College Hoops

“She’s going to be one of the very best to ever put on a uniform”: Grace Berger was Indiana’s heart and soul until the very end – Inside the Hall

Amanda Foster

One All-American collapsed to the floor of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall as soon as the final buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the season. Another All-American kept her composure until reaching the locker room, but the tears fell nonetheless.

Both were equally heartbroken, but for different reasons. For one, it was the final game of her Indiana career. For the other, it was the last game with one of her best friends.

“Obviously I’m upset,” Mackenzie Holmes said, through tears, after Indiana’s 70-68 loss to No. 9 Miami in the 2023 NCAA tournament. “You know, my last game with Grace (Berger). It’s been a privilege to play with her for these last four years. I just hate that it has to end like this for her.”

Grace Berger and Mackenzie Holmes are the duo that represent Indiana women’s basketball — they have been for the entire season. They were the team’s leaders in every sense of the word, and it was never going to be any different, not until the season was over and things had to be.

So it was no surprise that the pair of All-Americans headlined Indiana’s final game of the 2022-23 season. In Monday night’s loss, Holmes and Berger combined for 39 points and 15 of the Hoosiers’ 29 rebounds.

They spoke calmly to their teammates and each other, let out yells and pumped their fists after success and worked as hard as they could to win the game.

But it wasn’t enough, and Berger’s career ended in the same place it began.

“I loved being a Hoosier, every single second of it,” Berger said. “It was the best decision I’ve ever made.”

The graduate student has a storied history as a Hoosier; the program had little success to point to when she joined five years ago. But Berger saw the potential in Teri Moren, just as Moren saw in her, and the two joined forces to create what would end up being the best three years in Indiana women’s basketball history.

“(I’m) just so grateful that she decided to be an Indiana Hoosier five years ago,” Moren said. “When she had a lot of different options, she chose us. And we’re so grateful, and again, she’s going to be one of the very best to put on a uniform.”

Berger helped lead the Hoosiers to three consecutive NCAA tournaments in her time. An Elite Eight, a Sweet Sixteen and, to close it out, an appearance in the round of 32. But while some would be pleased by that, Berger and the rest of her team are not.

They had championship aspirations and believed they had a…

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