Local Sports News: November 10, 2023

Teri Moren gets her 400th Career Win as #9 IU Women’s Basketball handles Eastern Illinois
Indiana University Women’s Basketball Head Coach Teri Moren got her 400th career win as #9 Indiana dominated Eastern Illinois 96-43 Thursday Night in the season opener at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers are 36-13 all-time in season openers including a 24-5 at home and they have won 11 straight and all ten in the Teri Moren era. The Hoosiers improve to 4-0 all time against Eastern Illinois and 3-0 against the Panthers at home. Moren has won 201 games at IU as she begins her 10th season in Bloomington. “We didn’t know that this was going to be Coach Moren’s 400th win she is such a humble coach” Lexus Bargesser said after the game. Yarden Garzon added “We learn so much from her, I’m glad to play for her and I am proud to play for her”.

Indiana started the scoring with on a Yarden Garzon layup 45 seconds into the game. Eastern Illinois scored on a basket by Miah Monahan six seconds later and both teams traded baskets the next two trips down the floor when it was 6-6 with 8:04 left in the opening quarter. The Hoosiers took the lead 8-6 with 7:53 left in the quarter when Mackenize Holmes scored inside as she does most of the time as the teams were a combined 7-7 from the field. Holmes would score on a layup and Garzon made a free throw as the Hoosiers went on a 5-0 run. Lalani Ellis brought the Hoosiers within three and the Hoosiers extended the lead 29-14 at the end of the first quarter when Lexus Bargesser beat the buzzer with a jumper in the lane as the Hoosiers ended the quarter on an 8-0 run.

In the Second Quarter Sara Scalia hit back-to-back three pointers as the Hoosiers extended the lead 21 points and 14-0 run before Charita Lewis ended the Panther drought with a three pointer with 8:02 left before the break. The Hoosiers made a 6-0 run with layups by Holmes, Bargesser and Lilly Meister. Freshman Lenee Beaumont got her first career points as a Hoosier when she buried a three pointer from the right corner with 2:01 left before halftime. The Hoosiers made five of their last seven field goals to go into the locker room leading 53-24 at halftime shooting 66% from the field and 6-12 from three-point range and outscoring the Panthers 24-10 in the second quarter.

In the second half the Hoosiers outscored the Panthers 24-8 in the third quarter with Lexus Bargesser beating the buzzer for the second time to lead 77-32 after 3 quarters. Bargesser said she has never had two buzzer beaters in one game. The Hoosiers continued the domination outscoring the Panthers 19-11 in the fourth quarter and 43-19 in the second half. All 12 Hoosiers played and 11 of them scored as UT-Martin Transfer Sharncee Currie-Jelks scored with 5:15 left in the game. Freshman Juliana LaMendola did not score but she added 5 rebounds and an assist. Freshman Lenne Beaumont scored 9 points and added 2 assists. Mackenzie Holmes scored 19 points and pulled down six rebounds. Holmes who came into the game with 1,897 passed Katrina Abram for third on the all-time scoring list who is at 1,910 and is 1 point behind Denise Jackson who has 1,917 points. Yarden Garzon had 15 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds. Sara Scalia and Lexus Bargesser added 13 points apiece. The Hoosiers were 43-66 from the field for 65%, 8-22 from three-point range for 36 % and 2-11 from the free throw line. Garzon is a Sophomore from Israel and at the end of the post-game press conference. had the name of a 12-year-old girl who is being held hostage with a wristband on her arm with the war going on in Israel and hopes that she and all the hostages come home soon. “She is such a special person, and she is out here making big time plays” Head Coach Moren said of Garzon after the game. “What’s more impressive is how she handles herself off the floor and she feel so supportive here and her mom’s stays in contact emailing us once a week to let us know how thing are” Moren said.

