#16 Indiana University Women’s Basketball Keeps the Barn Burner trophy with a win over Purdue in Mackey Arena
The #16 Indiana Hoosiers held off the Purdue Boilermakers 74-68 before a crowd 11,796 in Mackey Arena in West Lafayette on Sunday Afternoon. The Hoosiers were without Senior Guard Sydney Parrish who was on crutches with a boot on her right Leg after an injury suffered in practice on Friday and will have another appointment on Monday to assess the injury. Sophomore Lexus Bargesser got her first career start in place of Parrish. Senior Chloe Moore-McNeil knew that it was going to take more to come out of West Lafayette with this win. “We all prepared ourselves to do a little more with Sydney out” Moore-McNeil said after the game.
Indiana has won ten in row against Purdue including the last five in Mackey Arena. The Hoosiers keep the Barn Burner Trophy for the ninth year in row as Purdue leads the Trophy games 18-13 and still lead the series 55-43. Coach Teri Moren improves to 15-4 against Purdue as Hoosier head coach and 6-3 in Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers were going for their 500th all time win in Mackey Arena and their archrivals denied them that opportunity that will have to wait a week when they host Ohio State next Sunday afternoon.
Sara Scalia and Chloe Moore-McNeil led the way with 20 points apiece. For Moore-McNeil it was career high as the Hoosiers hit a season high 15 three pointers. Yarden Garzon added 17 points, Mackenize Holmes chipped in 15 points and, 2 points from Lenee Beaumont. Lexus Bargesser played 33 minutes, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a block. The Hoosiers finished 26-49 from the field for 53%, 15-23 from three-point range 65% and 7-8 from the free throw line for 87%. The Hoosiers pulled down 26 rebounds, 15 assists, 8 steals, 6 blocks and committed 18 turnovers. Mackenize Holmes became the sixth Hoosier in school history to pull down 900 career rebounds.
Purdue was led by Caitlyn Harper with 18 points, Freshman Mary Ashley Stevenson and Rashunda Jones scored 13 points each. Abbey Ellis and Madison Layden scored 10 points apiece. The Boilermakers finished 27-61 from the field for 44%, 5-13 from thee point range for 38% and 9-14 form the free throw line for 64%. Purdue pulled down 32 rebounds, dished 15 assists, 7 steals, 1 block and committed 13 turnovers. The Boilermakers are 9-9 overall and 2-5 in the Big Ten.
The game featured 12 lead changes and 7 ties along with an electric atmosphere with both fan bases well represented and made for an exciting back and forth game as neither team led by more than 10 points. Purdue led 29-22 at the end of the first quarter as both teams were hitting from the three-point line with the Hoosiers going 5-6 and Boilermakers going 3-4 from downtown with Purdue’s largest lead at 9 points with 1:18 left in the first quarter. In the second quarter Indiana outscored Purdue 17-8 in the second quarter as Indiana went 4-6 from deep to continue their hot shooting going 9-12 from downtown for 75% in the first half while Purdue cooled off going 3-5 from three-point range for 60% with the Hoosiers leading 39-27 at halftime.
In the second half Purdue outscored Indiana 17-12 in third quarter both teams had a 10-0 run with the Hoosiers followed by the Boilermakers and Rashunda Jones hit a 30-footer at the buzzer at the end of the third quarter to send the home crowd into a frenzy to lead by three points 54-51 going into the final ten minutes and ended the quarter with momentum on a 10-0 run. Indiana took control dominating the fourth quarter 23-14 as Indiana held Purdue without a field goal for over five minutes as the Hoosiers led by ten points with 1:10 left for their largest lead of the game.
Even being shorthanded without a top scorer and started the Hoosiers stay calm cool and collected in pressure situations. “We don’t panic, I don’t panic with these guys, and that has a lot to do with the experience that we have” Indiana Head Coach Teri Moren said after the game. Sara Scalia knows when they are a player short and knows it’s the next player up mentality “We really just came together, our team is really close, we know were all we got” Sara Scalia said after the game.
