Indiana Women's Basketball: A Tribute to Amazing Grace Berger

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Amazing Grace — how sweet the sound is of Grace Berger swishing a pull-up jumper for Indiana women's basketball.

With a two-point difference between 9-seed Miami and 1-seed Indiana, it all ended inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Monday night with no shot at an NCAA Tournament banner or Berger suiting up again as a Hoosier. Through tears, senior forward Mackenzie Holmes felt for her teammate.

"It's hard to put into words right now," she said. "Obviously I'm upset. My last game with Grace, and it's been a privilege to play with her these past four years, so I just hate that it has to end like this for her."

Holmes was one of the graduate student guard's favorite assist targets in the low block. The two worked well together. Actually, Berger worked well with everyone, even the newcomers who just met her this season.

"I've been with [Berger] for only a year," junior guard Sydney Parrish said. "But in my first years of college basketball I was really lost, and like I said, she's a big reason why I came here and she makes everyone around her better. She's a big reason why a lot of girls want to come here and play basketball now."

Parrish said senior guard Sara Scalia probably wouldn't be at Indiana if it weren't for Berger who makes the program run. Berger was like a magnet that made other basketball players want to wear the jersey for the Hoosiers.

"Everything goes through Grace, and she's going to be one of the best ever to come through Indiana women's basketball," Parrish said. "It's just not going to be the same without her. We're going to miss her."

Indiana head coach Teri Moren said Berger has fun in the gym and has therefore made it fun for others to want to join in on the work that doesn't seem so much like 'work' anymore.

Berger touches the lives of many people leading recruits like freshman guards Yarden Garzon, Lexus Bargesser and Henna Sandvik to Indiana, Moren said. Berger has led the charge to turn the program into what it is today.

Five years ago, Berger had plenty of options but chose Indiana. In her freshman season she played all 34 games making four starts and got her feet wet at the Big Dance before the Hoosiers fell to Oregon in the second round.

Two seasons later, Berger made history as one of the Hoosiers to upset top-seed NC State in the Sweet 16, advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history. Last season, it was a Sweet 16 run until UConn got in the way, and this year, the Hurricanes had the final word.

Even though she never got a banner, she was much more to this program than an athlete who averaged 12.9 points per game this season. She was the engine of the offense.

"I don't know if I can quantify in words just how important she's been to us and this program," Moren said.

"Grace plays such a big role in all of our lives because...she's the biggest introvert you'll ever meet, but she is the best teammate and she is just the most coachable kid, the most competitive kid, and that resonates."

Moren said Berger is a no-drama kind of person. She's rarely active on social media and looks at basketball like a business. She doesn't need a platform. Through tears, Moren said it'll be so weird not seeing Berger walk through the door anymore.

These emotions the team has for Berger is similar to those tears from last season when former guard and current Team & Recruitment Coordinator Ali Patberg left her mark on the program when it all came to an end last year in the NCAA Tournament.

"I said this about Ali Patberg last year — it's hard to find kids that want to come in here every day with that businesslike approach that by the way, are great human beings and they want to work, and they want to be great teammates and they want to be respectful and they want to just help you be successful," Moren said.

Although it may be over for Berger as a Hoosier, her life's journey is just beginning. It's unclear what her next steps are but Moren has always said she knows Berger can play at the next level if she wants that. 

From cutting down the net as a Big Ten regular season champion to all the wins and losses in between and finally walking off the court 'grace-fully' one last time, Berger will always be remembered as an iconic Indiana Hoosier.

"I can't wait to see what's next for her," Moren said. "She's been an unbelievable kid to coach. She's been an unbelievable teammate. That's why they're so emotional about her, because she means so much to all of us."

Related stories on Indiana women's basketball

• WHAT TERI MOREN SAID Indiana women's basketball fell to Miami 70-68 in the NCAA Tournament second round to end its season. Here's what head coach Teri Moren said in an emotional close to the season. CLICK HERE
• GRACE BERGER'S FOUNDATIONAL CAREER Grace Berger was instrumental in the growth of Indiana women's basketball, and her five-year career came to an end on Monday with a 70-68 loss to No. 9 seed Miami in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. CLICK HERE
• HOOSIERS FALL TO MIAMI IN NCAA TOURNAMENT SECOND ROUND TO END SEASON Indiana women's basketball ended its season with a two-point loss to 9-seed Miami after overcoming a double-digit deficit it had for the majority of the game. CLICK HERE