After its first loss of the season against then-No. 10 Iowa State University, Indiana women’s basketball returned to Bloomington looking for a bounce-back win.
And despite trailing early, Indiana ultimately defeated Western Michigan University 71-53 on Wednesday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Senior guard Shay Ciezki was the Hoosiers’ leading scorer Wednesday night. She recorded 26 points. Redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont added 13 points and four rebounds.
Sophomore forward Zania Socka-Nguemen missed her second straight game due to injury. She sat on the bench and wore a boot on her right foot. Edessa Noyan once again slotted into the Hoosiers’ starting lineup in place of Socka-Nguemen. The junior forward scored seven points in 28 minutes played.
After Beaumont scored two opening free throws for Indiana, Western Michigan went on a 9-0 run to take a seven-point lead in the nearly six minutes remaining in the first quarter. Senior guard Shay Ciezki scored the Hoosiers’ first field goal of the night with a layup nearly four and a half minutes into the first period.
Indiana continued to chip away at Western Michigan’s lead and eventually pulled within four points with a basket from Ciezki with 46 seconds left in the first quarter. However, Western Michigan sophomore forward D’Myjah Bolds made a 3-point basket moments later. Ciezki scored a basket at the end of the first period to trim Indiana’s deficit to five points.
The Hoosiers took their first lead of the contest nearly six minutes into the second quarter. Beaumont recorded a layup to put Indiana ahead of Western Michigan 28-26. Beaumont’s basket was part of a 13-2 Indiana run, which gave it a five-point advantage with just under two and a half minutes remaining in the first half.
Heading into the third quarter, Indiana held a 35-31 lead over Western Michigan. Ciezki scored 15 of the Hoosiers’ points in the first half, while Beaumont added 10 points.
Bolds scored another 3-pointer less than 20 seconds into the second half to cut Indiana’s lead to one point. However, the Hoosiers held Western Michigan to just 11 points in the quarter and took a nine-point advantage into the final frame.
Indiana continued to extend its lead in the fourth quarter. A 3-pointer from Noyan gave the Hoosiers a 15-point lead with just under six minutes remaining in the contest. Indiana head coach Teri Moren cleared her bench with about two and a half minutes to go in the contest, and the Hoosiers claimed their 18-point victory.
Indiana will now take on Illinois at noon Saturday in Champaign, Illinois, for its first Big Ten matchup of the season. The contest will be broadcast on 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.