The Hoosiers have a week off in between game with Northwestern coming to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Next Sunday. Purdue head coach Katie Geralds calls Indiana a “Championship Team and will get another chance when Purdue visits Indiana on February 12 in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. One thing that both head coaches can agree on is the crowds and atmosphere in rivalry games make it great for the game of Women’s College Basketball and they don’t want it to change and it’s not going to anytime soon.
#11 Wisconsin extends their home winning streak to 20 straight against Indiana University Men’s Basketball
The #11 Wisconsin Badgers beat the Indiana Hoosiers 91-79 Friday Night at the Khol Center in Madison. Wisconsin is now 20-1 all time at the Khol Center against the Hoosiers and are 33-11 since 2000 as Indiana still leads the all-time series 97-81. Wisconsin has won six of the last seven meetings dating back to 2019 and the Hoosiers have not won in Madison since January 25, 1998, 69-59. Indiana is now 12-7 overall and 4-4 in the Big Ten and travels to Illinois Next Saturday Afternoon. While Wisconsin improves to 14-4 and 6-1 in the Big Ten and travels to Minnesota on Tuesday.
Malik Reneau led the Hoosiers with 28 points and 8 rebounds, Mackenzie Mgbako added 17 points along with 10 points from Trey Galloway. Sophomore Center Kel’el Ware was out with a lower leg injury and Senior Anthony Leal was unavailable for the second straight game. Payton Sparks got his second career start as Hoosier scoring 7 points, Gabe Cupps added 7 points and committed 2 turnovers. Xavier Johnson scored 8 points and did not commit a turnover. Anthony Walker added 2 points and C.J. Gunn did not scored and was ejected for flagrant two foul in the second half against Wisconsin’s Max Kelsmit for elbowing him the face after Kelsmit leaned his head into Gunn’s chest during and inbounds play. The Hoosiers have had 2 ejections and 4 total flagrant fouls called in the last three games. Indiana finished 28-52 from the field for 53%, 6-14 from three-point range for 43% and 17-21 from the free throw line for 81%. The Hoosiers had 23 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks and committed 10 turnovers. The Hoosiers are 2-6 away from Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall with a 1-4 record in true road games and 1-2 in neutral site games with six road games left in the Big Ten. Many Hoosiers fans are wondering what this team’s identity along with toughness and leadership.
Wisconsin got 26 points from Max Kelsmit, 15 Points from AJ Storr and 12 points apiece from Steven Crowl and John Blackwell. The Badgers finished 28-47 for 59% from the field, 10-21 from three-point range for 47% and 25-29 from the free throw line for 86%. Wisconsin pulled down 25 rebounds, dished out 14 assists, 8 steals, no blocks and committed 9 turnovers. The 91 points is the most the Badgers have scored since the opening game of the season when they put up 105 on Arkansas State. Wisconsin has scored over 70 points in 16 games this season including the last 12. The Badgers scored 65 against Virginia and 69 against SMU in a Thanksgiving tournament in Fort Meyers, Florida.
The Hoosiers jumped out to a 4-0 lead 59 seconds into the ball game with a Malik Reneau layup and two Mackenize Mgbako free throws. Chucky Hepburn got the Badgers on the board 1:14 into the game with a three pointer. The Hoosiers led 10-8 before Wisconsin took its first lead at the 13:14 mark when AJ Storr hit a three pointer to make it 11-10. Payton Sparks scored on a layup to make it 12-11 at the 12:50 mark. Wisconsin went on a 7-0 run and never trailed the rest of the game as the Badgers led 39-26 at halftime. The Hoosiers outscored the Badgers 53-52 in the second half. Indiana used a 7-0 run capped by a Payton Sparks dunk to cut the lead to seven 49-42 at the 14:58 mark. Wisconsin went on a 7-0 run to led by 14 points with 14 minutes left in the game. The Badgers led by 23 67-44 with 11:23 left in the game. Indiana cut the lead to ten points 86-76 with 1:22 left but could get no closer as the Hoosiers drop their second straight game and now have a week in between games to rest up and regroup for a tough stretch of games in one of the toughest conferences in the country.
