Indiana women’s basketball finished its three-game home stand Tuesday night against Marshall University. The Hoosiers defeated the Thundering Herd 57-51 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington to start their season 3-0.
Sophomore forward Zania Socka-Nguemen and senior guard Shay Ciezki led Indiana’s scoring efforts Tuesday night. Each recorded 13 points in the contest and 10 rebounds. Redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont added 10 points and six rebounds.
The Hoosiers and the Thundering Herd struggled to score points in the first quarter, with neither team topping 10 points. Indiana went just 3 for 16 from the field, while Marshall was 1 for 13.
The inability to score continued into the second quarter, but Indiana was able to find some offensive rhythm. The Hoosiers scored 15 points in the quarter, including 5 from Socka-Nguemen, who didn’t score in the first frame.
Indiana ended the first half shooting 31% from the field, and Marshall headed to the locker room shooting 17% from the field with a 1 for 10 mark from 3-point range.
Not only did both teams struggle to score because of low shooting percentages, but both suffered from turnovers in the first half. Indiana recorded 14 turnovers before the halftime break, and Marshall had eight.
Indiana finished the first half of the low-scoring affair with a 24-17 lead.
When the second half started, the Hoosiers were more efficient offensively than in the first two quarters. Indiana shot 58.3% from the field in the third frame. Although the Hoosiers extended their lead to 43-30, turnovers were still an issue, as they recorded five in the quarter.
The Hoosiers continued to struggle against the Thundering Herd’s defensive pressure in the final quarter, as they recorded nine turnovers. Marshall outscored Indiana 21-14 in the fourth quarter to trim Indiana’s lead; however, the Hoosiers were able to overcome the Thundering Herd’s efforts.
Indiana will now look toward Florida State University for its first road contest of the season. Tipoff between the Hoosiers and the Seminoles is slated for 5 p.m. Sunday in Tallahassee, Florida. The contest will stream on ACC Network.
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.
