Indiana women's basketball is a squad full of new players to the program. It has six transfers and two freshmen with just five returning players. And of those five returning players, just one saw more than four minutes per contest last season.
The inexperience as a group has shown through the first four games of the season. After a dominant 80-46 victory over Lipscomb University on Nov. 4, the Hoosiers had lackluster performances against the University of Illinois Chicago on Nov. 7 and Marshall University on Nov. 11.
Against UIC, Indiana trailed by 7 points at halftime before a 25-point second half performance from senior guard Shay Ciezki powered the Hoosiers to a 16-point win. Indiana struggled to score and produced 28 turnovers in its contest against Marshall, but squeezed out a 57-51 win.
Indiana head coach Teri Moren saw it as an opportunity to have a conversation with her team about the standards held at her program and what is expected from her players come game time and game prep.
“I had a pretty in-depth clarity — role clarity — meeting with them,” Moren said in a press conference Sunday. “And I think it was good for them to hear like what we as coaches are expecting and what we're wanting from them and needing from them in order for this thing to work the way we want it.”
The reality check for Moren’s squad worked, as it notched its first win over a power-conference school this season. The Hoosiers defeated Florida State University 76-72 on Sunday afternoon at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center in Tallahassee, Florida.
Indiana saw all-around scoring impact from players on its roster. Redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont and senior guard Shay Ciezki recorded 23 and 22 points, respectively. Sophomore forward Zania Socka-Nguemen had her third double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
The more balanced impacts from the roster were needed for Indiana. Three Hoosiers fouled out of the contest against the Seminoles — Ciezki, junior forward Edessa Noyan and sophomore guard Phoenix Stotijn — while freshman guard Nevaeh Caffey picked up four fouls.
The foul trouble limited Indiana’s depth and forced Moren to reach deeper into her bench than she has in games past, which Moren said in hindsight might have been a positive for her team.
Senior guard Jerni Kiaku played six minutes of the contest. While the Duquesne University transfer just took one shot from the field, it was an important one. She made a layup with 15 seconds left in the game to give Indiana a 4-point lead over Florida State, which sealed the win for the Hoosiers.
Despite the wins over UIC and Marshall, Indiana was still disappointed in the performances it put out, Moren said, even “embarrassed” with how the turnover battle went for the Hoosiers.
However, Moren appreciated the way Indiana responded to the message earlier in the week and “took that to heart.” It showed in the increased opportunities taken by other players and the 13 turnovers the Hoosiers committed against the Seminoles. And Moren recognized it's a different environment and playing style for most of the players on her squad who are still learning what playing for Indiana looks like.
Sunday’s win showed promise for the new-look Indiana roster starting to gain familiarity with the program and the players on the team. While two returners — Ciezki and Beaumont — led the Hoosiers in scoring, the production from others was a sign of life after two-straight quiet performances.
“This is new for a lot of them,” Moren said. “Some of them have never prepped like this. You know, this, we're a big we take a lot of pride in those scouting reports and making sure our kids, you know, feel very comfortable about the scouting report, so still got a lot of work to do, still got a lot of work to do.”
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Max Schneider (maxschn@iu.edu) and columnist Sean McAvoy (@sean_mc07 and semcavoy@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
