Sunday marked Indiana women’s basketball senior guard Shay Ciezki’s 10th performance with 20 or more points this season, solidifying her as the Hoosiers’ main source of offensive production.
In the Hoosiers’ 74-67 triumph over Eastern Michigan University on Sunday, Ciezki scored 25 points on 9-for-17 shooting from the field and 3 for 5 on shots from deep.
It marked Ciezki’s seventh straight game of 20 or more points. The last time she failed to meet the threshold was in a 72-53 victory over Butler University on Nov. 19, scoring just 14 points against the Bulldogs.
Ciezki has shouldered much of Indiana’s offensive volume through its first 12 games. The Buffalo, New York native, who has averaged a team-high 35.3 minutes per game, has now played all 40 minutes in two of the Hoosiers’ last three games.
Against Eastern Michigan, it was another game where much of the offense fell to Ciezki. Aside from her scoring 25 points on 52.9% shooting, only one other starter, junior forward Edessa Noyan, shot above 50% from the field.
Redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont scored 15 points, but did so on 4-for-13 shooting from the field. Freshman forward Makalusky went 3 for 7 from the field, with all her shots coming from beyond the arc, and freshman guard Nevaeh Caffey shot 2 for 7.
Overall, Ciezki has averaged 24.9 points per game on 55.6% shooting from the field. Only Noyan, sophomore forward Zania Socka-Nguemen and senior guard Jerni Kiaku have shot better from the field, but Noyan has started the past five games due to Socka-Nguemen's injury.
Behind Ciezki, who averages 16.5 shot attempts per game, is Beaumont, Indiana’s second-largest volume shooter, with 10.6 shots per game. At this point, Indiana head coach Teri Moren expects Ciezki to be the main scoring outlet.
“All the great ones want that responsibility,” Moren said postgame. “When the lights are on, in those biggest moments, the great ones will want to take it upon themselves to score the ball.”
Even though Moren said Ciezki wants those opportunities, Ciezki still needs consistent help. Beaumont, Indiana’s second-best scorer at 15.2 points per game, sometimes struggles to find consistency, although she shoots 48.8% from the field.
Ciezki has led the Hoosiers in scoring in all but two games this season — the win over Butler and a 76-72 road victory over Florida State University on Nov. 16. Beaumont led the team in scoring on both occasions with 21 and 23 points, respectively. This was part of a three-game stretch of 20 or more points for Beaumont.
After Socka-Nguemen, who averaged 13 points per game before missing the last five games due to injury, Indiana’s next best scorer is 6.4 points per game from Caffey.
Caffey, who has excelled on the defensive side of the ball to start her career, has struggled offensively, shooting just 38.2% from the field.
“She has to be able to finish around the rim for us,” Moren said. “She has to be able to play off of two feet, we have to have those high-percentage layups go in for her.”
Role players must step up and be able to contribute on offense. Sophomore guards Valentyna Kadlecova and Phoenix Stotijn have shot 35.7% and 24% from the field, respectively.
Against the University of Louisiana at Monroe, a 22-point performance from Makalusky, where she shot 8 for 12 from the field and 6 for 10 from 3-point range, was crucial as to why Indiana reached a season high of 98 points against the Warhawks. Makalusky’s outside shooting started slow but has made major strides in recent games.
For now, however, Ciezki is the one constant in Indiana’s inconsistent shooting to start this season. Ciezki is quickly placing herself among the great scoring guards Indiana women’s basketball has had in recent years.
However, if the Hoosiers want to be competitive in the Big Ten, Ciezki needs help shouldering the offensive load.
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.
