Sara Scalia signs to play professional basketball in Italy
Indiana Women’s Basketball alum Sara Scalia has signed a professional contract to play with Magnolia Campobasso in Campobasso, Italy for the upcoming 2024-25 season. A 2023-24 All-Big Ten first team honoree, Scalia finished her five-year career as a five-time All-Big Ten selection. She was also a Top 10 finalist for the Ann Meyers Drysdale award for nation’s top shooting guard while also earning WBCA All-Region honors and was the Big Ten Player of the Week on Nov. 20. She was also crowned the winner of the 2024 Hanes Women’s 3-Point Championship in March.
One of the nation’s best 3-point shooters last season, Scalia knocked down an IU single season record 103 triples in her final season with the Cream and Crimson. She ranks fourth in NCAA Division I in three pointers made, fourth in 3-pointers per game (3.22) and 12th in 3-point percentage with a 43 percent clip. The Stillwater, Minn. native was IU’s second leading scorer this season with 16.3 points per game and had three or more triples in 21 times. Scalia scored in double figures in 28 games with 10 games with 20 points or more and a season-high 32 points against Bowling Green. In five seasons of collegiate basketball, Scalia scored 1,981 career points and made 370 career 3-pointers. She combined to shoot 39.1 percent from the floor and 38.7 percent from the 3-point line in 144 collegiate games played. She also excelled at the free throw line where she holds a career average of 89.5 percent. At IU. Scalia finished her two seasons as the program’s leader in 3-point percentage (39.5) and free throw percentage (90.5).
Indiana University Baseball takes down Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament Opener
In his first career Big Ten Tournament game, freshman second baseman Jasen Oliver delivered the biggest moment of the contest. Down a run in the fifth inning, Oliver hit an opposite field home run, just over the wall, to give the Hoosiers a lead it would never concede. That home run from Oliver was sandwiched between a single and a double, leaving him a triple short of the cycle in his collegiate postseason debut. IU added five runs on seven hits, including Oliver’s double, in the sixth inning to break open a big lead. The Hoosiers held on in the ninth to punch a ticket into the winner’s bracket with an 8-6 win over Purdue.
Eight of IU’s nine starters had hits on the day including multi-hit contests from Oliver and juniors Nick Mitchell, Brock Tibbitts and Carter Mathison. IU’s six through eight hitters combined to go 7-11 with six runs, five RBIs and a walk in the opening game of the tournament. The Hoosiers’ pitching got hairy in the ninth but was solid throughout the first eight inning of the games. Despite batting a sickness and fever, sixth-year senior Ty Bothwell went three scoreless innings. Graduate student Drew Buhr gave IU length with four innings of two-run ball. Sophomore Brayden Risedorph came in to get the final three outs. Now into the winner’s bracket, the Hoosiers will play No. 7 Ohio State at 3pm Bloomington Time This afternoon and will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
Indiana University Rowing Selected for their Second Straight NCAA Championships
Indiana Rowing will return to the NCAA Rowing Championship for the second straight season and eight time in 10 full seasons. The 22-team field was announced during the NCAA selection show on Tuesday. The Hoosiers will race among the nation’s best May 31-June 2 at East Fork State Park in Bethel, Ohio. The competition includes the Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four crews.
IU essentially clinched its at-large bid with a program-record second place finish at the 2024 Big Ten Championships on Sunday. The seven boats combined for the program’s highest-ever medal tally – posting two silver and two bronze performances. “I’m excited for them,” IU head rowing coach Steve Peterson said. “They’ve worked hard, and the results at Big Ten’s show that. I think the big thing for these guys is that we set out with some pretty lofty goals and the next one was getting to the NCAA Championship and performing there as well. I’m proud of them.
“One of the biggest things that helped us get to where we are now is the depth of the team. In some ways, it’s a shame that only three boats get to go to the NCAA Championship because it takes the whole team to get us there. That was one of the things that’s improved over the last handful of years is the depth of the team. Some of the freshmen, novices on the team have been stepping up and helping score points for us at Big Tens. To see us performing and coming in second is more of a sign of all the athletes working together.”
