Ali Patberg
INDIANAPOLIS — The name may have changed from Bankers Life Fieldhouse to Gainbridge Fieldhouse, but Ali Patberg still feels right at home in the downtown Indianapolis venue.
The graduate student from Columbus North hit 5 of 7 3-pointers and finished with game-highs of 19 points and six assists Thursday afternoon to lead fifth-seeded Indiana to a 66-54 win against 13th-seeded Rutgers in the Big Ten Tournament.
Patberg still shares the Class 4A state finals record with the 31 points she scored in leading North to the 2015 state title at what was then Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
“I’m from Indiana,” Patberg said. “I’ve played in here a couple times. I love the gym. I love the atmosphere, and it’s tournament time, so I’m just going to do whatever it takes for our team, for us to win. Whatever it takes, I’ll do it.”
The Hoosiers (20-7) bounced back from a three-game losing streak to end the regular season. They lost four of their last five to fall from first place in the Big Ten to fifth.
“I think coming into it, we needed to win,” Patberg said. “We needed the confidence, but we needed to be clicking defensively, offensively, get the ball moving and it happened tonight. That was a big emphasis for us over the past couple of days — share the ball. We’re just taking it one game at a time. Every game is a big game, and we’re going to be ready.”
Patberg also grabbed five rebounds Thursday. She went 6 of 10 from the field and 2 of 2 from the free-throw line.
“(It’s) the work I put in the offseason, during the season, the shots that I get up but more importantly just the belief that my teammates and my coaches have in my ability, but our whole team’s ability,” Patberg said.
Grace Berger added 17 points, six rebounds and six assists for Indiana. Mackenzie Holmes scored 11 points, and Nicole Cardano-Hillary had nine points and five steals.
As a team, the Hoosiers had 18 assists on their 22 made field goals.
“We are talented offensively, defensively, and we can score at every position and that’s a blessing,” Patberg said.
“That’s a huge blessing, and I think the past couple games, it’s been almost like a burden for us. We all can do it, and so I think we all felt a pressure to do it ourselves. You saw it tonight. The runs we had, different people were scoring, and we can do that any night, any game. It’s the work that we put in, the confidence. We’ve had a couple tough games, but we don’t lose belief in ourselves and our teammates and our coaches.”
Osh Brown and Saywani Lassiter each scored 12 points to lead the Scarlet Knights (11-20).
Indiana advances to play fourth-seeded Maryland in the quarterfinals at 2 p.m. today.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Patberg said. “It’s a blessing to be as talented as we are, and we’re going to make the most of it in this tournament and keep it going from here.
“I’ve told everyone to be in the moment,” she added. “Be where your feet are. These are the moments that we’ll remember the rest of our lives, and just to enjoy it. We’ve put in the work, so we’re prepared. We’re ready to just have fun.”
