Despite a dominant victory over Lipscomb University in its season opener Tuesday, Indiana women’s basketball opened its contest against the University of Illinois Chicago on Friday struggling on both ends of the floor.
The Hoosiers trailed by 7 points going into the halftime break, but a commanding performance from senior guard Shay Ciezki in the second half powered Indiana to a 72-56 win at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Ciezki recorded 35 points, four rebounds, a block and two steals in the Hoosiers’ win over the Flames.
To start the contest, Ciezki missed a 3-pointer and UIC responded with a 2-point bucket. The Hoosiers took their first lead of the game with just under seven minutes remaining in the opening period. Freshman guard Nevaeh Caffey found a wide-open sophomore forward Zania Socka-Nguemen under the basket for an easy score.
However, Indiana struggled to retain its advantage over UIC. Just three Hoosiers — redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont, Ciezki and Socka-Nguemen — scored in the opening frame.
Indiana’s first made 3-pointer of the contest came from Ciezki just over two minutes into the second quarter. Before the triple, Indiana missed all six of its attempts from beyond the arc.
But the Hoosiers scoring woes continued into the second period. Defensively, the Flames continuously put pressure on the Hoosiers offense, which tallied four turnovers in the second period.
Of the eight Hoosiers who saw time on the floor, freshman forward Maya Makalusky was the only player apart from Ciezki, Socka-Nguemen and Beaumont to score in the first half. The inefficient shooting — the Hoosiers shot 31.3% from the field in the first half — led the Flames to outscore Indiana 18-10 in the second period and take a 34-27 advantage.
Caffey kicked off scoring out of the locker room with a 3-point score from the corner, but the Flames immediately responded with a 3-point make of their own from senior guard Jessica Carrothers.
The Hoosiers didn’t eliminate the deficit until nearly halfway through the third quarter.
Socka-Nguemen made a layup to bring Indiana within 2 points of UIC, which committed a turnover on its ensuing possession. Then, Indiana sophomore guard Valentyna Kadlecova missed a 3-pointer for the Hoosiers, but they forced a Flames turnover.
Socka-Nguemen once again made a layup, which tied the contest at 37.
A missed shot from UIC junior forward Julia Coleman and a rebound from Beaumont gave Indiana the possession and a chance to regain the lead. Ciezki took advantage and scored a 3-pointer from the corner in front of her teammates on the bench.
The basket from beyond the arc was just the start of a hot second half from Ciezki, who was 5 of 6 from the 3-point line and scored 25 points in the final two periods alone. Her efforts on both ends of the court pushed the Hoosiers to a 16-point victory.
The Hoosiers will now take on Marshall University at 7 p.m. Nov. 11 inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. The contest will stream on Big Ten+.
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.
