Local Sports News: February 22, 2024

Nebraska hands Indiana University Men’s Basketball another double-digit home loss
The Indiana Hoosiers fell to the Nebraska Cornhuskers 85-70 in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Wednesday Night. The Hoosiers have lost three in a row and four of the last five as they fall to 14-12 overall and 6-9 in the Big Ten and travel to Penn State on Saturday at Noon. Nebraska sweeps the season series with the Hoosiers as they improve to 19-8 and 9-7 in the Big Ten. Mike Woodson said on Tuesday with his meeting with the media that the Hoosiers needed to win all six games and for most of the game they looked uninspired and only in the second half did they decide to make a run, but Nebraska never trailed and put the game away.

Mackenize Mgbako followed his 20-point performance on Sunday against Northwestern with a new career high 22 points this evening. Kel’el Ware had 17 points and 12 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season. Malik Reneau added 15 points. Trey Galloway scored 8 points, Gabe Cupps did not score and did not turn the ball over. CJ Gunn scored 6 points and Anthony Leal added 2 points off the bench as the Hoosiers used a 7-player rotation. Indiana finished the game 26-61 from the field for 42%, 4-21 from three-point range for 19% and 14-24 from the free throw line for 58%. The Hoosiers pulled down 37 rebounds, dished out 13 assists, 3 blocks, 3 steals and committed 10 turnovers. The Hoosiers had 38 points in the paint, 6 points off turnovers and 8 bench points.

Nebraska put four players in double figures led by Keisei Tominaga with 20 points, Brice Williams added 18 points, Juwan Gary added 15 and Jamarques Lawrence scored 19 off the bench. The Cornhuskers finished the game 31-63 from the field for 49%, 14-33 from the 3-point range for 42% and 9-14 from the free throw line for 64%. Nebraska pulled down 34 rebounds, dished out 19 assists, 5 steals, 1 block and committed 8 turnovers. The Cornhuskers had 23 points off the bench, 20 points in the paint and 15 points off turnovers.

The Hoosiers trailed 5-0 to start the game and Nebraska jumped out to 22-11 lead with 11:38 left in the first half. Indiana got within 9 twice but Nebraska extended the lead as they led 51-31 at halftime with the Student Section giving the Hoosiers a lot of boos going into the locker room. The Hoosiers made a run in the second half getting the Nebraska lead down to 3 points with 11:27 left down 59-56 after 25-8 run. Nebraska went up 10 with 8:47 left after a 6-0 run and the Hoosiers got no closer than 9 the rest of the game. Tominaga scored 18 points in the first half with four three pointers and 7-10 from the field. Nebraska drilled nine three pointers in the first half, and it was the same old story for the Hoosiers with lack of hitting three pointers, free throws, lack of defensive intensity and giving up 51 first half points at home which Indiana head coach Mike Woodson knows is inexcusable. Indiana is down to five regular season game left and their chances for the postseason are slipping away with the losses piling up. The Hoosiers are a team that is struggling in all aspects, and it doesn’t look like there is enough time to fix it.

#4 Iowa and Caitlin Clark take on #14 Indiana University Women’s Basketball in a sold-out Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall
The #4 Iowa Hawkeyes and Caitlin Clark the NCAA’s All-time leading scorer in Division 1 Women’s Basketball history are in Bloomington at 8pm this evening to take on #14 Indiana Hoosiers in a sold-out Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall with the game streamed on Peacock.  Iowa is 22-3 overall and 12-2 in the Big Ten while the Hoosiers are 21-4 overall and 12-3 in the Big Ten. Ohio State who has beaten both Iowa and Indiana in the conference leads the Big Ten at 13-1 as they are at Penn State tonight. All three teams have assured themselves of a top three and a double bye in the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament in Minneapolis. Ohio State does travel to Iowa on the last day of the regular season, but the Hawkeyes would have to keep winning and Ohio State to at least lose once before there showdown in Iowa City at the end of the season.

Indiana is coming off an 86-66 loss at Illinois Monday Afternoon as the Illini snapped a 16-game losing streak to the Hoosiers. The loss most dropped the Hoosiers out of the top 16 and a potential host team for the first and second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers were outscored 26-11 in the second quarter and were down 44-28 at halftime. Illinois played six players and all six scored in double-figures. Mackenize Holmes led the way with 24 points, Yarden Garzon added 17 points and Sara Saclia added 10 points. Senior Sydney Parrish returned for the first time after missing the last seven games with a foot injury. The Fishers, Indiana native played just six minutes off the bench with a rebound and a turnover. The Hoosiers were 6-20 from three-point range for 30% and committed 14 turnovers.

