No. 17 Indiana women beat Washington State 78-44

ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) — Ali Patberg and Brenna Wise scored 15 points each and No. 17 Indiana pulled away from Washington State for a 78-44 victory Saturday at the Paradise Jam tournament.

Mackenzie Holmes added 14 points and Jaelynn Penn had 11 for the Hoosiers (6-1), who overcame a slow start to lead by 17 points at the half, cruising from there in their tournament finale.

Borislava Hristova scored 16 points for the Cougars (4-3), which gave Indiana fits in the first quarter, leading by as many as six points midway through the period.

After swapping the lead three times, Washington State went on a 9-2 run midway through the period, with Hristova’s jumper with 5:44 left putting the Cougars up 13-7.

However, the Hoosiers closed out the quarter with an 18-5 run. Grace Berger’s jumper with 2:57 remaining put Indiana up 17-16, and Chanel Wilson made two free throws with five seconds left for a 24-18 lead at the end of the period.

Washington State cut the margin to three points, 31-28, on Hristova’s jumper with 5:35 left in the second quarter, only to see the Hoosiers score 14 unanswered points. Patburg scored eight points during the run, which gave Indiana a 45-28 lead at the halftime break.

BIG PICTURE

Indiana: The Hoosiers put another solid win under their belts to close out the three-games-in-three-days Paradise Jam.

Washington State: Even with three losses – all against Top 25 teams – the Cougars are still off to their best start since the 2016-2017 season, when they opened 5-2.

UP NEXT

Indiana has a quick turnaround before playing at No. 19 Miami on Wednesday.

Washington State begins a three-game homestand against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Wednesday.