BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Grace Berger finished with a season-high 26 points, nine rebounds and six assists and Mackenzie Holmes of Gorham added 24 points as No. 2 Indiana used a late scoring run to pull away from No. 5 Iowa 87-78 on Thursday night.
The Hoosiers (23-1, 12-1 Big Ten) used a 17-7 fourth-quarter run to earn their 11th consecutive win, this time in front of a record crowd of 13,046. Indiana has broken the attendance mark three times since January and now has a 1 1/2-game lead in the chase for its first regular-season conference crown since the Big Ten’s inaugural season of 1982-83.
Caitlin Clark had 35 points, 10 assists and four rebounds to lead the Hawkeyes (19-5, 11-2), who lost for the first time since Jan. 1.
Not surprisingly, the rematch of last season’s Big Ten Tournament title game and first top-five matchup in Big Ten play in nearly 30 years lived up to the billing.
Two of the nation’s highest-scoring teams played to a 19-all draw after one quarter and a 39-39 tie at halftime. Indiana scored the final four points of the third quarter to take a 62-57 lead as the raucous fans urged them on.
Finally, in a contest featuring 11 ties and 14 lead changes, Berger and Holmes quickly turned the game in the fourth quarter by combining for nearly half the points in a 17-7 run that allowed Indiana to move out to a a 79-69 lead with 3:24 to go.
Iowa never got another chance to tie the score or take the lead.
(10) NOTRE DAME 69, PITTSBURGH 63: Sonia Citron scored 20 points, Maddy Westbeld added 17 and No. 10 Notre Dame(19-4, 10-3 ACC) beat Pitt (8-16, 1-12) at South Bend, Indiana.
Sophomore guard Olivia Miles had a double-double of 11 points and 13 assists with seven rebounds and two steals as the Fighting Irish extended their home winning streak against Pitt to 16 games.
Senior guard Dayshanette Harris led the Panthers with a season-high 20 points.
The Irish shot 36% through the first three quarters and trailed early in the fourth quarter. Notre Dame’s shooting struggles included missing 15 of 19 shots from beyond the arc. Notre Dame bounced back to shoot 69.2% in the final quarter, including two 3-point attempts.
The Irish outrebounded the Panthers by 41-27 margin, including 18 offensive boards. Westbeld led Notre Dame with 10 rebounds, including five off the offensive glass.
MIAMI 86, (19) FLORIDA STATE 82: Haley Cavinder made eight straight free throws in the final 30 seconds and finished with a career-high 33 points to help Miami (16-8, 9-4 ACC) beat No. 19 Florida State (20-6, 9-4) at Coral Gables, Florida.
FOOTBALL
SEC: Texas and Oklahoma are heading to the Southeastern Conference in 2024, a year earlier than originally planned, after Big 12 officials cleared the way Thursday for the storied programs to exit their league.
Texas and Oklahoma will leave behind the $50 million each school would have received over the next two seasons under the Big 12’s media contracts.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
TEXAS: School officials have more than doubled interim coach Rodney Terry’s salary to $1.2 million this season as he leads the No. 5 Longhorns after the midseason firing of former coach Chris Beard.
Terry took over the team as acting head coach when Beard was initially suspended following his arrest on a felony domestic violence charge on allegations he choked, hit and bit his fiancée.
Terry was given the interim head coach title when Beard was fired on Jan. 5. Texas (19-4, 8-3) sits in first place in the Big 12, which the Longhorns haven’t won since 2008.
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