No. 16 Indiana women use balance to sink Spartans 79-67

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Mackenzie Holmes led a balanced attack with 17 points and No. 16 Indiana took over in the second half to defeat Michigan State 79-67 on Sunday for the 800th victory in program history.

Ali Patberg added 15 points, Aleksa Gulbe 14 points and Jaelynn Penn 13 for the Hoosiers (10-4, 8-2 Big Ten Conference). Grace Berger added nine points, nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Patberg had six rebounds and five assists.

Indiana trailed by as many as 10 in the first quarter before cutting the deficit to two and were down 41-33 at the break.

But the Hoosiers, who shot 42% (11 of 26) in the first half despite making 5 of 8 from 3-point range, pounded the ball inside in the second half. Indiana made both of its 3-pointers but went 16 of 23 (70%) inside the arc and for good measure made 12 of 13 from the foul line.

Danielle Patterson’s basket in the closing seconds of the third quarter put Indiana up 58-56 and Holmes opened the fourth quarter with a three-point play.

Nia Clouden paced Michigan State (9-5, 4-4) with 19 points and Alisia Smith added 17 with eight rebounds. After shooting 67% (16 of 24) in the first half, the Spartans cooled off to 32% (9 of 28) in the second.

Michigan State home against Illinois on Thursday. Indiana heads to Iowa on Sunday.