The committee rated Indiana as the No. 12 seed in both the Varsity Eight and Second Varsity Eight competitions. The Varsity Four is the No. 14 seed in the field. Both the V8 and 2V8 crews have been named Big Ten Boat of the Week this season and medaled at the Big Ten Championships. IU’s top boat took silver, finishing just one second behind champion Michigan, and owns a 23-7 head-to-head record this season. The 2V8 earned a bronze medal and is 20-11 on the year. Indiana’s Varsity Four placed fourth at Big Ten’s behind three ranked crews, but 12 seconds faster than fifth-place Iowa, and has a 21-9 mark. Indiana returned to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2019 last season and finished No. 17 nationally.
Seven Indiana University Baseball Players Earn Big Ten Honors with Devin Taylor on the First Team
One of the most prolific hitters in the Big Ten Conference, sophomore outfielder Devin Taylor repeated as a First Team All-Big Ten selection, as announced by the league office on Tuesday evening. He was one of seven Hoosiers to be honored by the conference this week. Taylor, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, was phenomenal in his sophomore regular season, hitting a team-best .362 with 77 hits, 17 home runs, 47 RBIs, 10 doubles and 61 runs scored. He led the Big Ten conference in runs scored, was sixth in hits, second in home runs and was ninth in batting average. He’s the first Hoosier to earn First Team All-Big Ten honors in consecutive seasons since Scott Donley, Kyle Schwarber and Dustin DeMuth, all of which did so between 2013-14. Taylor becomes the first player in program history to earn a nod as a First Team All-Big Ten selection in both of his first two years of college baseball.
Sophomore righty Connor Foley, IU’s 6-foot-5 flamethrower, was selected as a Second Team All-Big Ten selection after an outstanding season on the mound. One of the toughest pitchers to hit in the conference, allowing opposing hitters to hit just .152, Foley has developed a pair of off-speed pitches to go with his plus-fastball. The Jasper, Ind. native had a 4-1 record in the regular season across 12 starts with a 3.81 earned run average in 56.2 innings pitched. Despite missing two starts, Foley was fifth in the Big Ten with 75 strikeouts. He had two double-digit strikeout performances including a dominant display against the conference champions, Illinois. Over the course of the season, Foley allowed just 30 hits and 24 earned runs as the primary Saturday starter for the Hoosiers. He was fourth among qualified pitchers with a WHIP of 1.22. He was second in the conference with a K/9 mark of 11.9. IU was 10-2 in the regular season in games that Foley started.
After redshirting his initial season on campus, freshman Joey Brenczweski broke onto the scene as an outstanding hitter following a pair of injuries that forced him into a full-time role in the IU lineup. The Fishers native was second on the team with a .353 batting average and finished the regular season with 54 hits, 10 doubles, 3 home runs and 42 RBIs. His breakout performance came in the Maryland weekend with a four-hit outing on Friday night in College Park. He followed that up two weeks later with a two-home run, seven-RBI performance in a victory over Penn State. Brenczewski hit a grand slam in that game that put the Hoosiers ahead for good. Brenczewski was selected as an All-Big Ten Second Team utility player, having rotated between first base and designated through the course of the season. In conference games, of the players with 100+ plate appearances, Brenczewski is second in batting average with a .407 clip in league contests.
One of three position players to start all 53 regular season contests, sophomore shortstop Tyler Cerny parlayed a solid freshman campaign into an amazing sophomore season as the captain of the infield. The Greenwood, Ind. native was named a Third Team All-Big Ten selection. He led the Hoosiers with 56 RBIs while slugging 10 home runs for the second-straight season. The Big Ten leader in doubles has 31 extra-base hits this season and is one of two Hoosiers (Taylor) with 70+ hits this year on one of the league’s most balanced offenses. He’s the only player in the Big Ten with 10+ home runs, 20+ doubles and 50+ RBIs, solidifying his stature as one the best bats in the league.
