiana will be off next Saturday before hosting the Nebraska Cornhuskers in 2 weeks for Homecoming.  The Hoosiers finished with 529 yards of offense and it’s the third straight game the Hoosiers have finished with over 500 yards and the fourth game this season went they went over 700 against Western Illinois. The Hoosiers have won every game by double digits and have scored over 40 points in five of their six games with 31 in the season opener against Florida international and have scored 285 points on the season averaging 47.5 per game 

Kurtis Rourke 25-33 passing for 380 yards and 3 touchdown passes. Justice Ellison had 14 carries for 69 yards and a touchdown Ty Son Lawton had 10 carries for 52 yards and a touchdown as Indiana ran the ball 35 times for 149 yards. Elijah Sarratt had 7 catches for 135 yards as Ke’Shawn Williams, Zach Horton and Miles Cross all caught a touchdown pass. The Hoosiers never trailed and led 17-10 at halftime. Northwestern tied the game 7-7 8:48 left in the second quarter and the Hoosiers scored when Miles Cross caught a 7-yard pass in the back of the end zone to make 14-7 Indiana with 4:28 left in the second quarter. Northwestern cut the lead to 27-24 with 11:19 left in the game but the Hoosiers scored two touchdowns to put the game away. 

Northwestern is 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten. The Wildcats who have struggled on offense finished with 336 yards of offense but could not hold the high scoring Hoosier offense. Jack Lausch finished 23-38 for 243 yards and 2 touchdown passes. The Wildcats running attack finished with 93 yards on 22 carries with a Cam Porter touchdown run. Bryce Kirtz had 10 receptions for 128 yards and A.J. Henning had 2 touchdown receptions with 6 catches for 67 yards.  Jack Olson had a field goal for the Wildcats and Nicolas Radicic had 2 field goals for the Hoosiers. The teams combined for 6 penalties for 42 yards and neither team committed a turnover. Indiana controlled the ball for 32 minutes and 9 seconds while the Wildcats had the ball for 27:51. Indiana had 27 first downs to 17 for Northwestern. The Hoosiers defense continues to impress giving 89 points in six games and giving up 14.8 points per game. 

Curt Cignetti will go into the bye week and have two weeks to prepare for Nebraska on homecoming. The buzz surrounding the Hoosiers continues to grow and no question that Memorial Stadium should be sold out with Dylan Raiola and Nebraska in town 2 weeks from now. The Hoosiers have checked one box of the list in early October and that is Bowl Eligibility but there is a lot more goals that the Hoosiers have in front of them. 

Indiana University Volleyball Wins Both Home Matches against Michigan State and Ohio State The Indiana Volleyball team (8-5, 1-2 B1G) rode the high of a big blocking night and another efficient hitting contest from junior opposite Avry Tatum, winning its first Big Ten game of the season. The Hoosiers battled back in the fourth set to finish off visiting Michigan State 3-1 (25-21, 25-21, 19-25, 25-22) on Friday evening at Wilkinson Hall. The win over the Spartans was the fourth-straight win in a Big Ten home opener, extending an already program-record streak. Tatum (19) and junior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles did the heavy lifting, combining for 36 of IU’s 53 careers. Tatum has had a double-digit kill effort in four-straight matches. She’s hit over .300 in three of those contests and is averaging 4.82 kills per set in conference play. Head coach Steve Arid and assistant coach Kevin Hodge strategically broke up the Michigan State offense from the end line, helping the Hoosiers to 13 total team blocks. Junior middle blocker Madi Sell matched a career high with seven blocks (two solo). Sophomore middle blocker Ava Vickers had a hand in six. The Hoosiers got at least four digs from six different players, led by 17 from sophomore Ramsey Gary. Graduate student defensive specialist Delaynie Maple continued her fine form with nine digs and a pair of aces. Senior setter Camryn Haworth had 45 assists. IU has now won five-straight matches over Michigan State, including four in the last three seasons. The five-match winning streak by Aird and the team over the Spartans is the longest in program history.

