Grace Berger will still get to call Indiana home after the IU women’s basketball star was drafted by the Indiana Fever Monday night.
Berger was the seventh overall selection in the WNBA draft. She’s just the fifth Hoosier ever to be drafted and the program’s first first-round pick.
“I'm so excited to be back in Indiana,” Berger said. “Fifty miles up the road in Indianapolis, just a community that means so much to me, a community that I know loves women's basketball.”
Berger was a four-time first team all-Big Ten pick at Indiana. She averaged 12.9 points, 5.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game for the Hoosiers last season, when they won their first Big Ten title in 40 years and earned a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament.
Fever general manager Lin Dunn is very familiar with the Indiana program. She coached IU’s Teri Moren at Purdue and has remained close to Moren during her nine-year coaching career at Indiana.
But she said that didn’t factor into her decision to draft Berger.
“We drafted Grace Berger because she's an exceptional player that can play three positions that's a fantastic person off the court and just happens to be down the road,” Dunn said. “So, I don't want you to think that we took her because she lives in Bloomington. Or that I'm an IU fan.”
First-year coach Christie Sides said she like’s Berger competitive nature.
“(She) loves the game and is going to get out and do whatever is needed for her team,” Sides said. “I had the opportunity to go watch her play a lot being close to Indiana, and just every night she’s gonna give you everything she has. Those are the kind of people we want in this locker room and on the court.”
The Fever went just 5-31 and finished last in the WNBA last season, earning the No. 1 pick for the first time in franchise history.
They selected South Carolina power forward Aliyah Boston, who led the Gamecocks to the 2022 NCAA title. The Fever are banking on her and Berger to lead a resurgence in Indianapolis.
“I just can't wait to get up there, put on my jersey get to work and be a part of the growth of the team back to being a championship contender year in and year out,” Berger said. “So, I can't wait. This is right where I want to be.”
