Local Sports Headlines: November 11, 2021

Today’s Local Sports Headlines are brought to us by . . .

Indiana Women’s Basketball Gets Road Win at Butler 86-63
Indiana Women’s Basketball is 1-0 after an 86-63 road win at Butler Wednesday Night. It’s the first time that Hoosiers have opened on the road to start a season since Teri Moren became head coach 8 years ago. Indiana is now 8-1 all time against Bulldogs.

Nicole Cardano-Hillary scored a career high at Indiana scoring 29 points on 11-2 and 7-8 shooting from downtown. “I have been definitely focusing those threes” Cardano Hillary said in the post-game press conference. The George Mason Transfer scored 41 points in a game at Penn State on November 24, 2019 and left as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,766 points.  “Whatever we fed Nikki before the game we need to keep feeding her she was tremendous from beyond the arc,” Head Coach Teri Moren jokingly remarked. Grace Berger scored 18 points and became the 29th player in Indiana Women’s Basketball history to score 1,000 career points. “She has become an extortionary player and means just as much to our program as the players that came before her” Moren said. Mackenzie Holmes added 11 points and Kiandra Browne added 10 points off the bench.

Alex Richard scored 20 points and Zoe Jackson added 18 points off the bench for the Bulldogs. Butler’s returning leading scorer Genesis Parker was held scoreless as the Bulldogs had 18 turnovers. The Bulldogs did shoot 50 percent from the field and went 9-11 from the free throw line.   

Indiana had 24 assists with 10 of those coming from Ali Patberg but she was held to 6 points and 3 rebounds. The Hoosiers committed 9 turnovers. The Hoosiers were 8-8 from the foul line but stuggled from beyond the arc going 8 for 26 for 30 percent. 11 of the 13 Hoosiers played in the game Freshman Keyarah Berry and Mona Zaric not getting in the game.

Coach Moren says the team has a whole lot of work to do before Sunday’s Home opener against Kentucky at 5 PM.  “We need to get back to Bloomington and between now and Sunday we need to get a whole lot better defensively”

It was announced Wednesday Afternoon that 2022 Commits Lilly Meister of Rochester Minnesota and Lexus Bargesser of Grass Lake Michigan have officially signed National Letters of Intent with Indiana Women’s Basketball as part of the number 22 ranked recruiting class by Collegiate Girls Basketball Report.

Meister 6-2 averaged 22 points and 11 rebounds last year at John Marshall High School. Scoring over 1,000 points in her career, she is a three-time all-conference and all-area first team selection. As a junior, Meister was named a 2021 All-State honorable mention. During her freshman season, she helped John Marshall to a conference championship. She played AAU with Minnesota Fury. Meister is rated as the No. 87 by Collegiate Girls Basketball Report and No. 86 recruit by All Star Girls Report.

Bargesser 5-9 guard led Grass Lake High School to a 2021 Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 3 state championship while averaging 23.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 3.8 steals, and shot 55 percent from the floor. During her time at Grass Lake, she has also helped the program to a district championship and regional championship. She has been named an All-State honoree, All-Conference selection, Jackson Area Dream Team, and Best of the Best. Bargesser, who plays AAU with Michigan Premier and Michigan Crossover, is rated as the No. 48 by Collegiate Girls Basketball Report, No. 53 by All Star Girls Report, and No. 67 overall by ESPN.

Indiana Men’s Soccer Advances to Big Ten Tournament Championship Game  
3 seed Indiana Men’s Soccer beat 7 seed Northwestern 1-0 in overtime on Wednesday afternoon in the Big Ten tournament semifinals on Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The Hoosiers advance to the Championship game Sunday at Noon against top seed Penn State. The Nittany Lions beat 4 seed Michigan 2-0 in the other semifinal game in State College Wednesday to secure home field for Sunday’s game.

The Hoosiers scored at 97:01 mark when Joey Maher got his 2nd goal of the season with the assist going to Ryan Whittenbrink and Spencer Glass. Two -Time Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year Roman Celentano got his 10th shutout of the season in 19 games and shares two other shutouts with backup goalkeeper Bryant Pratt against Trine and VCU.

Indiana outshot the Wildcats 20-10 and 8-4 in shots on goal. Celentano made 4 saves 3 of which came in Overtime when Northwestern attacked the net and came up empty. Northwestern made 7 saves with six of those coming in the 2nd half after a barrage of chances for Indiana came up empty. Indiana had five corner kicks to one for the Wildcats.  Northwestern committed 12 fouls and Indiana committed 7 with each team getting one yellow card.  

Northwestern ends the season at 6-9-3 and 3-5 in the Big Ten while Indiana improves to 14-4-1 and 5-3 in the Conference. The Hoosiers won at Penn State 1-0 on October 17th and the Championship game will be seen on the Big Ten Network.

All Four Monroe County Girls Basketball Teams in Action
The Second full week of Girls High School Basketball comes to a close this weekend with all four Monroe County Schools in action on Saturday.

Lighthouse Christian is looking for its first win when they host Dugger Union tonight at 7:30 PM. Dugger Union suffered a 75-9 loss to North Central (Farmersburg) on Tuesday. The Lady Lions will host Irvington Prep Academy at 2 PM Saturday. Irvington Prep is coming off a 56-10 loss Tuesday at Purdue Poly Engelwood.