Night in and night out, the Big Ten offers some of the nation’s toughest challenges. That was the case on Sunday afternoon at Wilkinson Hall as the Indiana Volleyball team (9-5, 2-2 B1G) outlasted visiting Ohio State 3-1 (25-15, 25-23, 23-25, 25-22). IU moves to 7-0 at home in Wilkinson Hall, the best start to a home slate in program history. The Hoosiers have now won three of five against the Buckeyes and are 5-4 against Ohio State under head coach Steve Aird. Senior outside hitter Mady Saris shook off a light Friday night effort to provide 16 kills (.256 hitting percentage). Junior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles led the way with 18 kills. Senior setter Camryn Haworth had 38 assists but made her mark from the service line with three aces. Sophomore libero Ramsey Gary led an outstanding defensive effort with a match-high 18 digs. Haworth recorded the 28th double-double of her career (38 assists, 13 digs). Alonso-Corcelles and senior defensive specialist Carly Mills each had eight digs. Sophomore middle blocker Ava Vickers had a team high four blocks. After losing a tight match at No. 11 Oregon last weekend (two deuce sets), IU found a way to finish off a series of close games against the Spartans and Buckeyes. Five of the six set wins on the weekend came by four-or-fewer points. IU’s trademark over the past three years has been from the service line. On Sunday, it made a world of difference. With seven aces and just seven errors, IU had a 16-point advantage from the end line. Ohio State finished the match with just one ace and 17 service errors. The road ahead gets difficult for the Hoosiers with a trip to No. 12 Minnesota (Friday) and a visit from No. 3 Penn State (Sunday) on the horizon. The first edition of the RPI ratings come out this afternoon.

Washington gets a late goal to get a 2-2 Draw with Indiana University Men’s Soccer The Washington Huskies scored with 9:32 left in the match to get a 2-2 Draw with the Indiana Hoosiers Friday night at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The Huskies are playing their first season in the Big Ten and are 1-1-3 in the conference and 4-3-5 overall. For Indiana it’s another chance to get three points that turns into a single point going to 3-4-5 overall and 2-1-2 in the Big Ten with six conference games left and need as many points as possible a possible to keep their NCAA Tournament Streak alive which is 37 years in a row. This is the first draw in the series which Indiana now leads 4-2-1 and Washington is 2-0-1 against the Hoosiers in the last three meetings after Indiana won the first four meetings in 1992, 1999, 2000 and 2001. Washington beat Indiana 3-2 in Overtime in the NCAA Tournament in Seattle in 2021, and Washington beat Indiana 1-0 in Bloomington last season.  

The Hoosiers started the attack early when the ball hit Samuel Sarver and he sprinted towards the goal with Washington Goalkeeper Jadon Bowton off his line, but Sarver went left of the goal at the 2:07 mark. The Hoosiers got on the board at the 5:22 mark when Quentin Elliot took the ball on the right side and made a Husky Defender miss and got within the six-yard box to slip it past Bowton at a very tight angle to give the Hoosiers the 1-0 lead and Elliott’s first goal of the season. Washington got one back at 10:27 mark when Charlie Kosakoff had a one-on-one breakaway with Indiana Goalkeeper JT Harms and slipped it past Harms to tie it 1-1 as IU fans wanted an offsides call but video review confirmed the goal and Caden Buckley got his first assist of the season. Its Kosakoff’s third goal of the season and he got the game winner last year when these two teams met in a 1-0 Washington victory which was Kosakoff’s first career goal for the Huskies a season ago and his only goal during the 2023 season. Elliot put the Hoosiers back on top at the 17:45 mark when Elliott battled with the Huskies defender and won the ball and launched a beautiful shot in the into the left side of the goal past Bowton for his second goal of the night and the season for the brace.  “I haven’t score two goals in a game since travel days, so it felt good tonight” Quinton Elliot said after the match.

