IUWBB controls Clouden and defeats Michigan State 76-58

They ‘hang their hat on the defensive side of the game’ and week in and week out it seems to pave the way to success. The Indiana University Women’s Basketball team demonstrated their defensive skills on Saturday afternoon, and like we have seen throughout the season, it kept their opponent in check until the offense could catch up.

The offense would indeed catch up, as #7 Indiana solidly defeated Michigan State 76-58.

Nia Clouden (24) takes to the bench after getting into foul trouble against Indiana (Photo by Jeremy Hogan / The Bloomingtonian)

Michigan State walked into Assembly Hall on Saturday afternoon on a high, after just slaying the 4th ranked team in the nation and their instate rival, Michigan, the same team that recently handed IU their only conference loss so far this season. The Spartans were averaging 73 points each game, with Senior Guard Nia Clouden responsible for 21 of those.

Clouden is well known by Indiana, wreaking havoc on their 2021 Big Ten Tournament aspirations. She dominated that game, running away with 30 points and leading the Spartans to their 67-61 stunning defeat of the Hoosiers. Performances like that are typical for the First-Team All-Big Ten player, but IU was prepared this time.

 “I think our kids did a great job guarding her tonight,” said Indiana Head Coach Teri Moren. “[Clouden] is terrific, probably going to be a top 5 or 10 draft pick – she’s a pro!”

Aleksa Gulbe (10) defends against MSU’s Nia Clouden (24) (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)

Coach Moren continued to discuss the gameplan of “crowding” Clouden; saying that every time she even looks up at the basket that she is prepared to attack it. “We felt we had to really crowd her as much as we could.”

While Coulden’s early foul trouble absolutely helped to frustrate and contain her impact, Coach said, “[Clouden] remained aggressive, but was certainly out of her rhythm, and I think that had a lot to do with us defensively.” Coach added, “She is fantastic and we obviously have a lot of respect for her . . . all 5 of us had to guard her.”

Indiana was great defensively on Saturday, but were sluggish on offense in the first half. The Hoosiers were only 8-24 after the first 20 minutes of play, and missed 5 free throw shots. But, out of the locker room came a determined team, focused on the offensive fireworks they would display throughout the second half. Led by Senior Guard Grace Berger, IU would shoot over 50% from the floor in quarters 3 and 4.

Grace Berger (34) pwith one of her 3 assists against MSU (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)

Berger made it happen from inside, from mid-range, and from the free throw line, where she went 11-11 for the day. As Coach Moren put it, “She was cookin’!”  Berger ended the day with a career high 29 points, adding 7 rebounds and 3 assists.

“It was nice to see her have a game like today,” Moren added. “She’s obviously been productive, but I don’t think that [Michigan State] had an answer for her in the second half . . . that was simply Grace being Grace.”

Additionally, 5 Hoosiers scored double digits on the afternoon: Aleksa Gulbe had 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks; Ali Patberg had 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists; Nicole Cardano-Hillary had 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals; and Chloe Moore-McNeil scored 10 points, off of the bench.

With Indiana now 18-3 and 10-1 in the Big Ten, they find themselves in first place in the conference, with 5 games remaining. Next up, Indiana takes to the road to play Nebraska at 7pm on Monday evening.

BLOOMINGTON, UNITED STATES – 2022/02/12: Indiana University celebrates a three pointer against Michigan State during an NCAA women’s basketball game on February 12, 2022 in Bloomington, Ind. The Indiana University Hoosiers beat Michigan State 76-58. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)

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