Cardano-Hillary, No. 5 Indiana beat Purdue
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Nicole Cardaño-Hillary scored 19 points and Grace Berger had 17, leading No. 5 Indiana over Purdue 64-57 on Sunday.
Chloe Moore-McNeil added a career-high 11 points and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes as a substitute for the Hoosiers (16-3, 8-1 Big Ten). It was her first career double-double.
“Coming off the bench, sometimes it’s hard to get momentum into your own game,” Cardaño-Hillary said. “The fact that (Moore-McNeil) can bring energy to everyone else is pretty incredible.”
The Boilermakers outscored Indiana 16-12 in the fourth quarter. Playing in front of 7,891 fans, its largest crowd of the season, the Hoosiers closed out the win on Berger’s four free throws in the final 23 seconds.
“The energy that the fans bring when we do get in those lows, those fans just bring us back up,” Cardaño-Hillary said. “I’m just so grateful to have that as a fan base.”
Cardaño-Hillary, who missed Indiana’s first game against Purdue due to health and safety protocols, had seven turnovers, including four in the fourth quarter.
Jeanae Terry led Purdue (13-10, 4-8) with 14 points. Brooke Moore scored 13 off the bench.
The Indians defense also forced 18 turnovers and turned them into 23 points. The Hoosiers average 15.6 points off turnovers per game.
“We challenge our kids every day to be better on ball defenders,” Indiana coach Teri Moren said. “It’s a combination of the experienced team but also we have a highly competitive group.”
BIG PICTURE
Purdue: The Boilermakers have now lost seven straight games in the rivalry and haven’t won at Assembly Hall since Jan. 19, 2012.
Indiana: The Hoosiers took care of their in-state rival Purdue for the second time this season, despite not having leading scorer Mackenzie Holmes for either game. Indiana beat Purdue 73-68 in overtime Jan. 16.
STAT OF THE DAY
Indiana relied on its guard play with Purdue trying to shut down forward Aleksa Gulbe and scored only 22 of its 64 points in the paint. Gulbe scored 11 points on 4-13 shooting.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
After losing its third game of the season to No. 6 Michigan on Monday, Indiana finished the week with two wins at home.
UP NEXT
Purdue: Plays Penn State at home Wednesday before heading to play Wisconsin on Sunday.
Indiana: Plays at Illinois for the first time this season after their earlier matchup was canceled due to COVID-19 issues.
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