Entering Thursday’s game against No. 24 Michigan State, Indiana women’s basketball’s bench ranked 352nd out of 359 Division I teams with an average of 10.4 bench points per game.
The Hoosiers’ bench woes continued against the Spartans, as Indiana lost its third straight conference match, falling to Michigan State 80-60 on Thursday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
Indiana started its Big Ten campaign with a 0-3 record, losing each game by 20 or more points. In the Hoosiers’ 78-57 defeat to Illinois on Dec. 6, the bench scored 3 points off a single 3-pointer from freshman forward Maya Makalusky. The bench failed to score any points in the Hoosiers’ 71-48 home defeat to Minnesota on Monday.
Thursday’s match against Michigan State was more of the same. Despite not blanking for the second straight game, the bench managed 4 points — two apiece from senior guard Jerni Kiaku and junior forward Jade Ondineme.
Through its first three Big Ten games, Indiana’s bench has managed to log 7 points. The bench overall has seen a downtick in usage in the last two games compared to nonconference play. Three bench players found the court against the Golden Gophers and just two against the Spartans.
Combined, the bench played a total of 49 minutes in the Hoosiers’ last three games. Through 12 nonconference games, Indiana’s bench averaged 11.9 points per game. That average has dropped to 2.3 in its three Big Ten games.
Sophomore guard Phoenix Stotijn, who logged double digit minutes in each Indiana’s games prior to Monday, played just eight minutes against Minnesota and failed to see the floor against Michigan State.
Indiana head coach Teri Moren praised Kiaku postgame for her energy, the only bench player to receive praise from Moren during the conference.
“She understands her role,” Moren said postgame. “And that’s the thing about those guys coming off the bench, you know, there is role identity that we all have to have.”
Moren emphasized the idea of “roll identity” for the team’s role players, with Kiaku’s role entailing “pesky” defense and maintaining fluid ball movement within the team.
“Everybody has to accept their role,” Moren said. “And sometimes, that’s not always the case.”
Over the past two games, Kiaku and Ondineme have logged 21 and 20 minutes, respectively. Limited bench options have led the Hoosiers’ starters to play for the majority of games.
Ciezki has played all 40 minutes in three of the past four games, including both Big Ten games. Both Beaumont and Caffey also played 35 or more minutes in both conference games.
Indiana was able to rely on its starters to win games through its nonconference schedule, but the Big Ten is proving a much more daunting task. While Moren emphasized growth in the midst of a young team’s growing pains, the bench must raise to Indiana’s standards if the Hoosiers want to compete in the Big Ten.
“What you do in practice is probably what you’re going to do in a game,” Moren said. “If you’re not gonna get it right in practice, then I don’t know that I can trust that you’re gonna get it right when it counts, when those lights are on. That’s how you earn playing time, that’s how you earn starting roles around here, that will be the standard.”
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.
