Long before Sunday’s game at Iowa even tipped, Indiana was dealing with a loss.
Jaelynn Penn’s decision to opt out of the remainder of the season meant the Hoosiers were down a trusted veteran guard, a suboptimial situation to be facing ahead of a game against one of the best scorers in the country. But a collective effort from the Indiana backcourt, supercharged by the play of Ali Patberg and Nicole Cardaño-Hillary, helped the Hoosiers to an 85-72 road win over Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
“There was an interest level in how these guys would respond today with the news of Jaelynn opting out, but this is not new for us with Nikki being in the lineup,” IU coach Teri Moren said.