Bloomington North Girls Basketball wins a share of the Conference Indiana Title
The Bloomington North Cougars beat the Columbus North Bulldogs 51-44 Friday in the Cougar Den on the Northside of Bloomington. Bloomington North is 4-0 in Conference Indiana and gets a share of the Conference Title for the first time since 2010 and can win it outright on Thursday Night when they travel to Terre Haute North to face a Patriots team that is 1-3 in the Conference. The Cougars are 16-5 overall under first year head coach Kiley Jarrett. Jarrett was a 2005 Indiana-All Star at Bloomington North and played at Ball State from 2005-09 and was inducted into the Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
The Cougars have won 7 straight since a 52-31 loss to Mooresville on December 28, in a holiday tournament in Lebanon. The win over Columbus North ended a 17-game losing streak against the Bulldogs dating back to January 30, 2010, when the Cougars beat the Bulldogs at home 57-50 and Columbus North is handed its first loss in the Conference since 2020. Mia Robbenholt led the way for Bloomington North with 23 points and 7 rebounds and Freshman Ashley Stegmoller had 11 points and 9 rebounds and came up huge pulling down the last two rebounds of the game. Bloomington North finished the game 15-31 from the field for 48%, 6-14 from three-point range for 42% and 15-24 from the free throw line for 62%
Columbus North who has dropped four in a row and 10-11 on the season got 12 points apiece from Olivia Johnson and Miley McCellan. The Bulldogs were 17 of 53 from the field and 4-17 from the three-point line. Bloomington North raced out to a 5-0 lead and led 13-11 after the first quarter. Olivia Johnson hit a three for Columbus North to put Bulldogs up 14-13 early in the second quarter. The Cougars led 24-21 at halftime. In the third quarter Bloomington North outscored Columbus North 13-11 to lead 37-32 at the end of the quarter. Bloomington North closed it out outscoring the Bulldogs 14-12 in the final quarter. Bloomington North will host Edgewood Tuesday Night before traveling to Terre Haute North to close out the regular season.
Bloomington South beat Eastern Greene 54-22 Saturday Afternoon at Eastern Greene. Julia Lashley led the Panthers with 22 points and 12 rebounds as they improve to 10-10 on the season while Eastern Greene falls to 12-9. Bloomington South will host Avon on Tuesday Night before traveling to Evansville North on Saturday Afternoon to close out the regular season. Lighthouse Christian beat Cannelton 68-34 on Saturday at home. The Lady Lions put four in double-figures and hit ten three pointers to improve to 12-8 on the season with trips to Washington Catholic on Thursday and Evansville Christian on Friday to close out the regular season. Edgewood has been off since last Wednesday when they won at Eastern Greene 44-36. The Mustangs are 12-8 on the season and will travel to county rival Bloomington North Tuesday and host Martinsville on Thursday in the regular season finale.
Bloomington South Boys Basketball handles Martinsville by 18 Saturday Night
The Bloomington South Panthers handled the Martinsville Artesians 74-56 in inside the Bloomington South Gym on J.R. Holmes court Saturday Night. The Panthers are 8-7 on the season and Head Coach J.R Holmes who is the all-time winningest coach in Indiana High School Boys Basketball history picks up his 904th win and 761st at Bloomington South. Martinsville drops to 3-11 on the season and has lost eight in a row dating back to December 16th, when they beat Monrovia 67-63. Martinsville started 2-0 on the season with road wins over Edgewood and Greenwood but have struggled since going 1-11 in the last 12 games.
The Panthers were led by Junior Vincent Moutardier with 25 points and Senior Zach Sims with 16. The Panthers eight players score in the game with Alex Shaevitz and Taye Spears scoring 9 points apiece. Martinsville got 20 points from Sophomore Grady Gardner and 16 points from Junior Hunter Stroud. Bloomington South led 18-12 after the first quarter as both teams play a half court style of basketball working the ball around to get the best shot possible.
The Panthers outscored Martinsville 17-6 in the second quarter as Alex Shaevitz threw down a dunk right before halftime to send the Panthers into the locker room up 35-18. Bloomington South controlled the game scoring 22 third quarter points and Martinsville scoring 21 as it was 57-39 at the end of the third quarter. The Panthers scored 17 fourth quarter points as 6-5 Freshman Duncan Combs scored 4 points inside at the end of the game. Martinsville scored 17 in the fourth quarter as Martinsville has wo against Bloomington South since January 20, 2012, when Martinsville won on the Panthers home floor 55-51. The Panthers host Terre Haute South on Friday and travel to Silver Creek on Saturday.