Mackenize Holmes is Indiana’s all-time leading scorer with 2,413 points in 140 games played. The Gorham Maine native has started 110 games and has a school record 121 wins. Holmes has 949 rebounds, 241 blocks, 26 double-doubles along with a school record 993 career field goals made. Holmes leads the team in scoring with 20.6 points, 7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Sara Scalia is averaging 16 points per game and now holds the single season record for most three pointers in a season with 81. Yarden Garzon is averaging 11.6 points, Chloe Moore McNeil is averaging 10.4 points along with a team leading 4.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Parrish is averaging 10.2 points as the Hoosiers average 80.2 points and commit 13.2 turnovers per game.

Iowa has had a week off after the Hawkeyes blitzed Michigan 106-89 in Iowa City last Thursday. Caitlin Clark needed just 8 points to become the NCAA all-time leading scorer for Division 1 Women’s Basketball and she did it in two minutes and twelve seconds breaking Kelsey Plum’s scoring mark of 3,527 points at the University of Washington from 2013-2017. Clark scored 49 against Michigan and comes into this game with 3,569 points. Clark has 1,018 assists, 882 rebounds, 185 steals and 70 blocks in 126 career games for the Hawkeyes all in which she has started. Clark is within sight of catching “Pistol” Pete Maravich who scored 3,667 points from 1967-1970 in just 83 games at LSU who is the all-time Division 1 Men’s Basketball scoring leader. Antione Davis who played at Detroit Mercy from 2018-23 has 3,664 points and his coach and father Mike Davis was the head coach at IU from 2002-06 and was born in Bloomington on October 3, 1998. Lynette Woodard scored 3,649 points in 139 games at the University of Kansas from 1977-1981 and is the unofficial major all-time scoring leader in women’s college basketball due to the NCAA not recognizing statistics from the AIAW. Clark can achieve that feat before the regular season ends with the Hawkeyes having four regular season games remaining. Clark could come back for a fifth year should she chose because her freshman season in 2020-21 all athletes were given an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. If she decides to go pro, she is projected to be the Number 1 Overall Pick in the WNBA Draft and the Indiana Fever hold that number 1 pick which means she would be starting her pro career just an hour up the road with a former IU great in Grace Berger who was drafted 7th overall by the Fever in the 2023 draft and last year’s number 1 overall pick Allyiah Boston of South Carolina.

Clark averages 32.8 points per game and can shoot from anywhere on the floor and she scored 30 on the Hoosiers in the first meeting back on January 14, as the Hawkeyes won 84-57. Iowa has many weapons to go with Cailtin Clark who leads the team with 8.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Hannah Stuelke averages 14.8 points per game along with a team leading 6.9 rebounds per game. Stuelke scored 47 points against Penn State in Iowa City on February 8. Kate Martin averages 13.2 points per game and had a double-double against the Hoosiers in the first meeting. Molly Davis added 18 points and Gabbie Marshall scored 12 as the pair combined for six three pointers against the Hoosiers. Sharon Goodman leads the team with 0.7 blocks per game.

Mackenize Holmes led IU with 16 points against Iowa as Yarden Garzon and Sydney Parrish both scored 11 points. Indiana struggled from three-point range going 5-20 and went 6-11 from the free throw line. After a bad loss at Illinois on Monday afternoon and sold-out crowd for just the second time in IU Women’s Basketball History, look for a different result this time. Indiana is the only Big Ten Team who has not lost all season at home with a 13-0 mark. Iowa is used to playing in sold out arenas because of the attention that Cailtin Clark has created. Coach Teri Moren has created a buzz around this Indiana Women’s Basketball program that has never been seen before she came to Bloomington 10 years ago. Indiana has nine straight 20-win seasons and before that, they only had five in total. There is no question that this will be an electric atmosphere with the entire country focused on this game.

Indiana University Athletics provides information about tonight’s Women’s Basketball game with Iowa
We look forward to welcoming you to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for IU’s highly anticipated women’s basketball match-up against No. 4 Iowa this evening. The game is a sellout, and whether you’re a reserved seat ticket holder, a GA ticket holder, or an IU student GA ticket holder, there are some important items for you to know before you arrive This evening.

What all ticket holders needs to know: This game is a WHITE OUT!! Wear white!!! South and North doors to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall open at 6 p.m. (tip-off is at 8 p.m.). If you are a GA ticket holder and want to sit in a courtside bleacher, you must have a wristband to access the area (read below for more details).