Eastern Illinois is 0-2 on the season and was led by Miah Monahan led the Panthers scored 13 points. The Panthers were 16-53 from the field for 30%, 2-10 for 20% from three-point range and 9-13 from free throw line for 62%. Indiana will head west to Palo Alto California to take on the #15/13 Stanford Cardinal at 5pm Sunday on ESPN. The Cardinal beat the University of Hawai’i 87-40 Wednesday Night at home. Kiki Iriafen led the team with a double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds, Nunu Agara added 18 points, Brooke Demetre scored 12 points and Elena Bosgara scored 10 points. Cameron Brink a preseason All-American scored 8 points and 8 rebounds. Longtime Stanford head coach and Hall of Famer Tara Vanderveer played at IU from 1972-1975 and has 1,187 wins her 45-year coaching career.

Indiana University Football travels to Illinois with a Bowl Bid on the line
The Indiana Hoosiers are looking to keep their bowl hopes alive when they take on the Illinois Fighting Illini Saturday at Noon in Memorial Stadium in Champaign Illinois on the Big Ten Network. The Hoosiers are 3-6 and 1-5 in the Big Ten while Illinois is 4-5 and 2-4 in the Big Ten. Illinois leads the all-time series 45-25-3.  Indiana has won four straight games vs. Illinois in a streak that dates to 2012. Two of the four wins were in Champaign, where the Illini are 30-10-1 all-time against the Hoosiers. Indiana claims it’s 26-45-2 all-time vs. Illinois. The Hoosiers say they were declared the winner of a scoreless game in 1931 because they had more first downs. Indiana beat Illinois 23-20 last season in Bloomington on a 1-yard TD run by Shaun Shivers with 23 seconds left. … Three of Illinois’ four victories this season were achieved by a score in the final minute. Bret Bielema’s 11 Big Ten wins in his first three seasons at Illinois are the most by an Illini coach since Lou Tepper won 13 conference games in his first three seasons (1992-94).

Even though Indiana and Illinois are each under .500 for the season, playing in a bowl game is still a possibility for both teams. Indiana needs to win its final three games (Illinois, Michigan State and Purdue) and Illinois needs to win two of its last three (Indiana, Iowa, Northwestern). Each team is coming off an emotional win. Indiana beat Wisconsin 20-14 for its first Big Ten victory and Illinois rallied behind backup quarterback John Paddock, who replaced an injured Luke Altmyer, in the final minute to defeat Minnesota. Illinois RB Kaden Feagin was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after gaining 148 yards, including a 54-yard catch and run for a touchdown, vs. Minnesota. His 418 rushing yards for the season is No. 3 in the nation among true freshmen running backs.

Indiana Quarterback Brendan Sorsby is on a roll. Over the past three weeks, he’s thrown five touchdown passes and run for two scores. He’ll be facing an Illinois defense that ranks in the Big Ten’s bottom three in scoring defense, total defense, run defense and passing defense. LB Aaron Casey can be a game-wrecker. The reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week is fourth in the conference in tackles (78) and he leads with 13 1/2 tackles for loss. Casey had four tackles for loss and two sacks as part of a nine-tackle day vs. Wisconsin. The Hoosiers will need to keep an eye on Williams no matter who is playing quarterback. Williams’ 59 receptions lead the Big Ten and he’s second in the conference in receiving yards with 693. His game-winning 46-yard touchdown catch with 50 seconds left vs. Minnesota capped a day of career bests in catches (13) and receiving yards (131). The 13 receptions were the most by an Illinois receiver in 35 years. Williams has caught a pass in 34 straight games, the longest active streak in the Big Ten, and his 191 career receptions ranks him No. 2 in Illinois history behind only College Football Hall of Famer David Williams (262).

