Entering Sunday’s match against Western Carolina University at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana women’s basketball averaged 10.8 bench points per game.
With 129 points scored off the bench through 12 games, the Hoosiers ranked 347th in the country in bench points per game out of 359 qualified NCAA Division I schools.
Even though Indiana’s bench managed to reach 17 points in its 71-44 victory against Western Carolina on Sunday, an irritated Indiana head coach Teri Moren wasted no time expressing disappointment in the bench’s performance.
“I want them to take more advantage of their time that they’re getting,” Moren said postgame. “There was some frustration I think on our part, that we are... 13 games into this and we’re still seeing some of the mistakes by those guys.”
Four different bench players played 15 or more minutes against the Catamounts on Sunday, with senior guard Shay Ciezki and redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont both receiving rest in the first and second quarters.
Despite the increase in playing time, the bench failed to take advantage for the most part. Even though senior guard Jerni Kiaku pulled down four rebounds and dished out three assists, she managed just three points in 15 minutes. Junior forward Jade Ondineme also banked three points and three rebounds in a season-high 15 minutes played.
Sophomore guard Chloe Spreen, who also logged a season-high in minutes played with 16, failed to score on three shot attempts. Spreen also went 0 for 4 from the free-throw line.
The best performer off the bench was sophomore guard Phoenix Stotijn, who accounted for 11 of Indiana’s 17 total bench points Sunday. Not only did Stotijn reach a season-high in points and in minutes played with 29, she also led the entire team in minutes against Western Carolina.
Stotijn struggled with her shot through her first 12 games, shooting 24% from the field and making just two 3-point shots. On Sunday, Stotijn doubled her 3-pointers made on the season, sinking 2 of 7 attempts as well as shooting 40% from the field.
Despite Stotijn’s performance, Indiana’s bench struggled against its final nonconference opponent. Seventeen bench points are still only good enough to tie for 261st in Division I, which would lift the Hoosiers from the bottom of the Big Ten average to 15th.
“Those guys have to be better,” Moren said. “The idea is, when you go to your bench... they’re gonna impact it in some way, hopefully it's gonna be on the defensive side. But what can’t happen is you can’t lose your lead, and you can’t allow the other team to start chipping into your lead.”
Despite shooting 28.3% from the field Sunday, Western Carolina managed to grab 12 offensive rebounds and score 11 second-chance points. Basic defensive mistakes allowing easy buckets inside the paint may not have affected the scoreboard against the Catamounts, but those same mistakes will be troublesome against Big Ten competition.
As of Sunday, Indiana has nine healthy players on its roster. Sophomore forwards Zania Socka-Nguemen and Faith Wiseman have missed the past six and three games, respectively. Redshirt freshman forward Sydney Fenn is also missing her second consecutive season due to a knee injury.
Alongside that, former sophomore guard Valentyna Kadlecova left the team Dec. 15 to play professional basketball in the Czech Republic, her home country. That leaves Moren with four healthy bench options.
Indiana’s nonconference schedule is now over. With a gauntlet of Big Ten opponents on the horizon, the Hoosiers’ bench will need to make a difference now more than ever.
“What we don’t have time for is to take steps backwards,” Moren said. “If we continue to have the slippages that we keep having defensively, it’s going to be really hard for us to be in games, stay in games and win games.”
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.