Continuing a recent trend of playing the youngsters in their first year, the Hoosiers landed three players on the Big Ten All-Freshman team. Over the past four years, IU has had 12 All-Freshman Team selections with three in 2021, four in 2022, two in 2023 and three in 2024. Brenczewski (.353, 3 HR, 42 RBI), relief pitcher Jacob Vogel (18 app., 1-0, 0.43 ERA) and second baseman Jasen Oliver (.289, 8 HR, 29 RBI) were all selections to the freshman team, giving IU a league-best three selections. Redshirt junior catcher Jake Stadler, who has filled in as the starting backstop for the last two months, was named as the winner of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. Stadler, a transfer into the program this year, has exemplified toughness, selflessness and integrity at the most grueling position on the field.
Bloomington North Girls Track and Field takes home third straight Regional Title
The Bloomington North Cougars won the IHSAA Girls Track and Field Regional on Ralph Seiboldt Track at Bloomington North Tuesday Night with a team score of 103.5 Points, Bloomington South was second with 70 points, Northview finished third with 48, followed by Edgewood with 47 and Linton rounded out the top five 43 points. It’s third straight Regional Championship for the Cougars and the 11th overall. The Monroe County Teams combined to win 11 of 16 Individual Events.
Bloomington North won the 4×100 Relay Dede Eberle won the 100- and 300-Meter Hurdles along with the Long Jump and Hadley Lucas broke Regional Records in the Discus and Shot Put. Eberle set the regional record with a time of 14:12 in the 100 Meter Hurdles. Bloomington South won the 4×400 and the 4×800 Meter Relays and Ellie Barada won the 800 Meters. Edgewood’s Emma Edwards won the 400 Meters in a regional record time of 56.24 and Ashley Abram won the Pole Vault. Lyric Steele of Jeffersonville won the 100 and 200 Meters. Ella Hayes of Northview won the 1600 Meters, Peyton Smith of Linton won the 3200 Meters and Karsyn Buck of Northview won the High Jump.
The top three in each event advance to the state finals. Bloomington North finished second in the 4×800, and 4×400 meter relays Nola Somers-Glen finished second in the 800 Meters. Bloomington South’s Eden Bailey finished third in the 200 Meters; Lexi Kollbaum finished third in the 1600 Meters Edgewood finished third in the 4×400 meter relay. The State Finals are Next Friday at the Robert C Haugh Track and Field Complex on the Indiana University Campus. Field events get underway at 3 pm with running events starting at 4:45 pm.
Indiana Pacers lose in Overtime in Game 1 of Eastern Conference Finals
The Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers 133-128 in overtime in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday night at TD Garden. Jaylen Brown made a three-pointer with six seconds left to force the overtime, then Jayson Tatum converted a three-point play to put Boston up 124-123 with a minute to play in OT. Tatum helped seal the game with a three-pointer to give the Celtics a 1-0 series lead. Tatum led Boston with 36 points, while Jrue Holiday added 28. Tyrese Haliburton paced Indiana with 25 points with Pascal Siakam adding 24 and Myles Turner 23.
The Celtics raced out to 12-0 lead, forcing Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle to call a time out. Indiana responded with 11 points from Obi Toppin to cut the deficit to just three after the first quarter. The Pacers kept pace with Boston in the second behind strong play from Turner, who scored 18 points in the first half. Indiana tied the game at 57 on an Aaron Nesmith dunk. Haliburton made a 35-foot three-pointer two seconds before halftime to tie the game at 64. The Pacers had 22 assists in the first half.
Haliburton started the second half with a lay-up and three-pointer to put Indiana up five. The Pacers led 75-74 when the Celtics went on a 13-0 run. A Holiday three-pointer put Boston up by 13. Indiana responded with its own run. Haliburton banked in a three as time expired in the third to trim the deficit to just a point entering the final quarter. The fourth quarter was back-and-forth before the Pacers took a four-point lead on a Siakam jumper and dunk. Andrew Nembhard put Indiana up three to set-up Brown’s clutch three. Game 2 is set for tonight at 8pm at the TD Garden in Boston.
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