#17 Indiana Women’s Basketball extends its winning streak to six with rout of Stetson
The 17th ranked Indiana Hoosiers returned home a three-game road trip with 72-34 win over the Stetson Hatters Sunday afternoon in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers are 7-1 on the season and have won six in a row with a trip to Rutgers on Saturday Afternoon for the Big Ten Conference Opener. The game was the annual ALS Awareness game to honor Head Coach Teri Moren’s Mother Barbara who lost her battle with ALS in October 2014. The Hoosiers wore their red uniforms and Stetson’s green warmups said “Beat ALS” on them. The Hillel Organization which helps and support the Jewish Students on campus wore Blue T-Shirts to support Sophomore Yarden Garzon who is from Israel that said, “I stand with Yarden” and “I Stand with Israel” on the front and “Shalosh Garzon” and the number 12 on the back. Garzon was the last member of the starting five that was announced, and she receive a big ovation. “(The Support) means a lot to me. With everything going at home in Israel, it means the world, I’m so grateful for that” Yarden Garzon said after the game.
Mackenize Holmes scored 17 points in 19 minutes and has scored 2,043 points which puts her 322 points away from breaking the School Record held by Tyra Buss from 2014-18. Yarden Garzon scored 14 points, dishing out 4 assists and pulling down 2 rebounds. Sara Scalia scored 10 points and Sydney Parrish pulled down 10 rebounds and had 8 points. The Hoosiers were 29-61 from the field for 47%, 5-22 from three-point line for 22% and 9-14 from the Free Throw Line for 64%. The Hoosiers pulled down 46 rebounds, dished out 19 assists, 11 steals, 6 blocks and committed 10 turnovers. The Hoosiers scored 16 points of the bench and had 44 points in the paint. Stetson who drops to 2-7 and are 0-5 in road games got 11 points from Jamiya Turner. The Hatters were 12-62 from the field for 19%, 3-24 from three-point range for 12% and 7-12 from the free throw line for 58%. The Hatters pulled down 38 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, 1 block and committed 16 turnovers. Stetson scored 10 points in the paint and 7 points in the paint.
The Hatters scored the opening basket 21 seconds into the game on a layup by Jaelyn Talley. Indiana scored with 9:14 left in the first quarter with Mackenize Holmes stepping out beyond 15 feet to knock down a jumper. Khamya Mcneal hit a three pointer with 8:37 left in the opening quarter to put the Hatters up 5-2. After to Chloe Moore-McNeil Free throw, Sara Scalia made a layup to put the Hoosiers up 6-5 with 7:14 left. Mackenize Holmes added a free throw before the Hatters tied the game at 7-7 with 6:21 left when Quenterra Mitchell scored. Lilly Meister gave the Hoosiers the lead 9-7 with 6:05 left and Indiana never looked back. The Hoosiers outscored the Hatters 15-2 the rest of the quarter to lead 24-9. In the second quarter Indiana scored the first 8 points of the quarter and led 32-9 with 7:01 left in the quarter. Stetson scored its first point on a Jamiya Turner free throw with 6:50 left to make it 32-10. Promise Keshi scored the first field goal for Stetson with 4:52 left in the second quarter. Indiana outscored Stetson 17-11 in the quarter and went into the locker room leading 41-20 at half.
Stetson scored the first four points of the third quarter and got the lead down to 17 with 7:49 left in the third quarter. The Hoosiers increased the lead to 29 points when Lenee Beaumont hit a jumper with one second left in the quarter to put the Hoosiers up 58-29 going into the final ten minutes of the game. The Fourth quarter Hoosiers increased the led to 41 points with 5:38 left in the game when Lenne Beaumont hit another jumper. It would be last points scored for the Hoosiers as they went the rest of the game without scoring going 0-9 from the field. Stetson scored with 5:20 left on a jumper by Promise Keshi that would be the last field goal that would be scored in the game and a free throw by Sophia Fontaine with 1:35 left would be the last point scored in the game as the Hatters had 4 turnovers in the last 5:20 of the games.
