Heading into Saturday’s game against Illinois, Indiana women’s basketball had been streaky in terms of scoring success.
Against then-No. 10 Iowa State University on Nov. 30, the Hoosiers put up a season-high 95 points in an 11-point loss. Against Marshall University, however, they scored 57 points on 40.8% shooting in a six-point victory on Nov. 11.
Saturday at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois, however, it was clear early on which type of performance it’d be: the Hoosiers shot 19 for 53 from the field in a 78-57 loss to Illinois.
Indiana’s 35.8% shooting is the worst it has had from the field this season and marked its worst outing since Dec. 4, 2024, when the Hoosiers shot 35.6% from the field in a 67-63 victory over the University of Southern Indiana.
Only two Indiana players shot 50% from the field, as sophomore guard Valentyna Kadlecova and freshman forward Maya Makalusky both scored three points on 1-for-2 shooting from the field.
Senior guard Shay Ciezki led the Hoosiers with 23 points, but even she struggled at times to make shots. Ciezki shot 8 for 19 from the field, going 1 for 6 from beyond the arc.
Redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont had the opposite problem. Despite going 3 for 6 from 3-point range, Beaumont was 4 for 12 overall from the field.
The player who struggled the greatest was freshman guard Nevaeh Caffey, making a single shot in seven attempts, scoring two points. Despite this, she tied for leading the team in rebounds with six alongside Makalusky.
Illinois made 15 more shots and attempted 18 more compared to Indiana. The Hoosiers had 20 turnovers compared to the Fighting Illini’s 11, allowing Illinois extra possessions in a game where it already shot significantly better.
“I didn’t feel like at any point we got anything going,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said postgame. “I don’t feel like any point in the game tonight we felt real comfortable with any of the things offensively that we were getting to.”
Moren didn’t mince her words when it came to the performances of the starters Saturday, saying that Beaumont and Caffey were “not very good” against Illinois.
For as ineffective as some of the starters were, however, the bench was even less effective. The bench scored only three points all game, which came off a 3-pointer from Makalusky with less than a minute remaining in the contest.
Sophomore guard Phoenix Stotijn played a season-low 11 minutes, missing her only shot and collecting one rebound and two turnovers. In a game where four Illinois starters played 30 or more minutes, the Hoosiers’ bench was unable to use its fresh legs to the team’s advantage.
“Those bench players are supposed to come in and impact the game,” Moren said, “first and foremost on the defensive side of the ball, but then allow the game to come to them. It’s not like we’re asking them to go create shots.”
If the bench continues to not be able to affect games, it will hurt Indiana more as it gets into the thick of Big Ten play. Ciezki, who is averaging 24.3 points per game, played all 40 minutes for the second time this season.
Ciezki shouldered much of Indiana’s offensive volume early, taking 19 shots all game. The next closest contender was Beaumont with 12. On nights where Ciezki cannot bail the Hoosiers out offensively, others must help carry the load.
“Shay’s been really good,” Moren said. “But Shay needs help.”
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.