Indiana University Women’s Soccer faces St Louis in the NCAA Tournament First Round
Indiana women’s soccer (12-3-4, 6-2-2 B1G) will face the No. 6 seed Saint Louis in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament this evening at Robert R. Hermann Stadium.  Kickoff is set for 8pm on ESPN+. Indiana is making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in a decade since the 2013 season. This marks the program’s fifth in program history.  In 2013, IU defeated DePaul 1-0 to advance to the second round. They fell 4-0 against North Carolina. If the Hoosiers should advance, they would play either Georgetown, a No. 3 seed, or Old Dominion in the second round of the 64-team tournament. The Hoosiers hold a 1-1-1 record all-time against the Billikens.  Indiana defeated SLU, 1-0, in 1998 and tied 1-1 in the 1999 season. The last matchup between the teams came in 2003 where Saint Louis came away with a 1-0 win.

Indiana lost to Penn State in Quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament 3-0 in State College PA.  Penn State found the back of the net in the 21st minute and extended the lead in the 25th minute for a quick 2-0 lead. Indiana saw three shots in the first half but couldn’t get one on goal through the first 45.
The Hoosiers continued to look for their first chance on goal out of the break. Senior midfielder Sofia Black opened the second half with an opportunity in the 47th minute. Once again, the shot would go just wide of the net.  Penn State scored another goal in the 52nd minute off a second chance opportunity in the goalie box.  Sophomore midfielder Olivia Rush had the Hoosiers first shot on goal in the 61st minute. She fired one from the midfield straight on the goal, but Penn State’s graduate goalkeeper Katherine Asman Nittany Lions keeper would make the save. Graduate forward Paige Webber found an open look in the 78th minute on a pass from freshman defender Piper Coffield. Her attempt was shut down as Asman made another deflection.  
Black fired two shots on goal in the 82nd and 83rd minute but was unable to capitalize on either opportunity.

Saint Louis (17-2-2) posted a 9-0-1 record in winning the Atlantic 10 regular-season title. They are currently on a 10-game winning streak while also holding a 10-game shutout streak and a 16-game (14-0-2) unbeaten streak into the national tournament. Junior forward Emily Gaebe leads the offense with 15 goals, seven assists and 37 points. The Billikens lead the nation in goal differential (+57) and rank second in goals per game (3.19) and save percentage (.900), third in shutout percentage (.667) and eighth in goals against average (0.48). Senior goalkeeper Emily Puricelli has played in all 21 games between the posts and holds a .895 save percentage with 85 saves on the year. She has posted 17 victories this season with 10 shutouts.

Indiana University Cross Country heads to the NCAA Great Lakes Regionals
The Indiana cross country teams are back in Madison, Wis., for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional meet at Thomas Zimmerman Cross Country Course this morning. The Men’s 10k starts at 12:30 PM Bloomington Time and Women’s 6K Race starts at 1:30pm. Indiana will race against 15 teams in the Great Lakes region. This meet serves as one of nine qualifiers across the country to next week’s NCAA Cross Country Championships in Charlottesville, Va. The top two men’s and women’s teams will advance automatically out of each region with the final 13 to be selected at-large by the NCAA committee. Individually, the top four finishers on non-advancing teams will also earn a spot at the NCAA Championships. Two additional individuals are selected at-large by the committee.

The women will compete against four top-ranked Big Ten teams including the Big Ten Champions Michigan State, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio State. In addition, they will race a top local competitor in Notre Dame who is ranked No. 1 in the region and No. 9 in the nation. The men’s squad will face the top competitor in the region No. 5 Wisconsin who won back-to-back Big Ten titles. They will also face in-state competitor in No. 12 Butler who is ranked second in the region. At the Big Ten Championships, the men earned an eighth-place team finish with Abe Eckman and Austin Haskett leading the team with two top-25 finishes. The women finished 11th with freshman Lily Myers and Grace Tyson leading the way alongside senior Phoebe Bates.

