Minnesota Dominates Indiana University Women’s Basketball Inside in a 23 Point Win The Minnesota Golden Gophers handed the Indiana Hoosiers their first home loss of the season 71-48 Monday Night in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Indiana was 8-0 at home this season coming into this game and Minnesota hands the Hoosiers there second Conference Loss of the Season after Indiana lost by 21 points at Illinois on December 6. Indiana is now 11-3 overall and the Hoosiers will host Michigan State on Thursday at Noon with a 12-1 record and 1-1 Big Ten Record. Minnesota is 10-3 on the season and 1-1 in the Big Ten. The Golden Gophers have won four in a row and travel to Michigan Next Monday Night.
Indiana outscored Minnesota 18-13 in the first quarter as Golden Gophers responded with a 21-10 second quarter to lead 34-28 at halftime. Minnesota put Indiana away in the third quarter outscoring the Hoosiers 17-5 to lead 51-33 going to the fourth quarter. Minnesota was able outscore Indiana 20-15 in the final period as the Golden Gophers outscored Indiana 37-22 in the second half. Minnesota leads the all-time series 39-36 as the Golden Gophers have won 2 in a row and beat Indiana for the first time in Bloomington since February 6, 2019, 65-61 snapping the Hoosiers three game winning streak against Minnesota at home.
Minnesota exposed the weaknesses of Indiana’s frontcourt who without Sophomore Zania Socka-Nugemen for the seventh straight game due to a lower leg injury. Sophomore Faith Weisman for the fourth straight game after suffering an injury in practice before the Louisiana-Monroe Game on December 11 giving Indiana 9 available players. Zoe Jackson a 6-4 Freshman from Oakville, Australia has joined the team for the second semester as she graduated from High School in Australia and is part of the Hoosiers 2026 top ranked recruiting class, but she will redshirt the remainder of this season but gives the Hoosiers an extra body and size in practice that they desperately need with a thin frontcourt.
Minnesota dominated Indiana inside 39-25 on the boards and 18-2 on the offensive end. Minnesota had 19 second chance points to zero for Indiana and the Golden Gophers dominated with 38 points in the paint and just 10 for the Hoosiers. Indiana committed 21 turnovers, and Minnesota scored 21 points off those turnovers. Minnesota committed six turnovers for the entire game and Indiana scored six points off those turnovers. “The Big Ten is too good to hang our heads on this loss” Indiana Redshirt Sophomore Lenee Beaumont said after the game. “We have another opportunity on Thursday against Michigan State, and we are going to get ready and watch film” Beaumont added.
Indiana scored 46 of their 48 points from their starting backcourt of Lenee Beaumont, Shay Ciezki and Neveah Caffey. Beaumont scored 17 points, Ceizki added 16 and Caffey added 13 points. Edessa Noyan scored two points pulled down 7 rebounds and fouled out as four of eight players who played scored tonight and that will not be enough going forward. The Hoosiers were 15-39 from the field for 39%, 9-21 from three-point range for 43% and 9-12 from the free throw line for 75%. Indiana dished out 9 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and committed 21 turnovers. Amaya Battle led Minnesota with 20 points and 8 rebounds, Tori McKinney added 17 points and Sophie Hart pulled down 12 rebounds and scored 9 points. The Golden Gophers were 29-71 from the field 40%, 5-14 from three-point range for 35% and 8-10 from the free throw line for 80%. Minnesota dished out 11 assists, 9 steals and 2 blocks and committed six turnovers.
Head Coach Teri Moren was very passionate in the post-game press conference about the work that is ahead for her and her team for the remainder of the season. She did not hold back when taking responsibility for her team’s performance and how she and her staff need to do better but also the players need to take ownership when they come in and prepare for a game. ” I sit in my office and listen to the conversations before the game, and they are not always about ball’ Coach Moren Said after the game. This Team is not the Indiana Teams of the past that are locked in before the game talking about the scouting report and the keys to the game and that does not sit well with Coach Moren. “It has to matter” Moren said and she was very disappointed in the result because she alluded to the fact that the team prepared for three days after returning from the Christmas Break and especially doing all the drills preparing for the inside game of Minnesota and that did not show up. Moren was most disappointed for the fans who showed up and saw her team not have the fight and energy to compete and hopes they continue to support this team that is going to have to play a lot better than did in the first two Big Ten Games if they want to get to the Big Ten Tournament in March.
