The Secret Sauce: Berger A Recipe For Success
1/27/2020 9:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball
By Jared Rigdon
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Grace Berger watched as Mackenzie Holmes came to set a screen on the right block. She looked Holmes in the eye and faked to her right before ultimately dribbling with her left hand and pulling up for a jump shot from the free throw line.
That bucket gave IU a 19-15 lead with 6:25 left to go in the second quarter, a lead that IU watched with concern but ultimately never relinquished.
Just before that, it was Jaelynn Penn with a running floater in the lane to give the Hoosiers the lead. Then with a little over a minute left in the half, it was Berger again with the pull up to put herself in double figures for the game.
It was a slow moving game offensively for both teams, partial product of an early 6:00 p.m. tip on a Monday evening in Bloomington.
But ultimately, IU did enough to fend off Minnesota 65-52 and get its second straight win in the conference.
"To have someone like Grace Berger to go get you a bucket, I think everyone wants someone like that on their team," Moren said. "You know Grace is always going to give you a good shot with a nice touch."
Minnesota quickly established how it was going to run its style of play against IU. Its game plan consisted of a heavy flow of offense through the 6'2" Taiye Bello.
On the first four possessions, Minnesota went straight to Bello as they jumped out to an 8-3 lead. From there on, IU made Minnesota use its guards more and took Bello out of her rhythm.
"I think Aleksa [Gulbe] was just more intentional and more serious about sitting down and trying to guard her," Moren said. "She realized that the up-and-under was something she kept going to and Aleksa took that away from her."
On the defensive end, Minnesota was going to load the paint and make IU beat them from the perimeter. It forced IU to adjust from its typical inside-out game plan with Mackenzie Holmes to one that includes dribble drive action from its three-guard set.
To IU's pleasure, it got one of the most complete efforts from its three starting guards to help pace the offensive effort.
Berger broke Minnesota's 1-3-1 zone with an impeccable, 25-point effort which included a 77 percent shooting percentage. Her most effective shot, a mid-range pull up off the dribble, continued to cause Minnesota trouble throughout the night.
"We knew Minnesota was a great defensive team but they would have to guard outside on the perimeter and down low," Berger said. "I knew the mid-range was going to be available off the screen and I was just knocking them down.
A rebound late in the fourth quarter gave Berger the first IU double-double of the season.
Penn and Patberg added to that performance with 15 and 11 points respectively.
"She, [Berger], was cooking," Moren said. "When she shoots it and sees it go in, her confidence goes to a whole other level.
Through three quarters, Penn, Berger and Ali Patberg combined to outscore Minnesota by three points. This comes on a night where Aleksa Gulbe and Brenna Wise didn't even score a basket and finished with a combined six points.
Early in the game, IU figured out how it was going to counter the defense Minnesota presented and adjusted to play a style of basketball Minnesota couldn't stop.
When Grace Berger is at her best, she's nearly unstoppable. When IU's guards are fully effective, it's one of the more dangerous teams in the country.
"Whatever [Grace] Berger had to eat or drink, we need to bottle that up and bring that against Wisconsin on Thursday because it worked."
As the season progresses, IU's ability to adjust to an opposing team's game plan can be the difference in how long its season goes.
Each game will be full of bright spots, such as Penn's pull-up jumper to beat the buzzer and put IU up eight in the third quarter.
And there will be areas of concern such as IU's 1-9 effort from long distance. But Berger's lights out showing and its lockdown defense continue to be vital in a conference where it's flat out difficult to win.
The win moved IU back into the top four of the conference, the section of the conference that receives the crucial double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
It wasn't a pretty offensive night for either squad by any means but it was a night where IU finally got its guards going offensively and found a way to adjust its game for a crucial conference win.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Grace Berger watched as Mackenzie Holmes came to set a screen on the right block. She looked Holmes in the eye and faked to her right before ultimately dribbling with her left hand and pulling up for a jump shot from the free throw line.
That bucket gave IU a 19-15 lead with 6:25 left to go in the second quarter, a lead that IU watched with concern but ultimately never relinquished.
Just before that, it was Jaelynn Penn with a running floater in the lane to give the Hoosiers the lead. Then with a little over a minute left in the half, it was Berger again with the pull up to put herself in double figures for the game.
It was a slow moving game offensively for both teams, partial product of an early 6:00 p.m. tip on a Monday evening in Bloomington.
But ultimately, IU did enough to fend off Minnesota 65-52 and get its second straight win in the conference.
"To have someone like Grace Berger to go get you a bucket, I think everyone wants someone like that on their team," Moren said. "You know Grace is always going to give you a good shot with a nice touch."
Minnesota quickly established how it was going to run its style of play against IU. Its game plan consisted of a heavy flow of offense through the 6'2" Taiye Bello.
On the first four possessions, Minnesota went straight to Bello as they jumped out to an 8-3 lead. From there on, IU made Minnesota use its guards more and took Bello out of her rhythm.
"I think Aleksa [Gulbe] was just more intentional and more serious about sitting down and trying to guard her," Moren said. "She realized that the up-and-under was something she kept going to and Aleksa took that away from her."
On the defensive end, Minnesota was going to load the paint and make IU beat them from the perimeter. It forced IU to adjust from its typical inside-out game plan with Mackenzie Holmes to one that includes dribble drive action from its three-guard set.
To IU's pleasure, it got one of the most complete efforts from its three starting guards to help pace the offensive effort.
Berger broke Minnesota's 1-3-1 zone with an impeccable, 25-point effort which included a 77 percent shooting percentage. Her most effective shot, a mid-range pull up off the dribble, continued to cause Minnesota trouble throughout the night.
"We knew Minnesota was a great defensive team but they would have to guard outside on the perimeter and down low," Berger said. "I knew the mid-range was going to be available off the screen and I was just knocking them down.
A rebound late in the fourth quarter gave Berger the first IU double-double of the season.
Penn and Patberg added to that performance with 15 and 11 points respectively.
"She, [Berger], was cooking," Moren said. "When she shoots it and sees it go in, her confidence goes to a whole other level.
Through three quarters, Penn, Berger and Ali Patberg combined to outscore Minnesota by three points. This comes on a night where Aleksa Gulbe and Brenna Wise didn't even score a basket and finished with a combined six points.
Early in the game, IU figured out how it was going to counter the defense Minnesota presented and adjusted to play a style of basketball Minnesota couldn't stop.
When Grace Berger is at her best, she's nearly unstoppable. When IU's guards are fully effective, it's one of the more dangerous teams in the country.
"Whatever [Grace] Berger had to eat or drink, we need to bottle that up and bring that against Wisconsin on Thursday because it worked."
As the season progresses, IU's ability to adjust to an opposing team's game plan can be the difference in how long its season goes.
Each game will be full of bright spots, such as Penn's pull-up jumper to beat the buzzer and put IU up eight in the third quarter.
And there will be areas of concern such as IU's 1-9 effort from long distance. But Berger's lights out showing and its lockdown defense continue to be vital in a conference where it's flat out difficult to win.
The win moved IU back into the top four of the conference, the section of the conference that receives the crucial double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
It wasn't a pretty offensive night for either squad by any means but it was a night where IU finally got its guards going offensively and found a way to adjust its game for a crucial conference win.
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
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