All reserved IU Athletics paid parking lots are sold out (Gates 2, 4, and 12). Free IU Athletics complex parking options include the White Lot (Gate 8, accessible via Dunn Street) and the Purple Lot (Gates 9, 10, and 11, accessible via the 45/46 bypass). Additional/overflow free parking at Forest Avenue Garage (1015 East 11th Street). ARRIVE EARLY! Anyone arriving less than 60 minutes before tip-off should expect traffic delays and congestion entering the parking lots.  

If you’re a Reserved Seat ticket holder: It is extremely important that you sit in your reserved seats so that we can seat all our general admission ticket holders. It is not permissible for reserved seat ticket holders to leave their reserved seats vacant and instead occupy a general admission seat. This includes the general admission areas located in the courtside bleachers.

If you’re a GA seat ticket holder: Per our gameday protocols for sellouts, Sections 4-9 of the court level bleachers are available for GA ticket holders with a designated wristband.  Court level bleacher seat wristbands can be picked up at either the northeast, northwest, or southwest stairwells that access the court upon your entry to the arena. You must have a wristband to access (or to re-enter) the court-level bleachers. There are a limited number of wristbands, and they are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Per our gameday protocols for sellouts, Sections 1-3 and 10 of the court level bleachers are not open to any and all GA ticket holders for this game. Rows 1-31 of the main concourse (both east and west sides) are reserved seats and not available for GA ticket holders. Sections 10, 1, 2 of the court level bleachers (south end) will be used for IU students who utilize the Crimson Guard entrance on a first-come, first-served basis. Wristbands will be given to those students who can sit in Sections 10, 1, and 2. IU students can begin lining up at the Crimson Guard entrance at 3 p.m. (five hours before tip-off). Per our gameday protocols for sellouts, Rows 32 and above in Sections L and M will be set aside for IU students who enter via the Crimson Guard entrance who cannot be seated in the south end courtside bleachers.  In all other sections of the main concourse, Rows 32 and above are available to all GA ticket holders. The east and west balconies are open to all GA ticket holders.

If you’re an IU student GA ticket holder: You will receive your digital game ticket This morning. It will be accessible in your IU Athletics Ticket account.  To provide IU students with the best opportunity to secure court level, bleacher seats for the game, we will be utilizing the Crimson Guard Entrance for IU students to enter the arena.  You can access the Crimson Guard entrance via the walkway located between Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall and Wilkinson Hall on the southeast side of the arena. Students are permitted to begin lining up at 3 p.m. (five hours before the 8 p.m. tip-off), and doors will open at 6 p.m. The south end courtside bleachers are reserved for IU students, and we will begin by filling up this area with those who enter via the Crimson Guard entrance on a first-come, first-served basis. Once this area is full, students will be directed to GA portion of Sections L and M (Rows 32 and up) that have been earmarked for IU students for this contest. We look forward to welcoming you on this evening!

Indiana University Women’s Swimming rips program records on Night One of the Big Ten Championships
No. 6-ranked Indiana swimming and diving set two program record as part of its second-straight 800-yard freestyle relay conference title Wednesday night at the 2024 Big Ten Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships. The Hoosiers earned two medals on the opening night of the conference meet. Junior Anna Peplowski lead off Indiana’s 800 freestyle relay in 1:42.04, breaking her own 200-yard freestyle relay program record set during IU’s dual meet against Louisville and Wisconsin earlier this month. Senior Ella Ristic followed in 1:44.85, junior Ching Hwee Gan swam the third leg in 1:45.04 and sophomore Kristina Paegle closed in 1:43.52.

IU crushed the previous program standard (6:58.44) by just under three seconds, set at last year’s conference championships featuring three of the same athletes – Ristic replaced graduated Mackenzie Looze. The Hoosiers were also 5.63 seconds better than their midseason time of 7:01.08, the previous season best set by the same crew. Indiana also set the No. 4 time in the country this season. “We had an awesome first night,” IU head swimming coach Ray Looze said. “Congratulations to our 800-freestyle relay. They got the win, destroyed the school record and almost got the pool record too. The good thing is everybody on that relay had the bare minimum of preparation. Most of our top swimmers just started to cut back either Saturday, if not Monday, of this week. So that’s nice to win a conference title like that.” 