Bloomington North beat Terre Haute South 77-70 Saturday Night at the Cougar Den on the Northside of Bloomington. The Cougars are 7-8 on the season and 2-1 in Conference Indiana. Castle will visit Bloomington North on Friday and the Cougars travel to Columbus East Saturday Night. Connor O’Guinn scored 22 points, Jalen Williams and Luke Lindeman added 18 points and Derrick Cross Jr added 15. Bedford North Lawrence beat Edgewood 53-45 Saturday Night in Bedford. The Mustangs are 7-10 on the season and have dropped three in a row. Edgewood will travel to West Vigo on Friday Night and host Monrovia on Saturday. Lighthouse Christian beat Cannelton 71-55 at home Saturday Night. The Lions are 5-9 on the season and will host Dugger Union at 7pm Tuesday Night before heading to Madison on Saturday afternoon to take on Shawe Memorial at 2:30pm
Indiana University Swimming and Diving sweeps Michigan in Ann Arbor
No. 5/7 Indiana University Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving improved their perfect dual meet records to 5-0 with wins over the No. 17/16 Michigan Wolverines Friday at Canham Natatorium in Ann Arbor. The women’s result came down to the wire as IU trailed going into the 400-freestyle relay. Indiana’s quartet of junior Anna Peplowski, senior Ashley Turak sophomore Kristina Paegle and junior Ella Ristic outpaced Michigan in 3:16.68, to help make the final difference in the 152-148 victory. IU 400 free relay came into the day with a seed time 2.5 seconds slower than Michigan. “Our women really showed a lot of heart, poise and toughness,” Looze said. “Michigan was ready to go. We knew they would be, and they’re a great team. They threw their best punches at us early in the meet. We really thought we would win the 200 medley, and, when we didn’t, we knew it was going to be tough. There were just a lot of points where we really could have rolled over, and the girls just wouldn’t let it happen.”
IU couldn’t have done it without a dominant diving day, as the Hoosiers swept the springboards. Senior Anne Fowler captured both boards for the women, and Hoosiers took the top four spots on 1-meter and four of the top five positions on 3-meter. Fowler, junior Skyler Liu and freshmen Ella Roselli and Lily Witte all captured NCAA Zone Qualifying marks on each board. “It was a great day for diving,” assistant diving coach Eric Best said. “We lit it up. Especially the sweep of the girls in that last event put the team over the top. It’s always nice when we can be in that situation and deliver.” “I’m super proud of the way we finished the meet,” Looze said. “It was remarkable with the divers sweeping the 1-meter, and Anna Freed got a super valuable second place. Reese Tiltmann got a fifth. We didn’t think we’d get much in that (200 IM) at all. And then our relay winning – their seed time was 2.5 seconds better than us, so I guess the girls didn’t remember that when they swam the relay. They just never gave up. “I just told them it’s really pulling victory out of the jaws of defeat because with so few events remaining, a couple of them not good for us. They scored just enough points and all credit to them.”
Junior Carson Tyler won both the 1-meter and 3-meter to lead the men’s team, setting a personal record 466.35 in a 1-2-3 finish in front of sophomore Dash Glasberg (349.80) and Maxwell Weinrich (322.73). Tyler’s 3-meter is the top mark in NCAA Division-I this season. “He did well and had a few dives he could have done better,” Best said, “but that was a great list he put together. The real star of the day from the men’s side was probably Dash!” Tyler was one of six different individual event winners in a 64-point men’s victory. Senior Brendan Burns led the way with three victories, sweeping the backstroke events and winning the 200 butterfly. Fellow senior Jassen Yep swept the breaststroke events, continuing his success during a season in which he holds the nation’s No. 1 time in the 200 (1:50.71) and the No. 4 mark in the 100 (51.49). “Our guys won in pretty dominant fashion,” Looze said. “I would like to see our depth be a little bit better. There were a few key people we left home, but I wish the guys had a close meet too because the women really needed a close meet like that, and I think the guys do too. I think that’s coming here by the end of the month. It’s always great to come into Ann Arbor and get a couple victories because they’re traditionally one of the best programs in the Big Ten. So, we’re grateful.” Indiana will have two home meets in the final stretch before championship season. The Hoosiers will host Purdue on Saturday and No. 13/6 Louisville and No. 22/13 Wisconsin Feb. 2.