Indiana University Wrestling Hosts Rider in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall
Indiana Wrestling is set to begin their dual schedule this evening with the team’s home-opening match vs. Rider at 6 p.m. in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. This will be the second year in a row that Indiana wrestles a dual in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Last year, Indiana defeated No. 23 Princeton, 22-13, in the first dual in the historic venue since 2010. Tonight’s match, like all home events for Indiana Wrestling, is free admission with first-come, first-served access to seating.

Indiana Wrestling began their season last weekend at The Battle at The Citadel invitational tournament on Sunday. With its stellar performance in Charleston, the team set itself up well for a strong season. The Hoosiers came away victorious with a first-place finish and scoring 118.5 team points. Indiana competed against American, Appalachian State, Drexel, George Mason and The Citadel. Sixteen Hoosiers competed in the event across all weight classes. Each Indiana entrant at least advanced out of the first round. Seven Indiana wrestlers placed with three champions. Dan Fongaro (141), Graham Rooks (149) and Gabe Sollars (197) all won their brackets. Tyler Lillard (165) had a second-place finish. Cayden Rooks (133), Nico Bolivar (157) and Roman Rogotzoke (184) all finished in third. Fongaro, Anthony Bahl (149), Aidan Torres (149) and Rogotzke all made their Indiana debut over the weekend.

Indiana will open with a tough test for its first dual in Rider. The Broncs enter the 2023-24 campaign coming off of a 9-5 season that included dual victories at Purdue and at Princeton. Rider finished in fifth place at the MAC Championships and had three NCAA qualifiers in 2023. Of Rider’s three qualifiers in 2023McKenzie Bell, Quinn Kinner and Ethan Laird, two return in Bell and Kinner. -Laird was an All-American, taking sixth place at 197 lbs. at the 2023 NCAA Championships. He also won the MAC title at 197. The Broncs began this season with a second-place finish at the Princeton Open. The team had six placers iwth two second-place finishers in the tournament at their respective weight classes. Rider has four ranked wrestlers in the early portion of the season: No. 28 Richie Koehler (133), No. 25 McKenzie Bell (141), No. 20 Quinn Kinner (149) and No. 29 David Szuba (285).

Indianapolis Colts head to Frankfurt, Germany to face the New England Patriots
The Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots will meet at Frankfurt Stadium in Frankfurt Germany at 9:30 AM Indianapolis time for the fifth and final game of the NFL’s International Series. There were three games in London and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Miami Dolphins last Sunday 21-14 in Frankfurt. The Colts are 4-5 on the season with a win at the Carolina Panthers last Sunday while the Patriots are 2-7.

The Colts are playing their second regular-season game overseas. They lost to Jacksonville 30-27 in London in 2016. All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor sat out last season’s 26-3 loss to the Patriots. The next day, team owner Jim Irsay fired coach Frank Reich and hired Jeff Saturday as interim coach. But Taylor played a key role in 2021. He rushed 29 times for 170 yards and one score in a 27-17 victory that ended Indy’s eight-game losing streak in the series. It was his third-best total during a season in which he won the league’s rushing title. Colts head coach Shane Steichen said he expects injured rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson, the No. 4 overall draft pick, to return to Indianapolis later this week. Richardson had season-ending surgery to repair a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder in Los Angeles on Oct. 24. He’s expected to continue his rehab in Indianapolis when he returns to the city where he now lives.

In the past, playing a regular-season game abroad would bring a sense of festivity for a New England Patriots team that is unbeaten in three previous international appearances. This time, it has the feeling of a team and its long-celebrated coach reluctantly stepping into a bigger spotlight as they trudge through one of their most difficult seasons in decades. After a 24-year run in New England that has included six Super Bowl rings and two decades of dominance in the AFC, the Patriots are 2-7 which is Bill Belichick’s worst start since his first season in 2000. The Patriots are 3-0 in regular-season games played internationally. They defeated Tampa Bay in 2009 in London, the St. Louis Rams in 2012 in London and the Oakland Raiders in 2017 in Mexico City. New England has allowed only one touchdown in each of those games, while scoring 30-plus points in all three.

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