LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Over five seasons with the Indiana University women’s basketball program, Grace Berger was rarely a player who wanted the spotlight turned directly on her.
She was about winning games, not winning scoring titles. She was focused on building the culture coach Teri Moren instilled, not building her Instagram following.
Berger played the game with the same spirit of selflessness she displayed at Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville before she signed with the Hoosiers five years ago.
But Monday night in New York City, Berger could not escape the spotlight. Berger will stay in the home area after the Indiana Fever made her the No. 7 overall pick in the WNBA Draft.
Berger was one of about a dozen players who were invited to Spring Studios in Manhattan for the 3-round 2023 WNBA Draft. The draft aired on ESPN. Moren sat with Berger's parents, Todd and Mary Charlotte, and roared in approval that Berger would begin her professional career less than an hour from Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
one of the best to wear the Hoosier uniform is staying in Indiana.welcome to the Fever, Grace Berger!#sponsored | @AnthemBCBS pic.twitter.com/TvdE8D0w5i
— Indiana Fever ⛹️♀️🏀 (@IndianaFever) April 10, 2023
Berger became the first IU player in program history selected in Round One. Despite missing 8 games with a serious leg injury, Berger was voted first-team all-Big Ten and honorable mention all-American as a guard listed at 6 feet tall.
ESPN's Holly Rowe asked Berger how she developed her toughness to compete.
"I think it's just my love for the game," Berger said. "I love the game so much that I'm giving It my all every time out there. I'm just really passionate and it helps that I play for such a great, friendly, competitive coach like Coach Moren."
After winning the Big Ten regular season championship, the IU women were upset by Miami in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on March 20. She averaged 12.9 points and 4.8 rebounds for IU, which finished 28-4.
First stop: Empire State Building 📍The 2023 #WNBADraft is tonight at 7pm/ET and the draftees got to light the Empire State Building orange 🧡 pic.twitter.com/9a9NeUlhwV
— WNBA (@WNBA) April 10, 2023
Moren was to assess Berger’s impact on the program.
“Oh, shoot, she’s helped build this program,” Moren said.
“We’re not sitting here where we are today. We weren't sitting here a year ago, probably three years out without Grace Berger on this roster. Just so grateful that, as I said that, that she decided to become an Indiana Hoosier five years ago when she had a lot of different options. She chose us.
“We're so grateful. And again, she's going to be one of the very best to ever put on a uniform. I can't wait to see what's next for her. 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.
“I don't know if I can quantify in words just how important she's been to us and this program.”
As I wrote last week, Berger will depart for the WNBA ranked second all-time in assists, sixth in points and 10th in rebounding at Indiana.
Attendance at IU women's games jumped nearly 98% from 2018 (the year before Berger arrived) through last season. The Hoosiers averaged 8,104 fans, which ranked eighth in the nation. Berger will move directly into the IU Athletics Hall of Fame as soon as she is eligible.
South Carolina center Alijah Boston went to Indiana with the first overall pick.
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