Indiana University Track and Field dominates the Hoosier Invitational
The Hoosiers captured nine event titles with consistent improvement in a competitive final day of the Indiana Invitational at Gladstein Fieldhouse. Indiana continued to compete and improve as they combined for 15 event wins and 26 personal bests on the weekend. The men’s “A” and “B” relays ran season best times along with the women’s “A” relay. John Colquitt finished second in a photo finish with a time of 8.152 in the 60-meter hurdle finals. Ryann Parrish finished fourth in a with a personal best in the 400 meters with a time of 57.80 after achieving a PR in the 600 meters yesterday. Freshman sprinters Kristina Vincic and Symone Adams also set personal bests on day one in the 60 meters and 200 meters.
Maddie Russin wins her second event of the weekend in the 800 meters. She breaks the nation’s top-25 list as she checks in at No. 23 with a season best time of 2:09.37. The men’s mid-distance group swept the 800 meters with Camden Marshall taking the top spot with the nation’s seventh fastest time. Parker Raymond finished second in the event to claim the 10th fastest time this season. Keelan Grant, Jaylen Castillo and Martin Segurola rounded out the event in the top-five for the Hoosiers. Mariah Wherle and Austin Haskett claimed the top-spots in the 3k race. Haskett set another personal best on the weekend with a time of 8:08.42 after running a sub-four-mile with a time of 3:58.59 on day one of the meet. In the field, Jessica Mercier cleared a height of 4.27m/14-0.00 in the pole vault for a new personal best with the cream and crimson. She also earns the ninth best mark in the nation. Grayson Rolen won the High Jump event, tying his season best performance of 2.04m/6-08.25. Garrett Messer held his lead from day one to win his first heptathlon with a total of 4,691 points. Teammate Max Grangier moved up from fourth to second place in his final three events of the Heptathlon. He finished the first of his career with a point total of 4,609.
On Friday the Indiana Track and Field Team claimed six event titles behind a productive day from Austin Haskett who joined the sub-four-minute mile club and jumper Paola Fernandez-Sola who earned a top-10 mark in the NCAA. Haskett ran a time of 3:58.59 in his first race of the season. Not only did he set a personal record, but he recorded the fifth fastest time in the country. He takes nearly six seconds off his previous time (4:04.01) and enters the No. 10 spot in program history. Mariah Wehrle was locked in for the women’s mile, running a personal best time of 4:51.16. Freshman Lily Myers finished third in the race with a time of 4:55.98. Skylar Stidam rounded out the distance event after he claimed the 5000-meter title with a time of 14:28.83. In the field, Fernandez-Sola claimed the first event title in the Long Jump competition with a season-best mark of 6.24m/20-5.75. Her performance today landed her the No. 10 spot in the NCAA. Fernandez -Sola had a chaotic start to her meet, missing the first two jumps. She controlled what she could control, and it paid off.
Makayla Hunter threw another personal best in the weight 20.68m/67-10.25 after coming off a strong performance last weekend. Her mark is currently ranked No. 19 in the nation. Mahogany Jenkins had another podium finish from the field. She placed second in the High Jump clearing a height of 1.69m/5-06.25. After back-to-back school records, Kenisha Phillips won her first career 600-meter race with a time of 1:32.84. To end the day, John Colquitt picked up a win in the 200 meters. He ran a time of 21.81 to claim the title. Colquitt also sprinted the fastest time in the 60-meter hurdles (8.14) to advance to the finals tomorrow. The Hoosiers wrapped up day one with 18 personal bests in their third competition of the season. Up next, the Hoosiers will split up as the distance group heads to Boston, Mass., for the John Thomas Terrier Classic with the rest of the group headed to Louisville, Kent., for the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational.
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