Indiana University Wide Receiver Omar Cooper Jr. will be at Full Strength for the Rose Bowl ESPN’s Pete Thamel is reporting through sources IU wide receiver Omar Cooper, Jr. will be back to 100 percent for the Rose Bowl. “Indiana leading WR Omar Cooper is back to full speed for the Hoosiers. He’s expected to be at full availability for the Rose Bowl against Alabama. He’d been trending this way since a lower-body injury against Ohio State in the Big Ten title game,” Thamel wrote Monday on X. This reporting puts the final bow on what we’ve observed over the last week.
The South-Central Indiana News Network saw Cooper participating in practice during an open session on Sunday. He was also included in a practice highlight video produced by IU Athletics. Cooper injured what appeared to be his right ankle during the first quarter of IU’s 13-10 Big Ten Championship win over the Buckeyes and did not return to the contest. A redshirt junior from Indianapolis, Cooper leads IU both in receptions (58) and receiving yards (804). He has 11 touchdowns. He has also carried the ball three times for 74 yards and another score. Cooper’s 2025 receptions, yards and scores are all career highs. “He’s an explosive guy. He’s really good after the catch, and just has a lot of potential and ability,” IU coach Curt Cignetti said last week. “And he’s become more consistent. Still has more consistency, steps in consistency he can take. But I’ve seen him really progress and evolve.”
Indiana University Field Hockey Signs Elle Obenour for 2026 Indiana Field Hockey coach Kayla Bashore has announced the signing of Elle Obenour on Monday morning. Obenour is the program’s first signee of the program’s 2026 class and will be joining the team this January for the spring semester. She is a San Jose, Calif. native and attended Leigh High School where she played for coach Karin Mirassou. On the club scene, she played for NorCal Impact and coach Leaf Huynh. Obenour plays midfield and back. In her varsity career at Leigh, she scored 50 goals and notched 22 assists in 70 games played. Her strong play led her school to back-to-back Blossom Valley Athletic League Titles in 2024 and 2025.
She earned a number of accolades for her high school achievements. 2025 Blossom Valley Athletic League MVP. Three-time First-Team All-League (2023, 2024, 2025). Team Captain. 2024 Blossom Valley Athletic League Junior of the Year. 2023 Blossom Valley Athletic League Sophomore of the Year. Second-Team All-League (2022). Obenour was also selected to participate in the 2025 USA Field Hockey U21 Nexus National Championships and the 2024 USA Field Hockey U18 Nexus National Championships. Additionally, Obenour was picked to be in the 2024 Under Armour Select Game and a 2023 USA Field Hockey U18 Nexus Regional Selection.
Why She Picked IU: “I immediately felt at home, and I knew IU is where I was meant to be. The coaches, team culture, and love for sports that Indiana and Hoosier Nation has makes Bloomington a truly special place. I always dreamed of playing in the Big Ten and I am excited for the future of the program.” Her parents are Mark and Stephanie, and she has two siblings, Ollie and Owin. She intends to major in Sports Media at IU.
Marcus Freeman Staying at Notre Dame amid NFL Interest Marcus Freeman is staying the head coach of Notre Dame football after receiving a lot of interest from multiple NFL teams, including the New York Giants. Freeman confirmed the news with a social media post Monday saying, “2026…run it back Go Irish.” According to Sports Illustrated, Freeman agreed to a newly restructured contract with a salary in the “top tier” of college coaches. Since Notre Dame is a private school, the details of his contract are not made public. Next season will be Freeman’s fifth with Notre Dame. Last year, Freeman helped lead the Irish to the National Championship game in Atlanta, ultimately losing to the Ohio State Buckeyes, 34-23. Notre Dame did not get the nod from the College Football Playoff committee this season after ending the regular season 10-2. In response, the Irish decided not to participate in a bowl game.
