Berger, Penn save No. 18 Indiana women against Cornhuskers

Feb 9, 2020, 10:25 pm

LINCOLN, Nebr. -- Grace Berger turned a turnover into a layup with 30 seconds left and Jaelynn Penn turned another into a pair of free throws with 17 seconds left to play and No. 18 Indiana held on to defeat Nebraska 57-53 on Sunday.

The Hoosiers held a 17-point lead with less than four minutes to play in the third quarter but the Cornhuskers had cut the deficit to 51-40 entering the fourth quarter and then scored the first 11 points to tie the game.

Indiana, which missed its last four shots of the third quarter, missed its first 15 of the fourth quarter but regained the lead on a pair of Berger free throws with 2:50 to play.

Nicea Eliely tied the game at 53 with 1:45 remaining and the Hoosiers missed twice before Berger cashed in on the turnover. An offensive foul on Eliely allowed Penn to clinch the game.

Penn led the Hoosiers (19-6, 9-4 Big Ten Conference) with 14 points, Ali Patberg and Breena Wise added 10 apiece and Berger had nine points and 15 rebounds. Indiana shot 6% (1 of 16) in the fourth quarter, 17% (5 of 30) in the second half.

Kate Cain scored 12 points and blocked five shots for Nebraska (15-9, 5-8), which lost its fourth straight. The Cornhuskers shot 48% in the second half after shooting 25% in the first half to fall behind 41-23.

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