No. 5 IU women finish sweep of Purdue before massive crowd in Bloomington

The Indiana women completed their third-straight season sweep of Purdue on Sunday afternoon before a crowd of 7,891 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.

The Hoosiers pulled out to a 49-30 lead in the third quarter and held on for 64-57 win to improve to 16-3 overall and 8-1 in the Big Ten.

Nicole Cardano-Hillary led IU with 19 points and 7 rebounds. Grace Berger added 17 points, 6 rebounds and five assists. Chloe Moore-McNeil had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

“Outstanding crowd this afternoon in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall,” head coach Teri Moren said after the game. “Think that was one of our largest, but as I said to the kids today, I felt like there was going to be a great crowd that was going to come out and support us this afternoon. So, we’re grateful that once again Hoosier Nation showed up in a big kind of way.”

After a back-and-forth start, a triple from sophomore guard Moore-McNeil put her team up 10 with 2:13 to go in the first half. It was part of a 14-4 run in the final 7:17 of the first half as Indiana took a 34-24 edge at halftime.

In the third, Indiana pushed the pace as senior forward Gulbe capitalized beyond the arc on a turnover from the Boilers and a signature jumper went down silky smooth for senior guard Grace Berger. It was part of the Hoosiers taking their largest lead of the game at 19 with 3:29 left on the third quarter clock. Purdue (13-10, 4-8) challenged Indiana down the stretch, as they came within five.

“I thought in the third quarter we came out, right after halftime and we picked up our energy, I think at one point we were up 19,” Moren said. “Then in the fourth quarter it just seemed like everything we had done in the third that gave us some level of success, we stopped doing.”

IU has now won seven straight over Moren’s alma mater and 10 of the last 11 meetings.

The crowd was Indiana’s largest of the season and fifth most in program history.