The Hoosiers controlled the first half outshooting Huskies 16-3 with 4-3 shots on goal. Indiana had several chances to increase the lead and tested Bowton many times, but the shots were off target. Bowton is a Senior from Spokane Washington and replaces Sam Fowler between the pipes. Coming into this game Bowton has given up 9 goals making 24 saves and 3 clean sheets.  Both Jadon Bowton and JT Harms made two saves. Washington committed 8 fouls, and the Hoosiers committed just two. Indiana had 4 Corner Kicks to 1 for the Huskies and Washington was called for offsides four times and the Hoosiers did not have an offside call in the first half.

Washington outshot Indiana 9-5 in the second half and 3-1 in shots on goal. Jadon Bowton and JT Harms made one save each. Washington committed 7 fouls and Indiana 6. Washington had three corner kicks and Indiana had 1. Washington had 4 corner kicks and the Hoosiers one. Indiana created chances in the second half, but Washington was able to get more number forward and get in the attack. Richie Aman scored his second goal of the season being able to knock one home with a scrum in the box at the 80:28 mark as Kosakoff got his fourth assist of the season. Indiana picked up two yellow cards with Samuel Sarver at the 77:40 mark and the Hoosiers got a second yellow card for time wasting 80:03 mark just 25 seconds before Aman got the equalizer for the Huskies.  

For the match Indiana outshot Washington 21-12 and Washington had the shots on goal advantage at 6-5. Washington Goalkeeper Jadon Bowton and Indiana Goalkeeper JT Harms had three saves apiece. Washington committed 15 fouls and Indiana had 6. Indiana had five corner kicks to four for the Huskies. Washington was called for offsides 8 times and Indiana was offside one time. Indiana is 1-2-3 at home this season and while the Hoosiers have given up chances late to win games. Indiana loves the atmosphere and the 2,427 fans that support this program game in, and game out there are five home regular season matches left with Kentucky on Tuesday Night at 7pm. 

Bloomington North Keeps on Winning while Bloomington South and Edgewood fall in Week 7 Week 7 of High School Football Friday Night saw clear weather as Bloomington North won 28-20 at Columbus East while Bloomington South lost to Columbus North 32-14 and Edgewood had a long bus trip to Sullivan falling to the Golden Arrows 54-0. Bloomington North has won six straight and improves to 6-1 on the season and travels to Columbus North for a Conference Indiana Championship showdown as both teams enter the game 3-0 in conference play. The Cougars and Olympians were tied 7-7 at the break and Cougars outscored the Olympians 20-13 in the second half. Bloomington North has won 16 of its last 17 regular season games. Columbus East drops 4-3 on the season and sees its four-game winning streak come to an end.

Bloomington South drops its second Conference Indiana game of the season and eliminates them from championship contention as they finish conference play with a 3-2 record as they host a 5-2 Brebeuf Jesuit squad who beat Terre Haute South 83-65 after they led 56-38 at halftime. Columbus North improves to 6-1 and 3-0 in Conference Indiana and hosts Bloomington North in what will be the conference championship game as both teams have two conference game remaining. Columbus North scored on a 23-yard pass play with 7:58 in the first quarter to make it 6-0. After Indiana University Football commit Bryce Taylor missed a 52-yard field goal the Panthers took the lead 7-6 with 4:49 left in the second quarter. Columbus North scored on a 15-yard touchdown pass and missed the two-point conversion with 1:11 left before the break to make it 12-7. The Panthers took the lead on their second touchdown pass of the night with 10:25 left in the third quarter to make it 14-12. Columbus North would score 3 rushing touchdowns to pull away from the Panthers.

Edgewood was shut out for the third time this season as the Mustangs is 2-5 on the season and 1-2 in the Western Indiana Conference Gold Division. Edgewood has been outscored 210-17 in their five losses and they outscored the opponent 81-15 in their two wins. Sullivan gets their second straight shutout win after a 56-0 win over Owen Valley as the Golden Arrows have scored 110 points in their last two games. Sullivan led 40-0 at halftime and scored 14 second half points as Golden Arrows Quarterback Paul Ridgway accounted for 5 touchdowns. Edgewood will host a 6-1 Northview team who lost at 41-14 at Cascade.