The Hoosiers went 2-for-2 on the medal table in Wednesday’s relays, picking up bronze in the 200-yard medley relay with a season-best 1:35.81. Juniors Kacey McKenna (23.70 split) and Brearna Crawford (27.12) led things off, giving way to sophomore Chiok Sze Yeo (23.68) and senior Ashley Turak (21.41). It marks the sixth-fastest 200 medley relay in program relay and IU’s quickest since 2019. “I thought the medley relay, probably our best could have gotten second,” Looze said. “I think nerves were there, and that can happen in the first event. They’re into the meet now, so I’m looking forward to how all four of those ladies swim the rest of the meet.”

Through two events, Indiana leads the field with 118 points, followed by No. 8 Ohio State’s 116 and No. 16 Michigan’s 112. The Big Ten trailed a team diving exhibition between the relays for a second-straight season. Three divers from each squad executed a total of six dives, two from each board. “The team event was awesome today,” IU head diving coach Drew Johansen said. “It’s a new event that we hope to see scored as maybe a relay in the future. I thought our girls did great. We had our two freshmen in there really learning what it’s like to be in a Big Ten final and that energy and environment, and I know that they’re going to use that in the next three days when the points do matter. I was really pleased with the team event and hope to see it continue in the Big Ten.”

The 2024 Big Ten Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships resume This morning for day two, the first full day of action. Athletes will compete in the 500 freestyle, 200 IM, 50 freestyle, 1-meter dive and 400 medley relay, with preliminaries beginning at 10am. Finals are scheduled to begin at 5pm.

Taylor University Men’s Basketball falls on the road at Huntington University
A hot start fizzled for the Trojans in a tough 69-58 road loss against Huntington (19-8, 12-5 CL) in Crossroads League action on Wednesday night.  Caleb Hodgson had his highest-scoring game since November, with an efficient 20 points on six shots from the field. The transfer played only 18 minutes and made every one count, with the team-high 20 points and pulling down six rebounds while draining each of his nine attempts from the foul line.  Julian Mitchell got his first start in his college career and made it count, scoring in double figures for the first time with 10 points on six shots. The freshman splashed home a pair of triples, showcasing his terrific stroke from beyond the arc. 

Taylor (10-17, 5-12 CL) raced out to an early 11-2 lead on the back of phenomenal defense, holding the Foresters to one made field goal in the first seven minutes of action. The Trojans kept the lead for most of the first half and did not trail until Huntington hit a shot from beyond the arc with under a minute to play before halftime. TU went into the half trailing 31-28 but felt good about the rhythm of the game, with eyes on an upset. Huntington quickly expanded its lead early in the second half with five quick points for a 36-28 advantage. Taylor struck right back with a 9-0 run capped by a triple from Mitchell, which gave the Trojans their only lead of the second half at 37-36.  The Foresters took the lead back on the next possession and kept the lead the rest of the way. 

Hodgson finished a three-point play to get TU within a possession but could not capitalize on the momentum, with Huntington stretching the lead back to seven, with the Trojans unable to get within a possession again.  The Trojans were terrific from the charity stripe, making 13 of 14 shots from the foul line, and battled down low to the tune of 33 rebounds, which matched the Foresters.  Taylor returns home to cap the regular season with a Senior Day battle against No. 22 Bethel (18-9, 9-8 CL) on Saturday, February 24, with tip-off set for 3:00 pm and Senior Day festivities set to take place following the conclusion of the women’s game. 

Indiana University Baseball wins home opener against Miami (Ohio)
The outstanding sophomore duo of outfielder Devin Taylor and shortstop Tyler Cerny combined to go 7-for-9 with three RBIs as the Indiana Baseball team (3-1) won its home opener over Miami (Ohio) 12-6 on Tuesday afternoon at Bart Kaufman Field. IU took the lead for good with a three-run fifth inning, highlighted by the first pair of RBIs in the career of redshirt freshman first baseman Joey Brenczewski Redshirt sophomore Grant Holderfield (W, 1-0), making his first appearance since 2022, was awarded the win for an inning of scoreless work.

Junior third baseman Josh Pyne was responsible for four RBIs including a three-run home run in the third inning. He, Taylor, Cerny and junior outfielder Carter Mathison all had multi-hit contests. Cerny’s four hits, which matched his career high, are the most by a Hoosier this year. Eight pitchers appeared on Tuesday afternoon, five of which made their debut for the program. Freshman right-hander Seth Benes made his collegiate debut, tossing an inning as the starter while recording two strikeouts. Brenczewski and Andrew Wiggins both made their first career starts. The Hoosiers hit the road this weekend for a three-game set against Baylor in Waco before returning home next Tuesday against Purdue Fort Wayne to close out the month of February.

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