For IU senior center Jenn Anderson, the IU-Purdue rivalry sparks a bit of family disagreement.
Four years ago she made the decision to play basketball for the Hoosiers. The Westfield, Indiana, native’s family mostly supports the team that hails from West Lafayette, Indiana, the senior said.
“Everyone except for me and my sister are Purdue,” Anderson said. “Everyone went to Purdue. Everyone cheers for Purdue. My sister and I are the only ones that came to IU, so we’re like the black sheep of the family.”
In-state rivalries can be an interesting proposition for student-athletes or coaches who hail from that state. A house-divided sign is a normal thing in the Hoosier state. Purdue and IU have plenty of fans and alumni that reside in Indiana.
IU Coach Teri Moren, now in her third season in Bloomington, attended Purdue and played basketball there. She started for two seasons in West Lafayette and brought the Boilermakers their first Big Ten Championship before she graduated in 1992. Moren grew up in a split-household much like Anderson.
“We had the same divided family,” Moren said. “We had the license plate that said ‘Purdue Boilermakers, Indiana, this house divided.’ Always spirited Thanksgivings and Christmases. Whether it was during the holiday or whether Purdue and IU were just playing, whether it was men’s basketball, football or whatever, there was always bantering back and forth.”
Anderson said prior to Thursday’s game her family would be wearing IU colors. It’s tough for them, but women’s basketball is the only time they’ll do it, Anderson said. Any other sport, and they wear their Boilermaker colors.
“They said they’ll be IU women’s basketball fans and Jenn fans, but not IU fans,” Anderson said. “I’m the reason why everyone is IU fans. They’ll be wearing red. It will be hard to put their black and gold away, but they’ll cheer me on.”
Thursday night’s game was the 74th matchup between the two teams. IU still has a slim lead over the Boilermakers in the all-time series, 39-35 after Thursday night’s win by the Hoosiers. It is a rivalry that runs thick throughout this state whenever these two schools meet up in any sport.
But this state prides itself on basketball. The Hoosiers knew this was a big game, and they delivered with a big performance on Thursday, beating the Boilermakers 74-60. For her part, Anderson delivered 10 points and six rebounds in 26 minutes on the court. After the game, Moren emphasized the importance of the rivalry win.
“Really, really happy for our players,” Moren said of the win. “We knew it was going to be back and forth. I just think it’s such a great rivalry. Either way I think it’s always going to be a great rivalry and a great game.”
