SANTO ANTÓNIO – Teri Moren grew up near the Indiana campus and readily admits that she went to men’s basketball games as a child because the women’s team was not very good.
This is no longer the case, thanks to his training and the game of another Indiana native.
Ali Patberg scored 17 points to help fourth seed India to beat North Carolina first place 73-70 on Saturday night, sending the Hoosiers to the regional final for the first time in the school’s history.
“It means a lot to us to be able to do what we did tonight and continue to build our own tradition,” said Moren. “Tradition has always been on the side of men and we wanted to build our own. People talk about basketball in Indiana and we didn’t want it to be exclusive only to the male side. “
Patberg, who is from Columbus, Indiana, was thrilled after the game.
“It is a dream to play for Indiana. I grew up halfway, I am a Hoosier and that means a lot to me, “said Patberg, who transferred to Notre Dame school in 2017.” My team, our program, is a blessing and a dream come true to be here on this stage with my teammates and coaches. “
Indiana (21-5) was on Sweet 16 only once, in 1983, before the NCAA women’s tournament became a 64-team field. Now the Hoosiers are a Final Four victory away and need to beat Arizona in the Market Region final on Monday night to get there. The Wildcats had never come this far, either.
The Hoosiers led 70-60 with 2:51 left, before NC State scored eight consecutive points to get two with 1:21 left. Wolfpack (22-3) had the chance to draw, but star Elissa Cunane lost a disputed tray with 30 seconds to go.
Nicole Cardano-Hillary hit two free throws with 21.1 seconds left. Before the two on the line, Indiana had been a terrible 6 to 13 in free throws.
The Wolfpack was not made, with Raina Perez making a jump on the track to get NC State back within two with 13.5 seconds remaining. Patberg then hit one of two free throws for 73-70 and Cunane failed badly in a 3-point attempt before the bell, starting a wild celebration for the Hoosiers in the middle of the court.
“Hard day. Give Indiana and its coaches and players a lot of credit. They did a great job,” said NC State coach Wes Moore. “They made it difficult for us to conduct things offensively. Obviously, they performed a lot. on the offensive side. I’m proud of our team. We were a little lacking in the hand of a very good player, Kayla Jones, and I’m proud of the way our kids fought. year. “
Jones injured his left knee during a first round victory over North Carolina A&T. She averaged 11.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists this season.
Indiana lost 33-28 at the end of the first half before scoring six points in the second quarter. He took the momentum to the third, opening a 45-35 lead. Indiana hit seven of the first eight shots in the period.
Patberg scored seven points in the fourth, while the Hoosiers led 58-48.
Jada Boyd scored 18 points for NC State, and Perez scored 17.
The defeat ended a wonderful season for Wolfpack, who won the title of the ACC Tournament and won first place in the ranking of the school’s history. NC State was trying to secure the second slot in the Elite Eight program and the first since the 1998 tournament, when they were trained by the late Kay Yow.
“We are going to overcome the obstacle. We need to overcome the obstacle, “said Moore.” We need to keep putting ourselves in that position and, hopefully, close the deal and take advantage of it. “
The Hoosiers played a stellar defense in the first two rounds of the tournament, allowing only 40 points per game. It was the smallest number of points allowed by a Big Ten school in the first two NCAAs games.
MAKE SOME NOISE
For the first time in the tournament, the general public was able to watch the games at the Alamodome. Each game could have 17% of capacity, which meant about 4,800 fans. In the previous two rounds, the teams received six tickets per person on the trip.
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