Stetson had a size disadvantage and just like Thursday’s Night Game at Maine the Hoosiers gave up 15 offensive rebounds to the Hatters and head coach Teri Moren was not happy about that “Good teams show up on the nights you have to be special, Great Teams show up every night. I’ve got to get them thinking differently in terms of their mindset” Teri Moren said after the game. The Hoosiers did hold the Hatters to under 35 points and defense has always been a staple of Teri Moren’s teams at Indiana. “We need to keep stacking wins, Good defensive wins” Sydney Parrish said after the game. The Hoosiers will have plenty of opportunities to do that before they get into the full Big Ten Conference Schedule in January.
Indiana University Men’s Basketball beats Maryland in Big Ten Opener
The Indiana Hoosiers lead start to finish with a 65-53 win over the Maryland Terrapins in the Big Ten Conference opener Friday Night at Simon Sjkodt Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers are 6-1 on the season and 1-0 with a trip to Michigan Tuesday Night at 9pm as they have won three straight games. Maryland’s 3 game winning streak is snapped as the Terrapins fall to 4-4 on the season and 0-1 in the Big Ten with Penn State coming to College Park Wednesday Night. The Hoosiers lead the all-time series 13-9 and have won five out of the last six meetings including three straight wins in Simon Skojdt Assembly Hall dating back to 2021.
The Hoosiers frontline dominated in the win led by Kel’el Ware with his third double-double of the season with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Freshman Mackenize Mgbako added 13 points while Malik Reneau added 11 points. Trey Galloway scored 11 and Freshman Gabe Cupps got his first career start in place of Xavier Johnson who was injured in Last Sunday’s win over Harvard in Indianapolis and was unavailable. Cupps did not score but had 2 steals, a rebound and committed two turnovers in 24 minutes of action. The Hoosiers finished 26-57 from the field for 45%, 3-9 from three-point range for 33% and 10-18 from the free throw line for 56%. The Hoosiers pulled down 46 rebounds, dished out 17 assists, 7 steals, 4 blocks and committed 16 turnovers. Indiana had 40 points in the paint with 13 layups and 2 dunks. The Hoosier bench scored 11 points and attacked the glass with 15 offensive rebounds. The Hoosiers did not score for the final 3:17 of the game. The controlled the game start to finish as Maryland got as close as 10 points 50 seconds into the second half and Indiana led by double digits the rest of the way.
Maryland was led in scoring by Jahmir Young with 20 points. Julian Reese scored 14 points and added 8 rebounds. Former Indiana Hoosier Jordan Geronimo did not score in 27 minutes. Geronimo played three years at Indiana from 2020-23 playing 82 total games and starting six games and scoring 338 points for a 4.1 scoring average. The Senior from Newark, New Jersey was 0-5 from the field, 0-3 from three-point range and 0-1 from the free throw line. He pulled down 4 rebounds, 2 steals, a block, 3 turnovers and committed 3 fouls. Maryland finished 20-56 from the field for 35%, 2-16 from three-point range for 12% and 11-17 from the Free Throw Line for 64%. Maryland pulled down 30 rebounds, 9 steals, 8 assists, 7 blocks and committed 12 turnovers. The Terrapins had 26 points in the paint and scored 8 points off the bench. Maryland did not score for the final 2:34 of the game.
The Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall crowd was into the game all game long and during a timeout midway through the first half new Indiana University Head Football Coach Curt Cignetti was introduced and he got the crowd fired up by saying “I don’t plan on taking a back seat to anybody. Purdue sucks, but so does Michigan and Ohio State, Go IU”. Before Mike Woodson took questions in the post-game press conference, he wanted to make sure that he acknowledged the new man in charge of Indiana University Football. “Want to shout out our new coach Curt (Cignetti) Welcome to Bloomington and couldn’t think of a better place to come” Head Coach Mike Woodson said after the game.
This was the earliest Big Ten game the Hoosiers have played since beating Northwestern 68-66 on December 1, 2018, in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Since the Big Ten Expanded to 14 teams all teams have played two conference games at start of December before finishing the non-conference and then going back to Conference play in January. Head Coach Mike Woodson knows what lies ahead during a 20-game conference schedule. “It’s going to be this way every night, The Big Ten is tough. They let you play. So, if you don’t come and meet the challenge, you’ll be exposed as a team” Woodson said. The Hoosiers jumped out to a 13-4 lead with 14:54 left in the first half and led 40-28 at halftime and put Maryland on their heels the entire game.