Bloomington South Boys Tennis takes down Edgewood for the Sectional Championship The Bloomington South Panthers defeated the Edgewood Mustangs 4-1 to win the Boys Tennis Sectional Championship Saturday Afternoon at Bloomington South. The Panthers will face Terre Haute North on Tuesday Evening in the Regional Semifinals at Plainfield. Edgewood’ Andrew Paul won his match against David Ciucu of Bloomington South 6-2, 6-0 and will continue in the individual state single tournament. Bloomington South beat Bloomington North 5-0 in the Semifinals and Brown County 5-0 in the First Round and Edgewood beat Owen Valley 4-1 in the Semifinal.

This is the 29th sectional title for the Panthers and third in a row. Since 1997 Bloomington South or Bloomington North has won every Sectional Title. The only times the Bloomington Schools have not won a sectional title Since 1968 are 1972, 1976, 1977, 1979,1980, 1981, 1994 and 1996.  Bloomington High School and University High School won four in a row from 1968-1971 with University HS winning in 1970.  Bloomington North has won 16, Bloomington High School 3 and University High School 1 for a combined 49 Sectional Titles in Monroe County Boys Tennis History.

Indiana Fever Name Amber Cox as Chief Operating Officer and General Manager   The Indiana Fever have named Amber Cox Chief Operating Officer and General Manager, the team announced Friday. She will officially join the organization on October 28. The team also announced that Lin Dunn, the Fever’s current General Manager, will move into a new position as Senior Advisor to Fever Basketball. “I have known Amber for over 20 years and have watched her successfully build teams both on and off the court,” said Kelly Krauskopf, who rejoined the Fever last month as the team’s President for Business and Basketball Operations. “She brings a wide range of executive experience to our leadership team. I look forward to working with her as we build the Fever franchise into the next era of growth.”

Cox has enjoyed significant success on both the basketball and business sides of various WNBA organizations. During her time as Chief Operating Officer of the Dallas Wings, Cox led the day-to-day operations and oversaw tickets sales, partnerships, marketing, communications/broadcasting, and community efforts. Under her leadership, the Wings established franchise-best marks across key business metrics in 2023 and 2024, and this season the team recorded seven sellouts and played at 97% capacity at College Park Center.

From 2016-2021, Cox served as Vice President for Sports for the Connecticut Sun, where she led all revenue-generating operations for the organization. During her time in Connecticut, the Sun reached the 2019 WNBA Finals while experiencing growth across all business metrics. She began her career with the Phoenix Mercury, eventually becoming the organization’s President and Chief Operating Officer. She was part of two WNBA Championships during that time, in 2007 and 2009, and drafted Brittney Griner in 2013. “I am excited to be joining the Fever during this historic time in the WNBA, and I am grateful to Kelly, Fever ownership, and Mel Raines for this opportunity,” said Cox. “From the top down, there is a commitment to invest in the Fever to ensure the team’s continued growth and success, and I look forward to contributing to a world-class experience for our fans, as well as our players, both on and off the court.”

Cox has experience across the sports industry. She led business operations during the inaugural season of the Kansas City Current of the NWSL, focusing on ticket sales, partnerships, local television deals, player experience, brand, and social and digital efforts. She also served as Chief Marketing Officer for the MLS’ Houston Dynamo and NWSL’s Houston Dash and was Associate Commissioner for Women’s Basketball at the BIG EAST Conference from 2014-2015.

Dunn, who returned to the Fever prior to the 2022 WNBA Draft and officially became General Manager in early 2023, will remain as Senior Advisor for basketball. As General Manager, she guided the team through three historic drafts and built a talented roster that returned the Fever to the playoffs for the first time in eight years. A Hall of Fame coach, Dunn led the 2012 Fever to the WNBA Championship and helped make the franchise one of the most successful in League history. “I can’t thank Lin enough for the years she gave this franchise, coming out of coaching retirement and returning to oversee the basketball operation at such a pivotal time of transition,” said Krauskopf. “I have such gratitude and respect for her.