Indiana women’s basketball logged its second game of Big Ten conference play as it hosted Minnesota on Monday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
However, Indiana ultimately fell in its home conference opener, losing 71-48 to the Golden Gophers.
Indiana finished nonconference play with an 11-1 record with its only defeat coming in a 106-95 loss to then No.10 Iowa State University on Nov. 30. In their final nonconference game Dec. 21, the Hoosiers defeated Western Carolina University 71-44.
In its lone conference match prior to Monday, Indiana fell in a convincing defeat to Illinois 78-57 on Dec. 6. Through three quarters, the Fighting Illini’s 68 points more than doubled the Hoosiers’ 32.
Monday night’s game against Minnesota started as a back-and-forth affair with the Golden Gophers taking a 9-6 lead halfway through the first quarter. However, Indiana responded with 10 straight points of its own, taking an 18-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Entering the second quarter, multiple turnovers opened the door for Minnesota to respond with its own jab. The Golden Gophers scored eight consecutive points to take a 21-18 lead.
As the second quarter continued, the game remained close as both teams resorted to clawing their way inside for baskets. Minnesota retained a slender lead as the second quarter wound down.
With 1:34 remaining in the half, Indiana senior guard Shay Ciezki secured an and-one to reduce Minnesota’s lead to two. However, the Golden Gophers hit two more baskets to end the second period with a 34-28 advantage.
Ciezki led Indiana with 12 points at the break, with only two other Hoosiers — redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont and freshman guard Nevaeh Caffey — scoring 11 and 5 points, respectively.
Junior forward Edessa Noyan led the Hoosiers with four rebounds, and Ciezki accounted for all five of Indiana’s assists through halftime.
Indiana struggled offensively to start the second half. The Hoosiers failed to score in the first five minutes of the third quarter and committed six turnovers, which allowed Minnesota to increase its lead to 15.
Indiana scored its first points of the second half with just 1:22 remaining in the third quarter, as Ciezki pulled up from beyond the arc to end the Hoosiers’ scoring drought. Noyan scored to become Indiana’s fourth player to score on the night, but the Hoosiers still exited the third quarter trailing 51-33.
Indiana’s struggles to score in the third quarter put the Hoosiers behind the eight-ball entering the final period of play. Despite multiple Indiana threes, consistent second-chance points for Minnesota left the Hoosiers’ chances of winning dwindling.
By the time Indiana called a timeout halfway through the fourth quarter, Minnesota held a commanding 24-point lead, a lead the Golden Gophers rode out the rest of the way. In the end, Indiana slumped to a 71-48 loss.
Beaumont led the Hoosiers with 17 points, while Ciezki and Caffey both scored 16 and 13 points, respectively. Noyan — the only other Indiana scorer — logged 2 points.
Indiana was outrebounded 39 to 25 by Minnesota, with the Golden Gophers also committing just six turnovers compared to the Hoosiers’ 21.
Indiana women’s basketball next hosts Michigan State at noon Thursday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. The match will be streamed on the Big Ten 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.
