BLOOMINGTON — The Indiana women’s basketball team felt the celebration on Monday night wasn’t complete without acknowledging the role Grace Berger played in the team reaching the Sweet 16 for the third time in four years.

The No. 4 seed Hoosiers advanced past the second round of this year’s NCAA tournament with a 75-68 win over No. 5 Oklahoma. They erased a four-point deficit in the final minutes in front of 12,835 fans at Assembly Hall.

Berger, who was drafted by the Indiana Fever in the first round of last year’s WNBA draft, didn’t suddenly gain some unexpected eligibility, but everyone in the locker room credits her for establishing a winning culture in Bloomington.

“A piece of this win goes to Grace Berger,” Holmes said.

Indiana coach Teri Moren told The Herald Times before the season that one of the pivotal moments of her tenure is when the then five-star prospect out of Sacred Heart in Louisville verbally committed.

Berger went on to average 12.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game during her five-year career. She had a 74.6 career winning percentage in 148 games (118 starts) that included a run to the Elite Eight in 2022 and earned first-team All Big Ten honors in four consecutive seasons.

She’s been a regular fixture at Assembly Hall in recent months cheering on her former team and Monday night was no different. The Hoosiers were happy she was in attendance to see them avenge last year’s upset loss to Miami in the second-round of the NCAA tournament.

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Indiana guard Sydney Parrish got choked after the game thinking about Berger not getting a chance to walk off the court at Assembly Hall with a win.

“Me and Grace Berger's lockers were next to each other, and just knowing that I let her, you know, leave the Hall with a loss…” Parrish said. “We said it every single game that we played at home that we need to protect Assembly Hall, protect our home court.”

Berger found the sentiment touching, but didn’t want any credit for what the team accomplished.

“I'm not surprised,” Berger said, after the game. “They were great teammates, they are always trying to give credit to someone else. This is obviously all them. We've had the talent to make a Final Four for a couple years now, and hopefully this is the year we’ll do it. I'm really happy for them."

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana women share credit with Grace Berger for March Madness success