Indiana’s Ali Patberg takes a shot against Western Michigan Dec. 19, 2021, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Photo By Andrew Mascharka/Indiana Athletics
Photo courtesy of IU Athletics
As the schedule winds down to the final two home games of Ali Patberg’s college basketball career, the former Columbus North standout is playing some of the best basketball she’s played all season, if not in her entire seven years of college.
Patberg scored a season-high 26 points in only 30 minutes Wednesday to lead Indiana University to a 93-61 win at Illinois. She came out firing, going 9 of 15 from the field and hitting a season-high four 3-pointers.
“Nobody has more confidence in Ali Patberg than our staff and her teammates,” IU coach Teri Moren said following that game. “Every game, we expect Ali to be a force offensively. I thought she came out tonight and was really assertive and was looking to take shots. She only decided not to take one or two of those. She’s too good of a shooter. She works too hard. Ali Patberg should never, ever pass up an open shot.”
Ironically, Patberg was coming off a season-low two-point outing in a 64-57 win against Purdue. But as the graduate student pointed out, the seventh-ranked Hoosiers won, and that’s what she was concerned with.
“I put in a lot of work,” Patberg said. “My coaches are confident in me, and so are my teammates. We’ve won the past games, and that’s all that matters, so I’ve just been focused on that. I went out (Wednesday) and just was focusing on having fun and just playing the game, playing to win.”
Patberg came back with 12 points in Saturday’s win against Michigan State. Indiana is 18-3 and sits atop the Big Ten with a 10-1 record.
The Hoosiers have only five games remaining before the Big Ten Tournament, beginning with tonight’s 7 p.m. matchup at Nebraska. IU hosts Northwestern at 6 p.m. Thursday and will have their senior day at Saturday’s 4 p.m. game against Iowa.
Last week also was a big week off the court for Patberg. On Thursday, she was named a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award.
To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must be classified as NCAA Division I seniors or graduate students and have notable achievements in community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their athletic platforms to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Patberg currently ranks ninth in school history in scoring (1,613) and third in assists (486) and has helped lead the Hoosiers to a 17-3 record this season. She is averaging 12.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and holds a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio. She shoots 43.2 percent from the field, 75.8 percent from the free-throw line and has scored in double figures 16 times.
Patberg graduated from Indiana’s Kelley School of Business in May 2020 with a 3.7 GPA and a degree in finance and currently is pursuing a master’s degree in recreational administration, where she holds a 3.9 GPA. She is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree and 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-American and two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.
In her free time, Patberg has donated her time to countless volunteer outreach programs, including Candy Stripe Crew, Habitat for Humanity Build, Camp Riley Hoosiers Outrun Cancer, Salvation Army Kettlebell Kick-Off, Fairview Hoosier Readers, Fairview recess buddies and Read Across America.
The finalists were chosen by a selection committee from the list of 30 men’s and 30 women’s candidates announced earlier in the season. Nationwide fan voting is under way to help select the winner, and fans are encouraged to submit votes online at the Senior CLASS Award website through March 21. Fan votes will be combined with those of the media and Division I head coaches to determine the winners.
The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the NCAA Men’s Final Four and NCAA Women’s Final Four.
“I am honored to be representing Indiana University as one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award,” Patberg said. “This award truly means the world to me as it represents the entire picture of what a student-athlete is. The list of finalist is an impressive one, and I am truly grateful that the committee considered me to be one of them.”
