After a resounding 78-51 defeat in its first Big Ten game to Illinois on Dec. 6, Indiana women’s basketball responded with a 98-54 dismantling of the University of Louisiana at Monroe on Thursday.
The Hoosiers followed their performance against ULM by scraping a 74-67 win Sunday against Eastern Michigan University at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Senior guard Shay Ciezki led Indiana with 25 points.
Indiana freshman forward Maya Makalusky continued her hot streak to start the match, knocking home a 3-pointer for the game’s first basket while drawing a foul.
The Hoosiers opened the game with a 7-0 lead after two and a half minutes, but the Eagles kept clawing back. Eastern Michigan senior guard Ainhoa Cea hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to make the score 18-15 after the first quarter.
Indiana struggled into the second quarter, unable to gain a significant lead over Eastern Michigan. The Eagles tied the game up at 27 a piece halfway through the second quarter. With less than two minutes left before half, Eastern Michigan led 32-31.
Ciezki ended the second quarter scoring seven points in the final two minutes to give Indiana a 38-34 halftime lead.
Ciezki led the Hoosiers with 13 points at halftime, while junior forward Edessa Noyan added nine points and three rebounds. Freshman guard Nevaeh Caffey led the team with four rebounds.
The third quarter was much of the same story. Indiana attempted to build a lead, going up 46-38 less than three minutes into the quarter, but it wouldn’t last as the Hoosiers found themselves up 48-46 with over four minutes left.
Eastern Michigan continued to match Indiana stride for stride, tying the match at 52 points with just over a minute left in the third period.
Tied at 52 with one quarter remaining, the Hoosiers were in danger of succumbing to the upset. Makalusky started the fourth quarter the same way she did the first quarter — sinking a shot from beyond the arc.
Up 58-54 with eight minutes remaining, each side struggled to make shots. It took more than four minutes for Indiana to score its next basket from the field, with Ciezki answering Eastern Michigan bucket to keep Indiana’s four-point lead intact.
The Eagles refused to let the Hoosiers pull away, answering any jabs received with their own. Redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont gave Indiana breathing space, striking from deep before forcing a turnover and grabbing an and-one at the other end. It gave the Hoosiers a 68-58 lead and allowed Indiana to close the game out with a 74-67 victory.
Indiana women’s basketball hosts Western Carolina University in its next match at 1 p.m. Dec. 21 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. The Hoosiers’ final nonconference game will be streamed 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.
