Michigan State did Indiana a favor earlier in the week by knocking Michigan out of first place, elevating the Hoosiers into the top spot.
On Saturday in Bloomington, the hosts showed MSU no gratitude.
A dominant third quarter that saw IU extend a five point halftime margin to a 62-41 advantage was the difference as Grace Berger scored 17 of her career-high 29 points in that decisive ten minutes.
“Great win against an opponent that just knocked off Michigan the other night, so give our kids credit for showing up in a big kind of way and getting a big win today,” head coach Teri Moren said.
The No. 7 Hoosiers (18-3, 10-1) put four more in double figures as Aleksa Gulbe scored 13 points and had six boards, Nicole Cardano-Hillary added 12 points, Ali Patberg had 12, and Chloe Moore-McNeil added 10.
The Indiana defense held Michigan State to 15 points under their season average of 73 points per game.
Berger turned the jets on in the third quarter, behind a 30-17 effort for the Hoosiers, as she compiled her 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting and a perfect 5-for-5 at the line. She helped her team go 68 percent collectively. It was part of a 21-point second half effort for Berger.
Indiana cruised in the final quarter, as all of its available players saw time in the victory.
Starting center and leading scorer and rebounder Mackenzie Holmes was back in uniform but did not play in the contest.
UP NEXT
A road contest awaits the Hoosiers at Nebraska on Monday night. Tip is set for 7 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.
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