The Indiana women’s basketball team saw four players receive All-Big Ten honors on Monday.
Two Hoosiers were named to the All-Big Ten first team for the second consecutive season, as sophomore forward Mackenzie Holmes and junior guard Grace Berger were selected by both the coaches and the media.
It is a repeat honor for Berger, who was also on the first team last season. Berger is averaging 15.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game while maintaining a plus-2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Louisville, Ky., native leads the country with three triple-doubles on the season and became just the fifth player in NCAA history to have two triple-doubles against the same team (Penn State) in a season.
Holmes was honored for the first time in her career while also earning a spot on the media’s All-Defensive Team. The Gorham, Maine, product is IU’s leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 18.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, shooting 60% from the floor and averaging 2.9 blocks per game. Holmes ranked second in the Big Ten in blocks and blocked shots per game, ninth in scoring and 10th in rebounds per game. Her 64 total blocks rank as the fourth-most in a single-season by an IU player.
Senior Ali Patberg earned All-Big Ten honors for the third time in her career as a second-team selection. The Columbus native is averaging 14 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game while posting a plus-2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio. She has scored in double figures 14 times this season and in each of the last eight games.
Indiana junior Aleksa Gulbe received her first postseason honors, being named honorable mention All-Big Ten after averaging 9.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while shooting 48.3% from the field and 77.6% on free throws.
“All deserving, every one of them,” IU coach Teri Moren said on her weekly radio show Monday night. “There’s no secret to any of their success other than hard work. They’re passionate about what they do, and that passion and love pays off and is rewarded by getting the type of accolades all four of those guys have been given.”
The Hoosiers’ Sportsmanship Award honoree was senior Keyanna Warthen.
“She’s a phenomenal teammate, she loves her team and they love her,” Moren said. “She represents our program in such a first-class manner in the way she handles herself in each situation.”
Big Ten Player of the Year honors went to Michigan’s Naz Hillmon, while Maryland’s Brenda Frese was chosen as Big Ten Coach of the Year. Northwestern’s Veronica Burton repeated as Defensive Player of the Year, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark was Freshman of the Year and Penn State’s Maddie Burke was Sixth Player of the Year.
Indiana, which moved up to No. 9 in the Associated Press poll Monday — an all-time high for the program — opens play in the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 2 seed on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. against the winner of Penn State and Michigan State at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
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