Grace Berger has her best game in an Indiana Fever uniform as the Fever fall in overtime to New York Liberty
The Indiana Fever (5-15) were defeated by the New York Liberty in an overtime thriller, 95-87, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday afternoon. A 32-12 scoring run that allowed Indiana to erase a 20-point deficit was capped off when rookie center Aliyah Boston sent the game to overtime with a game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer. Indiana was unable to come up with the win after being outscored in the extra period, 15-7. Boston was the leading scorer for Indiana for the ninth time this season as she notched 23 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the floor. The rookie center also pulled down nine rebounds in her final matchup prior to the WNBA All-Star Game weekend. Fever forward Emma Cannon followed her in the scoring column as she came off the bench to tie a career-high 19 points on a season-high seven made field goals. Cannon also totaled a season-high two completed three-pointers and gathered eight rebounds.
Rookie guard and former IU star Grace Berger also came off the bench for Indiana to record career bests of 15 points, seven rebounds, three steals, four assists and one turnover in 36 minutes of action. She became the first rookie to record at least 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals in a game since A’ja Wilson in 2018, and only the second rookie in WNBA history to record that stat line off the bench, dating back to Angel McCoughtry in 2009, per Across the Timeline. Berger went 5-16 from the field, 1-4 from three-point range and 4-6 from the free throw line. All-Star reserve Kelsey Mitchell and guard Erica Wheeler rounded out the Indiana scorers as Mitchell contributed 16 points and Wheeler pitched in 11 points to go along with a team-high five assists.
Indiana sped up the offensive pace opening the matchup with a quick 6-0 scoring run. New York was held scoreless through the 6:52 mark and shot 28.6 percent (2-of-7) from the floor within the first five minutes of play. Indiana was guided by Mitchell’s 12 points in the quarter on 4-of-7 shooting from the court. The Fever maintained their momentum throughout the first ten minutes and ended the quarter leading, 26-22. It was Boston who led the scoring effort in the second frame as she contributed six of her 12 first half points on 3-of-6 shooting from the floor. In the first half, Berger recorded six points, two assists and two rebounds off the bench, while Victoria Vivians contributed three points, five rebounds and two assists. New York ventured on its own 20-8 scoring run and outscored Indiana, 26-15, within the second quarter, but the Fever remained close as the half ended, 48-41.
The Liberty extended its lead in the third quarter and opened the second half with an 11-3 scoring run. Forward Emma Cannon led the Fever as she recorded seven points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting clip within the third frame. Entering the fourth quarter, New York led Indiana, 70-53. After trailing by as many as 20 points at one occasion in the third quarter, a 32-10 scoring run allowed Indiana to erase the New York deficit. The Fever were dominant on both ends of the court outscoring the Liberty, 27-12, and held New York to 13.3 percent (2-of-15) from the floor within the fourth frame. Following two made free throws from Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu leaving 6.5 seconds on the clock, Boston hit the game-tying three-pointer to send Indiana and New York into overtime, 80-80. In overtime, Indiana was outscored, 15-7, as Ionescu guided the Liberty to the win with eight points in the final frame alone.
New York was led by Ionescu’s 34 points on the day. Ionescu completed seven three-pointers on 14 attempts and recorded a perfect 9-of-9 from the charity stripe. All-Star captain Breanna Stewart, who averages 23.4 points per contest this season, netted only 18 points to go along with 10 rebounds to record her 10th double-double of the season. In addition, Jonquel Jones contributed 12 points, Betnijah Laney pitched in 10 points, and Courtney Vandersloot dished out 12 assists, her second highest assist total this season. The Liberty also recorded 27 assists, which is the ninth time this season they have dished out at least 25 assists. The Fever return to action on Wednesday, July 19 at 11:30 a.m. ET at the Washington Mystics. Wednesday’s game will be broadcast on the official Indiana Fever Facebook page.
