In a battle for first place in the Big Ten, No. 2 Indiana held its ground by getting by No. 5 Iowa 87-78.
A 1 vs. 2 conference matchup delivered the intensity. The game remained tied after each of the first two quarters. Overall, there were 11 ties and 14 lead changes. But the Hoosiers pulled away in the second half outscoring Iowa by 11 points.
Fifth-year senior Grace Berger scored a season-high 26 points with nine boards and six assists. Mackenzie Holmes followed with 24 points, six rounds and four steals.
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Caitlin Clark notched a game-high 35 points and added 10 assists, but she committed eight turnovers. In total, the Hawkeyes turned it over 18 times.
Iowa’s second-leading scorer Monika Czinano recorded just six points, unlike her typical 18.3 per game. The senior forward fouled out with 2:51 left in the game.
This marked the first Big Ten top-five matchup since the 1993 between Iowa and Ohio State. Fans at Assembly Hall carried the weight of the moment, setting a new program record with 13,046 in attendance.
The crowd was so loud and rowdy that the clock stopped multiple times, according to the Big Ten Network broadcast.
Indiana's winning streak swelled to 11; the Hoosiers haven't tasted defeat since Dec. 29 in their only loss of the season.
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Coming into the matchup, the two teams had just one conference loss apiece. If Iowa overtook Indiana, the Hawkeyes would have leapfrogged the Hoosiers in the Big Ten standings.
Instead, Indiana once again asserted its dominance in the second half, similar to when the Hoosiers snatched the top spot from then-No. 2 Ohio State.
However, Indiana hasn’t seen the last of the Hawkeyes. In the final game of the regular season, the Hoosiers travel to Iowa on Feb. 26 in what could potentially decide the Big Ten.