Edgewood is 3-0 after beating Bloomington South for the first time since 1999. The Mustangs won 45-32 as the Mustangs finish up there five game road trip to start the season Friday at South Putnam and Saturday against defending Class 2A State Champion Linton with both games at 7:30 PM. South Putnam is 2-1 after falling to Parke Heritage 64-46 at home Tuesday Night. Linton travels to North Knox this evening. The Lady Miners beat West Washington 61-24 on November 6th to open the season.

Bloomington North 1-2 will look to rebound from a 66-28 loss at home when they host Brown County Saturday Night at 7:30 PM. The Eagles are 0-2 after home losses to Shelbyville and defending Class 3A Champion Sliver Creek. Brown County is at Greencastle Friday Night before they travel to Bloomington Saturday.

Bloomington South will look to rebound from the Edgewood loss Tuesday night as the travel to Columbus East for a 7:30 PM matchup with the Olympians this evening. Columbus East is 1-0 after a 57-48 win over Floyd Central last Saturday at home. The Panthers will travel to Jeffersonville on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 PM. The Lady Red Devils are 2-0 after home wins over Castle and North Harrison. Jeffersonville is at Jasper tonight for 8 PM Matchup with the Wildcats who are opening their season.

Seven Former Indiana Hoosier Swimmers Named to CSCAA Top 100 List
Seven former Indiana swimming and diving student-athletes, six men and one woman, were named to the College Swimming Coaches Association of America’s lists of 100 Greatest Swimmers and Divers of the Past 100 Years.
 
Indiana was one of six collegiate programs to with six athletes selected to the men’s list. All six, four swimmers and two divers, were part of IU’s dynasty in the 1960’s and 1970’s that saw the Hoosiers capture six straight national championships from 1968-73.
 
Lilly King (2016-19)
The first woman to win eight NCAA breaststroke titles, Lilly King dominated during her collegiate career at Indiana University, setting records in the 100-Yard Breaststroke (55.73) and, at the time, the 200-Yard Breaststroke (2:02.60). Over four seasons, King won nine Big Ten Championships and earned All-America accolades in eight breaststroke events and eight relay events.
 
King is a four-time Olympic medalist between and traveled to both the 2016 and 2020 games. In 2016, King won gold in both the 100-Meter Breaststroke and 400-Meter Medley Relay. This summer at the 2020 Tokyo Games, King earned bronze in the 100 Breast and silver in the 200 Breast and 400 Medley Relay.
 
Ken Sitzberger (1965-67)
Ken Sitzberger helped lay the foundation for diving success at Indiana University. The first IU NCAA Champion on the 3-Meter Springboard, Sitzberger won again in 1967. Sitzberger was also a national champion in the 1-Meter all three years in Bloomington, helping the Hoosiers to two runner-up placements and one third-place team finish.
 
Sitzberger earned a gold medal in Springboard Diving at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics a year before beginning his collegiate career in Bloomington.
 
Charlie Hickcox (1967-69)
A member of Indiana’s first two national championship squads in 1968 and 1969, Hickcox featured most prominently in the backstroke events in which he won five NCAA titles. Hickcox also won the 100 Individual Medley twice and took part in Indiana’s 1969 national champion 4×100 medley relay team.
 
Hickcox won four medals at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, taking gold in three of those events – the 200 and 400 Individual Medley events and the 400 Medley Relay. He also earned silver in the 100 Backstroke.
 
Jim Henry (1968-70)
Featuring in the first three of Indiana’s six straight national titles from 1968-73, Henry followed the success of Ken Sitzberger for Indiana diving. In his first season, Henry took the 1968 national title in the 1-Meter Springboard, then followed the next two seasons with sweeps of the 1M and 3-Meter titles.
 
Henry competed in the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City where he took bronze in Springboard Diving.
 
Mark Spitz (1969-72)
Mark Spitz called choosing Indiana “the biggest decision of my life (and) the best.” It was certainly successful. During his time in Bloomington, Spitz won eight individual NCAA titles, 14 medals, four team titles and, in 1971, the James E. Sullivan Award as the nation’s top amateur athlete.
 
Spitz totaled 11 medals between the 1968 and 1972 Olympics, and nine of those medals were golds. At the 1972 games in Munich, Spitz won gold in all seven events he competed in and broke world records in each.
 
Gary Hall (1970-73)
Gary Hall was part of the final four seasons of Indiana’s run of six straight national championships from 1968-1973, contributing 13 total medals and eight NCAA titles. Hall especially excelled in the individual medley at IU, winning five medals between the 200 and 400-yard events.
 
Hall competed at three Olympiads from 1968-1976, totaling three medals in three different events.
 
John Kinsella (1971-74)
Taking part in three Indiana national championships from 1971-73, John Kinsella won the individual title in the 500-Yard Freestyle and 1650-Yard Freestyle all three of those seasons. In his final year in cream and crimson, Kinsella helped IU win the 800 Free Relay in 1984.
 
Kinsella competed at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics, winning a medal in each. At the Mexico City games, Kinsella took home silver in the 1,500-Meter Freestyle and then earned gold in the 800 Free in Munich four years later.

For more local news . . .
Check out our archived episodes of What’s Happenin’ and Talkin’ Sports with Nick Jenkinson here!