Indiana University Football announces Big Ten Media Days representatives
Indiana football announced Wednesday its representatives for the annual Big Ten Media Days. Along with coach Tom Allen, linebacker Aaron Casey, running back and return specialist Jaylin Lucas and defensive back Noah Pierre will speak to the media to preview the upcoming 2023 season, which begins on Sept. 2 against Ohio State. Big Ten Media Days is scheduled for July 26 and 27, and it will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. Allen is the first coach scheduled to speak on July 27. He’ll take the podium at 11 a.m., and fans can watch his 15-minute press conference on Big Ten Network. Indiana players will speak off-air for 30 minutes, and Allen will have a second 45-minute, non-televised session later that day.
Lucas returns to Indiana for his sophomore season after being named a first-team All-American return specialist as a true freshman in 2022. He returned 21 kicks for 591 yards and two touchdowns, coming at Rutgers and at Michigan State. Lucas also carried the ball 49 times for 271 yards and two touchdowns good for 5.5 yards per carry along with 16 receptions for 82 yards. Casey has missed just one game since the beginning of the 2019 season, and he made a big jump in production in 2022. After making 25 tackles as a junior, Casey led the Hoosiers with 86 tackles and 10.5 tackles for a loss as a senior. Pro Football Focus named Casey a third-team All-Big Ten player in 2022, and he has an extra year of eligibility for 2023 due to COVID-19 rules. Pierre joined the Hoosiers for the 2018 season, and he’s appeared in 42 total games, including 13 starts over the last two seasons. The Hialeah, Fla. native primarily played cornerback in 2021, and he posted 36 tackles, two tackles for loss, one interception, four pass breakups and one quarterback hurry. Pierre moved to Indiana’s husky position, a hybrid safety-linebacker position, for the 2022 season, and totaled 39 tackles, four tackles for loss, three sacks, three forced fumbles, three pass breakups and one fumble recovery.
Indiana University Women’s Soccer earns Seventh Herbert Cup
Indiana Women’s Soccer was awarded its seventh Herbert Cup after claiming the highest GPA in the athletic department during the 2023 Spring semester. The Hoosiers posted a 3.659 GPA in the Spring with more than half of the team earning a GPA of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale. 12 student-athletes were named to the Academic All-Big Ten list along with four were recognized as Big Ten Distinguished Scholars. Additionally, six Hoosiers were named to the Collegiate Sport Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District First Team, setting a new program record.
Indiana University Field Hockey adjusts opening scrimmage
The Indiana Field Hockey team’s opening scrimmage plans have been changed. Originally, the team was set to host Ball State for a scrimmage in Bloomington on Friday, August 18. That has since been cancelled. To replace it, Indiana will now host Miami (OH) for a scrimmage on Sunday, August 20 at 1 p.m. in Bloomington. The matchup, as well as all home games at Deborah Tobias Field, offer free admission to all fans. While the scrimmage won’t count for either team’s record, this will be the first of two meetings between Indiana and Miami (OH) as the two squads will meet again in the regular season on Sunday, Sep. 4 in Oxford.
Indiana University Men’s Tennis earns ITA All-Academic distinction with Eight Scholar Athletes
The ITA announced their 2023 Men’s Tennis Division I Academic Award winners with Indiana well represented in the list of honors. Collectively, Indiana Men’s Tennis was recognized as an All-Academic Team for the 2022-23 school year. To earn the distinction, a team must maintain a 3.2 or higher GPA in the academic year. Individually, Indiana boasted eight ITA Scholar-Athletes. These student-athletes held at least a 3.5 GPA throughout the year.
The following earned ITA Scholar-Athlete status:
Nishanth Basavareddy, Carson Haskins, Sam Landau, Andrew Meier, Mac Rogers, Jagger Salyor, Luka Vukovic and Facundo Yunis.
Indiana University Women’s Tennis earns ITA All-Academic Team and Five Earn Indvidual Honors
Indiana women’s tennis was honored by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All- after bring named to the ITA All-Academic Team list. In addition, five student-athletes were named ITA Scholar-Athletes. Graduates Lauren Lemonds, Mila Mejic, Rose Hu, Saby Nihalani iand freshman Nicole Teodsescu were among the Division I athletes recognized. To be named a Scholar-Athlete, one must maintain a grade point average of at least 3.5 for the current academic year. Division I programs must hold a combined team grade point average of 3.2 or higher for the current academic year.
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