New Indiana University Football Coach Curt Cignetti expected to keep Offensive Line Coach Bob Bostad
Reports surfaced Friday of new Indiana University Head Football Coach Curt Cignetti’s intention to bring several coaches from his James Madison staff along with him to Bloomington. The other side of this equation is determining which existing Indiana staff members, if any, will stay around, and which won’t. Per reports on Saturday, that’s also coming into focus. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported special team’s coordinator and outside linebackers coach Kasey Teegardin will not be retained. Then, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg expanded to say, “most of Indiana’s previous coaching staff is out,” but with a key exception: offensive line coach Bob Bostad is expected to be retained.
Indiana’s offensive line made real strides this season. Pro Football Focus gave IU a 47.0 grade in run blocking in 2022, which ranked 122nd in the nation and last in the Big Ten. That grade improved to 59.5 this year, which was 75th in the country and 11th in the conference. In pass blocking, the Hoosiers graded at 45.3 in 2022 (118th in the country, 12th in the Big Ten); they improved to 56.0 this year (106th in the nation, 11th in the conference). Additionally, IU allowed 38 sacks in 2022 (13th in the Big Ten), and that number fell to 25 this season (ninth in the Big Ten). Bostad was largely responsible for those improvements. Most of Indiana’s personnel on the offensive line remained the same from 2022 to 2023. Four of IU’s offensive line starters from this year — Matthew Bedford, Kahlil Benson, Zach Carpenter, and Carter Smith — have entered the transfer portal. The fifth, Mike Katic, is entering the NFL Draft.
Indiana University Men’s Soccer falls to Notre Dame in Penalty Kicks
The 2023 season is over for the Indiana University Men’s Soccer team after falling to the #2 seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish 5-4 in a penalty kick shootout after a 1-1 draw in regulation in the NCAA Men’s Soccer Quarterfinals in front of a standing room only crowd of 3,108 at Alumni Stadium Saturday evening in South Bend. There were plenty for Hoosier fans in attendance and they tailgated in the parking lot before the match and greeted the team as the came off the bus despite the 40-degree temperatures and the drizzly conditions. The Hoosiers end the season 15-4-5 and started the season 3-3-4 before winning 12 of their last 14 matches and winning a 16th Big Ten Regular Season Title sharing with Penn State long with a 18th Big Ten Tournament Title for the Programs 12th Big Ten Double. Indiana made an NCAA Record 29th appearance in the NCAA Quarterfinals with this trip to South Bend. The Hoosiers fall short of that quest for a ninth star, but the work continues now focusing on the 2024 season.
Indiana has been the standard in College Soccer with 8 NCAA Championships, 22 College Cup appearances, 17 National Championship game appearances and 48 NCAA Tournament appearances in 51 Years as Varsity Program. The Hoosiers made their 37th straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The Hoosiers have won 822 matches all time and 144 Big Ten matches. The Hoosiers are 103-38-7 in the NCAA Tournament Games. Head Coach Todd Yeagley finishes his 14th season in Bloomington with a 193-65-52 record and overall record of 200-74-54 in 15 seasons as a head coach. Indiana leads the overall series with the Fighting Irish at 33-10-5 as Indiana is 5-0-3 against Notre Dame dating back to 2016. This was the fifth all time meeting between the two in state rivals in the NCAA Tournament with Indiana holding a 3-1-1 advantage and the second time the two have played at Notre Dame with Indiana winning 2-1 in 2 overtimes in 2012. Indiana beat the Fighting Irish 1-0 in Bloomington in 2002 and 1-0 in Bloomington in 2018. The Irish beat the Hoosiers 2-0 in Bloomington in 2005.
Notre Dame is 12-2-6 on the season and will head to Louisville on Friday for the NCAA Men’s College Cup Semifinals where they will face Oregon State while #9 Clemson will face #5 West Virginia in the other semifinal with the Championship Game set for Next Monday at 6pm and all three games will be televised on ESPNU. Notre Dame is 22-20-7 all-time in 24 NCAA Tournament Appearances and have been in the NCAA Tournament 20 of the last 23 seasons. The Irish are 16-8-6 all time in NCAA Tournament home matches. This is the third time the Irish are headed to the College Cup winning the 2013 National Championship and in 2021 when they lost in the Semifinals. Head Coach Chad Riley is 62-38-17 in his 6th year in South Bend and 113-64-31 in his 11th season overall and will take his alma mater to the College Cup for the second time as head coach. Riley played for the Fighting Irish from 2000-03 and was three time All Big-East Selection and a team captain his senior year.
