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5th ranked Indiana Women’s Basketball beats Minnesota 80-70
With a major snowstorm that hit Bloomington Thursday, Indiana Women’s Basketball beat Minnesota 80-70 without fans in Simon Skjdot Assembly Hall. A few hours before gametime it was announced that essential personnel were the only ones permitted in the building. Monroe County was under a red travel warning at game time meaning that only emergency personnel are to be out on the roads. The Game was streamed on Big Ten Network Plus and fans were allowed to watch free of charge since they could not be in attendance.
The Hoosiers started out slow trailing for 24:37 as Minnesota led 37-36 at halftime but the Hoosiers started to change the game in the 2nd half and led for 10:47 with the game tied for 4:36 and the Hoosiers ended the game on a 14-0 run in the last 4:26 and held the Golden Gophers to no points in the last 4:42 of the game outscoring Minnesota 27-16 in the final quarter. Aleska Gulbe scored a career high 28 points, Grace Berger had 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, Nicole Cardano-Hillary 14 points, and Ali Patberg added 11. Kiandra Browne and Kaitlin Peterson scored 3 points each and Grace Waggoner added 2 points. Indiana was 28-55 from the field for 51%, 7-14 from three-point range for 50%, and 17-20 from the free throw line for 85%. The Hoosiers pulled down 34 rebounds, 18 assists, 5 steals, 4 blocks, and committed 12 turnovers.
Minnesota becomes the first team this season to score 70 points on the Hoosiers. Sara Scalia scored 26 points, including 7 three pointers. Laura Bagwell-Katalinich added 10 points. Minnesota was 26-58 from the field for 44%, 11-21 from three-point range for 52% and 7-10 from the free throw line for 70%. Minnesota had 27 rebounds, 12 assists, 8 steals, 14 turnovers, and did not block a shot.
Indiana is 15-3 and 7-1 in the Big Ten while Minnesota falls to 10-13 and 3-8 in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers host archrival Purdue Sunday afternoon at 1pm.
Indiana Men’s Basketball hosts Illinois
Indiana Men’s Basketball is back in action tomorrow at Noon inside Simon Skjdot Assembly Hall when they host the Illinois Fighting Illini. The Hoosiers have had the week off since last Saturday’s 68-55 win at Maryland. Indiana is 16-5 overall and 7-4 in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers have won 2 in row and hope to keep that going against a tough Illinois Team. Indiana is led by Trayce Jackson-Davis averaging 18.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, Race Thompson is averaging 11.4 and Xavier Johnson 10.5 points per game. Jackson Davis leads the team in blocks with 57, Johnson leads the team in assists with 95 and steals with 23. Indiana is averaging 73.6 points per game and giving up 63 points on defense.
Illinois is 16-5 overall and 9-2 in the Big Ten. Illinois beat Wisconsin at home 80-67 Wednesday Night. Kofi Cockburn led the way with 37 points and 12 rebounds. The seven-foot Kingston Jamaica Native is averaging 22.1 points and 11.2 rebounds per game in just 16 games after missing 5 games due to health and safety protocols. Cockburn will be a tough matchup for the Hoosiers as he has a double-double in 12 of the 16 games this season and has 16 blocked shots. Jacob Grandison scored 16 points; he averages 10.9 per game. Alfonso Plummer is averaging 15.3 points and Trent Frazier is averaging 12.8 points. The wild card for Illinois is guard Andre Curbelo who averages 9.7 points but has only played 9 games due to injuries. Brad Underwood is in his 5th season as Illinois Head Coach with a record of 87-61 and overall record of 196-88 with stops at Stephen F Austin and Oklahoma State.
Indiana leads the all-time 93-90 with the Illini winning the last three matchups. Indiana won 92-74 in Champaign on March 7, 2019, 92-74. The Hoosiers last won in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall 73-65 on January 3, 2019. Illinois beat Indiana 75-71 overtime February 2, 2021, in Bloomington.
Justin Schoenfeld is 23-year-old from Lawrenceburg and will compete in the Men’s Aerials in his first Olympics. He has been on the U.S. Ski Team since 2019. He earned his spot there after winning three times on the NorAm tour in 2018. In his free time, he enjoys fly fishing, playing guitar and golfing. He also has a private pilots’ license. 2,871 Athletes from 91 nations will compete for 16 days. Competition did get underway Wednesday two days before the ceremonies began but the Olympics run until February 20. Beijing is the only city to host both a summer and winter Olympics. They Hosted the Summer games in 2008 and five of the main venues that were used in 2008 will be used for this Olympics.
Two Hoosiers competing in Beijing Winter Olympics
The Opening Ceremonies of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing China kick off this morning at 7 AM Eastern time, 8 PM Local time which is a 13-hour time difference. Two Athletes from Indiana will be competing for the United States who both are from the same town in Southeastern Indiana. Nick Goepper is a 27-year-old freestyle skier who was born in Fort Wayne but raised in Lawrenceburg. He is competing in his 3rd Olympics he won bronze at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia with a bronze medal in the slopestyle event and the sliver in the same event at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics in South Korea.
Indiana Fever acquire Bria Hartley in three team trade
The Indiana Fever announced Thursday the team has acquired guard Bria Hartley in a three-team trade involving the Chicago Sky and Phoenix Mercury. The Fever also acquired the No. 7 overall pick in this year’s WNBA Draft from Chicago, a 2023 first round pick from Chicago, as well as a second-round pick in 2022 and 2023 from Phoenix. The Fever now own the #2, #7, and #10 overall selections in this year’s draft. In Exchange, Chicago received Fever Guard Julie Allemand and a 2023 first round pick from Phoenix, while Guard Diamond Deshields was traded to Phoenix in a sign-and-trade agreement.
“We are excited to welcome Bria’s veteran presence to Indiana. She has proven to be a key contributor on multiple teams, including last year in helping Phoenix advance to the WNBA Finals,” VP of Basketball Operations and General Manager Tamika Catchings said in Press Release. “This trade allows us to secure more top-tier talent in this year’s draft, and we also add more assets to control heading into 2023.”
Hartley is entering her ninth WNBA season after playing the last two years with Phoenix. During the 2020 season, the 5-foot-9 guard was averaging a career-best 14.6 points per game, including a career-high 27 points against New York, before tearing her ACL in her right knee. Hartley was drafted with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft by Washington, earned All-Rookie Team honors and played in 83 games with the Mystics in her first three seasons. She was traded to New York ahead of the 2017 season and started 62 of 92 games played with the Liberty. A two-time NCAA champion with UConn in 2013 and 2014, Hartley was also the 15th Husky all-time and only the fourth UConn sophomore to earn honors. She finished her college career ranked seventh on UConn’s charts for most points (533) and assists (140) by a sophomore. Hartley missed the remainder of the 2016 regular season due to the birth of her son.
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