5-seed Indiana Knocks Off 4-seed Maryland in Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals

Friday, March 4

Indianapolis, Ind. (Gainbridge Fieldhouse)

1:50 P.M. ET

Indiana University

21-7,11-5Big Ten

4-seed (#14/12) Maryland

21-8,13-4Big Ten

Indiana

Maryland

5-seed Indiana Knocks Off 4-seed Maryland in Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals

3/4/2022 5:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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INDIANAPOLIS – 5-seed Indiana knocked off 4-seed and two-time defending champions Maryland, 62-51, in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday afternoon at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

KEY MOMENTS

A one-possession game for much of the opening quarter, Indiana used back-to-back buckets from senior guard Grace Berger and sophomore guard Chloe Moore-McNeil to take a 14-9 lead with 2:13 remaining. Maryland got the last answer of the frame, but the game was still within two possessions for IU, 18-13.
Indiana maintained a five-point lead through much of the second quarter as it broke a scoring drought of nearly three minutes on a feed from Berger inside to Gulbe for the bucket, 30-23.
A second-chance opportunity by the Terps brought them back within five, but back-to-back buckets from junior forward Mackenzie Holmes with just over a minute to play gave Indiana what would be its halftime lead at 34-25.
Cardaño-Hillary opened the third with a 3-pointer for Indiana to push the lead to double-figures. But that would be the only bucket for a four-plus minute stretch as Holmes got Indiana going again on an offensive board and putback with 4:21 remaining.
The Terrapins came within as few as three, but Holmes would have something to say about that as she completed a 3-point play to put her team up 44-39. A Maryland turnover with four second to go in the third led to a steal from Moore-McNeil who fed to Berger as she coasted down the court for the layup as the buzzer sounded in the third, leading 47-41.
Indiana was able to withstand another push midway through the fourth, where back-to-back buckets from All-Big Ten honoree junior guard Ashley Owusu brought Maryland within five. Berger took advantage of a mismatch on the inside as she fed Holmes the ball for two more as Maryland needed a timeout with 4:57 to play.
Scoring on both ends was silenced for a chunk of the last part of the quarter, as Maryland again knocked at the door with 1:21 to play but the Hoosiers put themselves in an opportunity to capitalize in the bonus down the stretch, going 8-for-10 at the line to complete the victory.

NOTABLE

With the win over Maryland, Indiana advances to Saturday's semifinal of the Big Ten Tournament, their third semifinal appearance in five seasons.
The Hoosiers even their conference tournament record with Maryland after Friday's victory, 1-1.
Berger recorded her third double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Holmes led the team in scoring with 19 points and grabbed five rebounds.
Senior forward Aleksa Gulbe picked up a team-high tying 11 boards while also putting in seven points.
Graduate student guard Nicole Cardaño-Hillary added nine points, a team-high four steals and picked up eight rebounds.
The Hoosiers largest lead was 13 which was at the 17 second mark in the fourth quarter.
Indiana held Maryland to its lowest point total in a Big Ten Tournament game. Their previous low was 60 in a win versus Michigan State in the 2016 Championship game.
The Hoosiers held the Terrapins to just 31.4 percent shooting, which is their lowest in a Big Ten tournament game since 2015.
From behind the 3-point line, the Terrapins went 0-12 for the first time this season.
IU added an 80 percent performance at the free throw line, going 16-for-20 including 6-for-8 from Berger.
The Hoosiers improved to 17-0 this season when outrebounding their opponent as they won on the glass, 42-39.
Berger and graduate student guard Ali Patberg tied a team-high four assists.

QUOTABLE
Indiana head coach Teri Moren
"Well, it's a fantastic win for our program today. We have so much respect for Maryland and what they have done in the Big Ten for some time. So we knew that we were up against a great basketball team and we knew that we had to bring it for 40 minutes and I thought our kids defensively showed up in a big kind of way. Our goal going into the game was to be as disruptive as we could, especially with Reese. We were going to blitz her as much as we could. Just be active. We weren't going to leave (Katie) Benzan because of her ability to shoot it so well. But I'm just so proud of these guys in executing the game plan, sticking to it. It seemed like the third quarter we sputtered a little bit, but we didn't relinquish the lead. And then I thought we just made enough plays and found a way to win. And so just really, really proud of my group."

UP NEXT
Indiana meets 1-seed Ohio State on Saturday in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals at 3:30 p.m. ET in Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

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