“Our corn is better” newspapers adorned the student section and former Pacer Victor Olidipo, former Hoosier fan women’s fan favorites and WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley were all in attendance and the building was sold out again as Assembly Hall was filled to the brim with fans Thursday night, when the no.14 Hoosier women and Mackenzie Holmes took on the no. 4 Iowa Hawkeyes and Caitlin Clark.
While their rankings may be different, the win-loss record for the two teams were pretty neck and neck heading into the game. Indiana came into the game 21-4 while the Hawkeyes sat at 23-3. The stage was set for this game to be cutthroat with both teams giving their all as they approached the postseason.
It was clear right from the tip off that both teams were ready to win. Trading baskets back and forth, the two teams fought to gain a foothold over the other. After several lead changes in the first quarter the score was close, with IU leading by just one point at 23-22.
The Hoosier squad showed great defense, putting tons of pressure on Iowa and playing extreme intensity, feeding off the deafening fans. This caused Iowa to miss a lot of easy shots, almost like there was a lid on the basket.
It took the whole first half, but Indiana would finally find their footing and create a 10-point gap with just a minute and half left in the first half.
At the start of the second half. it was clear the Hoosiers and their diehard fans could taste blood and victory The team dug in their heels and extended the point gap to 15 with 3:21 left in the third quarter.
With just ten minutes left in the game Iowa had one more chance to overtake Indiana but it was clear they were fighting an uphill battle. With less than five minutes left in the game, the Hoosiers looked to put the game away with a score of 75-66 and, try as they might, the Hawkeyes were knocked off by Indiana with a final score of 86-69.
-Tim Stepp
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