#2 Indiana Women’s Basketball travels to Ohio State Another tough test awaits No. 2/3 Indiana as it travels to No. 13/12 Ohio State tonight in a 7pm tip on Big Ten Network. Senior forward Mackenize Holmes and graduate student guard Grace Berger combined for 50 points as No. 2/3 Indiana got past No. 5/6 Iowa, 87-78. Berger also neared a triple double with a team-high nine rebounds and six assists. Holmes added six boards and four steals in the effort. With a win on Thursday night over No. 5/6 Iowa, Indiana has won 11-straight games dating back to Jan. 1. It’s the longest win streak under ninth-year head coach Teri Moren who is 194-90 in her time at Indiana and 393-220 in 20 seasons overall.
Indiana and Ohio State met in late January in a 78-65 win in Bloomington. The Hoosiers had four in double figures in the win, including 26 points from senior forward Mackenzie Holmes and 20 points from freshman guard Yarden Garzon. Ohio State holds the all-time advantage in the series 60-25, but IU has won the last four-straight which is its longest streak in the series since it won five-straight from 2000-03. Indiana picked up its seventh ranked win of the season on Thursday over No. 5/6 Iowa. It’s the most ranked wins in a single season in school history, besting the previous record of five set last season. It also has five wins over the Top 10 this season, the most by any team in NCAA Division I.
Ohio State has split its last four games with wins at Wisconsin and at Minnesota while falling to Purdue and Maryland. Senior guard Taylor Mikesell is leading all Buckeye scorers with 17.9 points per game. Sophomore Taylor Thierry adds 13.8 points and a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game while freshman Cotie McMahon is averaging 13.6 points in her rookie season. OSU averages 83.1 points per game while shooting 47.3 percent from the floor. Head Coach Kevin McGuff is 165-96 in his 10th season as Buckeye’s head coach and 420-195 in his 21st season overall.
#18 Indiana University Men’s Basketball pulls out nail biting win at Michigan The #18 Indiana Hoosiers walked out of the Crisler Center Saturday Night in Ann Arbor Michigan with a 62-61 win over the Michigan Wolverines. Indiana is 18-7 and 9-5 in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers are in second place in the conference standings behind Purdue who is 12-3 after losing at Northwestern Sunday afternoon The Hoosiers remain on the road traveling to Northwestern at 9pm for a showdown with the Wildcats on the Big Ten Network. Michigan is 14-11 and 8-6 in the Big Ten. The two teams will meet in the final regular season game on Sunday March 5, in Bloomington.
IU led by one point as the clock ticked down to six seconds, four seconds, two seconds, and Miller Kopp held his ground against Michigan’s Jett Howard, pressuring with upraised arms without fouling. Howard forced an airball. The clock hit zero. The Hoosiers had found a way for their first victory at Crisler Arena since 2016, and their eighth win in nine games. No offensive flow? No points in the final three minutes? No problem. Not when IU reduced Michigan’s offense to rubble. The Wolverines missed nine of their last 10 shots and scored just 24 second-half points. On that final Michigan possession, the Hoosiers stopped guard Kobe Bufkin’s drive, forcing a pass to Howard that led to nothing. Michigan capitalized on early struggling Indiana defense to build first half leads as large as 11. IU stayed within range behind Trayce Jackson-Davis’s 16 points and Jalen Hood-Schifino’s 10 points. Hood-Schifino picked up two fouls in the first eight minutes. Tamar Bates briefly replaced him, before he returned to hit five of eight shots. The defense picked up as the half went on. Michigan scored just five points off IU’s seven turnovers. The Hoosiers held the Wolverines scoreless in the last 2:25, closed on a 12-5 run (despite missing two layups) and reached halftime trailing 37-33.
Seconds into the second half, Hood-Schifino hit a three-pointer. A Jackson-Davis basket off a Hood-Schifino pass put IU ahead 40-39.
Michigan responded with a 10-2 run for a 49-42 lead. Trey Galloway attacked for a basket to stop a 19-point stretch of Jackson-Davis and Hood-Schifino scoring. IU surged back to take a 54-53 lead on a Jackson-Davis layup via a Bates pass. Michigan pushed ahead 59-56 and 61-58. Then Indiana ratcheted up its defense. Hood-Schifino made a pair of free throws for a 62-61 Hoosier lead as the clock ticked under two minutes. A Michigan turnover gave Indiana a chance to extend the lead. Hood-Schifino missed a driving layup. Jackson-Davis missed the front end of a bonus. Finally, Michigan had 8.3 seconds to score and win. IU had 8.3 seconds to get a stop and win. Victory Hoosiers.
