It’s been all about the defense for indiana University Women’s Basketball under Head Coach Teri Moren, but during Wednesday’s road win against conference rival Wisconsin, IU shot 48% from the field, including 8-19 from beyond the arc, and 12-14 from the free throw line, scoring 76 on the Badgers. The 6th Nationally Ranked Hoosiers continue their regular season Big Ten winning streak to 13 games (9 games dating back to the 2020-21 season), advancing to 12-2, 4-0 on the season.
Indiana offered a well-balanced distribution of offense, as all 5 starters scored at least 9 points, with Graduate Guard Ali Patberg leading the way with 18. Patberg was on fire with her second consecutive outstanding offensive showing, shooting 4-5 from 3-point territory, a perfect 2-2 from the free throw line, and added 3 assists. Aleksa Gulbe, who earned a spot on the Big Ten Honor Roll last week, contributed 13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, a block, and an assist which belongs on the highlight reel.
With 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, Gulbe broke to the basket and received a lobbed pass from Patberg, which she reached up and tapped in mid-air to teammate Kiandra Browne. Browne received the pass in the post for a smooth, running lay-up.
“I’ll say she did that on purpose,” said Patberg, who admittedly threw a bad pass into the paint for Gulbe. “She had the awareness, because [the pass] was really high and she did a great job of tapping it to ‘KB’ . . . so, we’ll say that it was on purpose,” she added with a bright smile.
What we know was intentional was the preparation for the game. The coaching staff at Indiana continues to get the job done, preparing the Hoosiers for the specific challenges they face. Only a couple days removed from their emotional and physical win over Maryland, IU solidly shut down the Badgers on offense, holding them to just 27% from the field in the first half and 35% for the game; and successfully broke past Wisconsin’s defense, willfully working the ball both inside and out, moving it with ease.
“We had really good ball movement, getting their defense to shift from side to side. We were decisive when putting the ball inside to Mac (Forward Mackenzie Holmes), and showed some patience,” said Coach Moren about the offense. “It’s a good thing for us to score the ball the way we did tonight at such a high percentage,” Coach added.
Indiana will need to maintain this high level of offense to continue winning against an incredibly competitive Big Ten conference. Next up, the Hoosiers will host Nebraska (13-1, 2-1), Thursday, January 13th at 6pm (Big Ten Network). The Cornhuskers are coming off of a 79-58 win over 8th ranked Michigan last week in Lincoln.
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