Ali Patberg leads Indiana, her hometown school, to upset of top-seeded N.C. State
The senior guard played a pivotal role in the fourth-seeded Hoosiers’ 73-70 upset of top-seeded North Carolina State on Saturday night in the NCAA tournament’s Mercado Region semifinals at the Alamodome in San Antonio, sending Indiana to the Elite Eight.
“This is a dream to play for Indiana,” Patberg said. “I grew up right down the road. I’m a Hoosier, and this means the world to me. My team, my program, our program — it’s a blessing. It’s a dream come true, and to be here on this stage with my teammates and my coaches, and I can’t even explain how much of a blessing it is and how thankful I am and grateful I am to be a part of this team and this school.”
Patberg led Indiana (21-5) with 17 points, making 6 of 10 shots from inside the three-point arc, with five assists and just one turnover in 39 minutes. Ten of her points came in the second half, when the Hoosiers held off a furious rally that drew North Carolina State (22-3) within 70-68 with 1:32 left.
Nicole Cardaño-Hillary made two free throws with 22 seconds to go for a 72-68 lead before Raina Perez made a jumper for the Wolfpack, which shot 50 percent and made 9 of 19 three-pointers.
Patberg made 1 of 2 free throws with 11 seconds remaining, and the celebration erupted on the Indiana bench when Elissa Cunane missed a step-back three-pointer at the buzzer.
“Ali Patberg is one of the best kids I will ever coach,” Hoosiers Coach Teri Moren said. “And I mean her character, how she’s been raised, her respect level that she has for her staff and for her team, and we just loved on her and tried to build her up every day. She is a passionate kid. She loves being in the gym.”
Patberg is averaging 14.1 points this season as Indiana’s third-leading scorer. She has scored in double figures in four straight games and in 12 of the past 13. Patberg lead the Hoosiers in minutes per game (33.9) and was one of four players to log at least 37 against the Wolfpack.
That Patberg has emerged as a go-to player for the Hoosiers is a testament to her resilience, said Moren, who helped rebuild her confidence following an injury that left doubts as to whether the former McDonald’s all-American would regain her form.
She played just 7.7 minutes per game in her only season with the Fighting Irish but made an immediate impact at Indiana, averaging 15.8 points and 4.8 assists in 2018-19 after spending countless hours in the gym with Hoosiers associate head coach Glenn Box, who oversees the guards.
“She was broken when she arrived at Indiana,” Moren said. “But as long as she had somebody that was willing to work and be in the gym with her and love on her and laugh with her, we just watched her sort of blossom in front of us to the kid that I watched in high school who played so fearlessly and was an emotional leader.
“It’s been such a pleasure to coach her and to help her but just watch her and to be part of her journey. I’m so blessed to be part of Ali Patberg and the journey’s she’s been on since she’s been at Indiana.”
