After suffering a 21-point loss to Illinois in its Big Ten opener on Dec. 6, Indiana women’s basketball returned to the hardwood against the University of Louisiana at Monroe looking to rebound from its defeat.
The Hoosiers got a 98-54 bounce-back win over the Warhawks on Thursday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Senior guard Shay Ciezki led the Hoosiers in scoring with 31 points. She also tallied five rebounds and two assists.
Indiana head coach Teri Moren and her staff made a change to the Hoosiers’ starting lineup Thursday. Freshman forward Maya Makalusky started over sophomore guard Valentyna Kadlecova. In her first contest as a starter, Makalusky tallied 22 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Indiana was without sophomore forward Zania Socka-Nguemen for the fourth straight game. However, two more Hoosiers were out Thursday: sophomore forward Faith Wiseman and senior guard Jerni Kiaku. Socka-Nguemen once again sat on the bench with a boot on her right foot, while neither Wiseman nor Kiaku were on the Indiana bench.
Despite suffering seven turnovers in the first quarter, Indiana was still able to get out to an early lead over ULM. The Hoosiers started the game with three baskets from Ciezki and two from junior forward Edessa Noyan to take a 10-2 advantage.
The Warhawks pulled within three points of the Hoosiers with just over three minutes remaining in the first quarter, but back-to-back 3-pointers — from Ciezki and Makalusky — gave the Hoosiers a nine-point lead.
Indiana entered the second quarter leading 20-12, and after a free throw from ULM senior guard Nakiyah Mays-Prince, the Hoosiers continued to extend their lead. Makalusky scored two more baskets from long range, and freshman guard Nevaeh Caffey drained two free throws to extend Indiana’s advantage to 15 points.
At the end of the first half, the Hoosiers led the Warhawks 42-23. ULM struggled to shoot, going just 9 for 35 from the field with a 2-for-7 mark from 3-point range. It was a stark difference from the Hoosiers, who were 14 for 22 from the field and made five of their nine 3-pointers at halftime.
The Hoosiers continued to dominate the Warhawks throughout the second half. While ULM scored 17 points in the third quarter, it wasn’t enough to cut into Indiana’s lead, as the Hoosiers scored 23 points to extend their advantage to 25 points.
Moren opted to pull four of her five starters with just over four minutes left in the contest as the Hoosiers held a 35-point lead. From there, Indiana coasted to its 44-point win over ULM.
The Hoosiers will now take on Eastern Michigan University at 1 p.m. Sunday at 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.
