After finishing 11-1 against nonconference opponents, Indiana women’s basketball will continue its Big Ten schedule against Minnesota at 6 p.m. Monday in Bloomington.
Senior guard Shay Ciezki led the Hoosiers throughout their opening schedule, averaging 24.3 points per game. Her mark leads the Big Ten and ranks fourth in the NCAA.
Indiana suffered just one loss in its nonconference slate — a high-scoring contest with then-No. 10 Iowa State University. The Cyclones defeated the Hoosiers 106-95 on Nov. 30 in Fort Myers, Florida. Ciezki recorded 38 points in the contest, but her performance wasn’t enough to overcome a 47-point outing from Iowa State junior center Audi Crooks.
Apart from the Hoosiers’ loss to the Cyclones, Indiana has suffered one other loss through its first 13 games of the season. On Dec. 6, Indiana fell to Illinois 78-57 in its Big Ten opener in Champaign, Illinois.
The Hoosiers struggled to generate any offensive momentum through the first three quarters of the contest, going just 10 for 37 from the field with only two 3-pointers before the final quarter. Indiana racked up 20 turnovers in the contest, with six committed by redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont and five from Ciezki.
Defensively, the Hoosiers struggled to guard the Fighting Illini’s interior offensive attacks, surrendering 58 points in the paint and giving up 11 offensive rebounds.
Efficient rebounding is an area where Indiana has struggled with so far this season, as it ranks last in the Big Ten and 300th in the NCAA in rebounds per game with 34.23. Beaumont and Indiana head coach Teri Moren acknowledged these poor rebounding efforts after the Hoosiers’ final nonconference game — a win over Western Carolina University on Dec. 21.
“Rebounding is more heart, toughness, determination, than it is anything else,” Moren said postgame. “We have to continue to emphasize it, but we have to continue to demand it, at some point they’re going to have to take pride in doing it. Because if they don’t that’ll be one of the reasons why we’ll have a hard time having any level of success.”
Rebounding will be especially important against Minnesota, which ranks fifth in the conference with 42.5 rebounds per game. The Golden Gophers are led by senior guard Amaya Battle, who averages 7.8 rebounds per game.
Minnesota sits at 9-3 on the season ahead of its contest against Indiana, with losses to the University of Kansas, the University of Alabama and No. 7 Maryland.
In its lone Big Ten contest so far, the Golden Gophers fell to the Terrapins 100-99 after two overtime periods on Dec. 7. Minnesota junior guard/forward Grace Grocholski — who leads the team in points per game with 13.3 — scored 31 points in the contest, while four other Golden Gophers recorded double-digit point totals.
However, the Terrapins held on with a 30-point outing from redshirt senior guard Saylor Poffenbarger and a 25-point performance from junior guard Oluchi Okananwa. Freshman guard Addi Mack and former Hoosier senior guard Yarden Garzon recorded 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Other than Grocholski, two other Golden Gophers average double-digit points this season. Sophomore guard Tori McKinney and redshirt junior guard Mara Braun average 12.8 and 11.3 points per game this season.
After Indiana’s game against Minnesota, five of the Hoosiers’ next six opponents are ranked in the Associated Press’ top 25 — No. 24 Michigan State, No. 7 Maryland, No. 20 Nebraska, No. 14 Iowa and No. 19 Ohio State. It will be crucial for Indiana to resume its conference slate by picking up a win over Minnesota before its six-game gauntlet.
Tipoff between Indiana and Minnesota is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington and 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.