IU’s offense centered on Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jalen Hood-Schifino. They combined for 49 points 28 for Jackson-Davis, 21 for Hood-Schifino. With only four other Hoosiers scoring, no one for more than four points, that was a game-saver. Hood-Schifino bounced back from early foul trouble to make 8-of-15 shots. He had five assists and four rebounds. He also had six of IU’s 13 turnovers. Jackson-Davis played all 40 minutes. He added 11 rebounds, three blocks and two assists. With senior forward Race Thompson out for precautionary reasons, Woodson only used seven players. With Thompson out, Jordan Geronimo earned the start with Malik Reneau backing him up.
Calf issues limited Geronimo. Foul problems limited Reneau. That left the Hoosiers thin and small against the tall, deep Wolverines.
No problem. IU has learned how to finish.
Bloomington North Girls Swimming finishes 18th in the State Finals Bloomington North Girls Swimming scored 26 points as the Cougars finished in 18th place at the State Finals at Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis on Saturday afternoon. Bloomington South scored 1 point and finished in 42nd place. Carmel continued its dominance scoring a state record 498 points and winning their 37th straight state championship which extends a national record. Fishers finished scored 223 points, but Carmel won 10 of the 12 events and shattered several state and national records. Bloomington North Junior Ashley Freel finished 6th in the 100-yard backstroke and 10th in the 100-yard butterfly. The Cougars finished 14th in the 200-yard medley relay and Bloomington South Senior Alexandria Eakin finished 16th in the 500-yard Freestyle. Center Grove Junior Mia Prusiecki of Center Grove won the 1 Meter diving event and Junior Lillian Christianson of Penn won the 100 Meter Freestyle.
Bloomington South’s Delaney Rulhman wins IHSAA Wrestling Semi State Title Bloomington South Senior Delaney Rulhman won the 170-pound weight class at the IHSAA Wrestling Semistate Saturday at the Ford Center in Evansville. Rulhman was 37-0 coming into the day and won all four of his matches to win the title and advance to the state finals this Friday and Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Rulhman beat Madison Sophomore Ayden Waggoner with by fall at the 1:09 mark, Martinsville Sophomore Noah Sumner by fall at the 1:21 mark, Center Grove Junior Noah Clouser who by injury with no time left and beat Tell City Sophomore Noah Terry by fall at 1:23 mark to take home the title. Sophomore Cam Meier finished 3rd at 106 Pounds and will advance to the state finals Friday in Indianapolis. Meier beat Evansville Mater Dei Freshman by fall at 1:35 mark, sophomore Gavin Ash of Monrovia by majority decision 9-1. Meier lost in the semifinals to Avon Freshman Nathan Rioux by decision 6-1 and beat sophomore Issaac Campbell of Floyd Central by decision 8-2. Center Grove won the Semi State with 202.5 points over second place Brownsburg who finished with a score of 180.5 points. Bloomington South finished 6th with 50 points, Edgewood finished 28th with 7 points and Bloomington North finished with 39th with 2 points.
Northwestern knocks off #1 Purdue University Men’s Basketball Boo Buie scored 26 points, Chase Audige had 15 and Northwestern beat No. 1 Purdue 64-58 on Sunday. Led by its experienced backcourt, Northwestern (18-7, 9-5 Big Ten) added a signature win to its bid for the school’s second NCAA Tournament appearance. The Wildcats got their first win in 19 games against the No. 1 team in the AP poll.
Zach Edey had 24 points and eight rebounds for Purdue (23-3, 12-3), which had won 11 in a row against Northwestern. Braden Smith finished with 10 points on 1-for-7 shooting. Edey’s hook shot lifted Purdue to a 55-47 lead with 3:52 to go. But Northwestern closed the game with a 17-3 run. Audige scored 10 points in the dazzling finish. He gave the Wildcats the lead for good when he made a 3-pointer after an Edey turnover. Brooks Barnhizer had a fast-break layup and Buie made two foul shots in the final minute to help Northwestern hold on. When it was over, the raucous student section stormed the court to celebrate with the team. Purdue shot just 28.6% (6 for 21) from the field in the second half. It also committed 13 of its 16 turnovers in the final 20 minutes. Ethan Morton and Mason Gillis each made a 3-pointer to help Purdue open a 26-16 lead with 9:19 left in the first half. But Buie converted a driving layup in the final seconds, trimming the Boilermakers’ lead to 37-30 at the break.
Follow us on Facebook
For more local news . . .
Check out our archived episodes of What’s Happenin’ and Talkin’ Sports with Nick Jenkinson here