#1 UConn Women’s Basketball beats Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse to Extend Their win streak to 29 Games Sarah Strong scored 15 points, Azzi Fudd added 13 and No. 1 UConn extended its winning streak to 29 games with a 94-47 victory over Butler on Sunday. UConn (13-0, 4-0 Big East Conference), the defending national champion, has not lost a game since an 80-76 defeat at then-No. 19 Tennessee on Feb. 6, and has won 51 straight against Big East opponents. The Huskies are off to their best start since 2017-18, when they won their first 36 games before a 91-89 overtime loss to Notre Dame in the national championship game. Strong finished with seven assists, six rebounds and three steals. Blanca Quinonez added 12 points for the Huskies. Caroline Dotsey and Addison Baxter scored 10 points apiece for Butler (7-7, 1-3).
The Bulldogs went scoreless for nearly 10 minutes as six UConn players scored in a 27-0 run that made it 33-10 when Kayleigh Heckel hit a 3-pointer that capped the spurt about 2 1/2 minutes into the second quarter. Butler went 0 for 11 from the field and committed 10 turnovers during that span. Baxter made two free throws with 7:11 left in the first half to end Butler’s scoring drought, but the Huskies answered with 12 consecutive points that made it 45-12 with 3:32 to go until halftime. KK Arnold’s free throw 48 seconds later gave UConn a 35-point lead. The Bulldogs missed 14 consecutive field goal attempts over a span of 13 minutes, 43 seconds, before Mallory Miller hit a jumper with 3:13 left in the second quarter. UConn scored 48 points off 29 Butler turnovers and outscored the Bulldogs 50-12 in the paint. Heckel left the game in the closing minutes after a collision with Butler’s McKenna Johnson.
Fox Corp. seeks to move Mark Sanchez Lawsuit to Federal Court Fox Corporation is attempting to move the lawsuit stemming from former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez’s downtown Indianapolis fight to federal court. In a Dec. 22 filing, Fox Corporation points out Sanchez and itself are both out-of-state defendants. It goes on to claim the parent company of St. Elmo Steak House, Indiana-based Huse Culinary, was “fraudulently joined” to the lawsuit with the sole intention of preventing the case from moving to federal court. Sanchez, 38, is a California resident, and Fox is a Delaware corporation, with its principal place of business in New York.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said Sanchez attacked 69-year-old delivery driver Perry Tole outside the loading docks of the Westin Hotel on Oct. 4. Authorities say Sanchez, who was in town to cover an Indianapolis Colts game for Fox as an on-air analyst, confronted Tole, broke into Tole’s truck, and escalated the argument into a fight. Tole was armed with a knife. The fight ended with Sanchez stabbed and Tole severely cut across the face.
On Oct. 6, Tole filed a lawsuit against Sanchez and Fox Corporation, seeking compensation for “physical injuries, disfigurement, medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost income, emotional distress, and other damages,” as well as attorney fees. Tole’s medical bills from Indiana University Health, included as an exhibit in Fox’s filing, total near $60,000. The lawsuit claims Fox “knew or should have known about Defendant Sanchez’s unfitness as an employee, propensity for drinking and/or harmful conduct.” Huse Culinary was added as a defendant in an amended complaint in November, and has been accused of overserving alcohol to Sanchez at St. Elmo Steak House the night of the attack. A police affidavit says Sanchez smelled of alcohol. A spokesperson for Huse Culinary has denied Sanchez was overserved at St. Elmo and said he left hours before the fight. “Huse Culinary prides itself on providing an excellent customer experience and our team conducted themselves exactly as we expect,” a spokesperson for the restaurant group told News 8.
Fox, seeking to remove Huse as a defendant so the case can be tried federally, also disputes “any facts that would make Sanchez’s alleged battery foreseeable to Huse Culinary.” Sanchez has since been fired from his position with Fox. He also faces criminal charges over the incident, with a jury trial scheduled to start March 12. The civil lawsuit is currently pending in the Marion Superior Court. Fox is requesting the lawsuit to be removed to the Indianapolis Division of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.