Both fan bases were trying to out do each other with the “Let’s go Hoosiers” and “Let’s Go Irish” chants during the game. The fans were treated to a game they wont soon forget. These two programs started the regular season with a 1-1 draw in the same stadium on August 24, and one was going to head to the college cup and the other was going to end the season in the same place they began the season. The Irish struck first in the 17th Minute when Daniel Russo took a free kick from 20 yards out and rocketed the shot into the right corner passed IU Goalkeeper JT Harms to make it 1-0 Irish. For the Senior Russo from Jackson, New Jersey it was his fourth goal of the season.
The teams went into the locker room with Notre Dame leading 1-0. The Hoosiers found the equalizer in the 63rd minute when Patrick McDonald rocketed a shot from 23 yards outside the box going into the right side of the net passed Irish Goalkeeper Bryan Dowd to tie it 1-1. The teams had several chances to get the game winner but Harms and Dowd made big save after big save and after 110 minutes of action the teams had to go to penalty kicks to decide it. Indiana missed its first attempt and the Irish scored all five of theirs as the Notre Dame fans stormed the field and celebrated with the Irish that they were headed to the College Cup for the third time in their program history.
For Indiana’s Senior Class of JT Harms, Joey Maher, Hugo Bacharach, Jansen Miller, Karsen Henderlong, Quinten Helmer, Maouloune Goumballe, Lukas Hummel, Brett Bebej and Nate Ward they finish with a five-year record of 71-20-17 with Five Sweet 16 appearances, Three Elite Eight appearances, Two College Cup trips and two national championship game appearances. Bacharach, Henderlong and Harms all started their careers elsewhere before coming to Bloomington as Bacharach arrived in the off season from Fairleigh Dickinson. Goumballe finishes his career 108 appearances in five seasons, and he is NCAA’s active leader in games played. The Hoosiers were dejected after the game, and it was long three- and half-hour bus trip back to Bloomington after the match. Head Coach Todd Yeagley said after the game “It hurts more because you invest more”.
2024 Quarterback Timothy Carpenter has de-committed from Indiana University Football
Indiana has lost its quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class. Timothy Carpenter announced on Saturday he has de-committed from IU. The Trotwood, Ohio product is a consensus 3-star recruit. 247Sports says he’s the 23rd best quarterback in the 2024 class. That outlet had him as the highest graded player in IU’s class. This marks the second time in three years IU has lost a High School Senior Quarterback late in the recruiting cycle. Texas based signal call Josh Hoover de-committed two years ago. Indiana ended up signing Brendan Sorsby in that class. IU may have to wait until the spring to identify and sign a quarterback in the current high school senior class. But a pair of in-state 2024 quarterbacks have recently become available.
But a pair of in-state 2024 quarterbacks have recently become available. Cathedral H.S.’s Danny O’Neil (No. 40 QB according to On3 average) backed out of his Colorado commitment, while Center Grove’s Tyler Cherry (No. 19 QB according to On3 average) has been hearing from other schools and could change his mind about Duke after a coaching change. The early signing period stretches from Dec. 20 through Dec. 22 this year.
Indiana University Women and Men’s Swimming sweeps Cincinnati to close out the 2023 calendar
Despite missing some of its top performers due to national competitions, Indiana swimming and diving won every event contested in its dual meet victories over Cincinnati on Friday inside the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center. The Hoosier men won 204-90 and the Hoosier Women won 194-99. Seven Hoosiers won multiple individual events. Most notably, senior Warren Briggs and junior Katie Carson swept the distance freestyle races, junior Elyse Heiser won the 100-yard, and 200-yard backstroke and junior Kacey McKenna won the 50-yard and 200-yard freestyle events. On the springboards, Junior Skyler Liu coming off a dominant performance at midseason and sophomore Maxwell Weinrich swept the diving competitions. Indiana will take a break from dual meet action until the calendar turns over. The Hoosiers will host Michigan on January 19 in their first meet of the spring.
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