It was the first time all season that the infamous “Hoosiers” clip of Gene Hackman’s character, Norman Dale, slow-clapping at halftime was shown on the jumbotron of Assembly Hall.
The fans in attendance followed along with the scene, trying to give Indiana women’s basketball the momentum it needed in the final 10 minutes to close out a win against No. 14 Iowa.
Sophomore forward Zania Socka-Nguemen had just made a second-chance layup to give the Hoosiers a one-point lead with 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Indiana followed that possession by forcing Iowa senior forward Hannah Stuelke to miss a contested shot late in the shot clock to end the frame.
The Hoosiers had a 39-38 lead. It was supposed to be a moment that pushed Indiana over the edge to win its first game against a Big Ten opponent. A 0-5 start to conference play could be over.
What followed was sloppy play, costly turnovers and a lack of 3-point makes. The final score read 56-53 after the Hoosiers were outscored 18-14 in the fourth quarter. It was a game that left many Indiana fans scratching their heads, thinking, “What went wrong?”
But throughout the contest — and the season overall — a trend has impeded Indiana. Outside of senior guard Shay Ciezki, the Hoosiers can’t score the ball consistently.
On Sunday, Ciezki finished with 21 points in the loss. She shot the ball 24 times, knocking down nine of her field goal attempts. 10 of her shots came from 3-point range, where she only made one triple.
“I wish I could give you an exact reason, but sometimes you’re on and sometimes you’re off,” Ciezki said postgame Sunday. “That’s just how the game works. And tonight, obviously, was not the night for us 3-point-wise.”
Her 3-point effort was highlighted by a make in transition to put Indiana up 25-17 with 4:32 left in the second quarter. However, the effort was lowlighted by an airball to open the second half. A sign of the trouble coming for Indiana.
The 5-foot-7 Ciezki can shot-create and shot-make at an All-Big Ten and All-American level. She’s shooting above 40% from all over the floor — except on 3-point attempts from further than 25 feet — and has turned a mid-range jumper into an almost automatic shot.
Ciezki has played out of her mind at times this season. Look at a 38-point performance against Iowa State University, or a 35-point game against the University of Illinois Chicago or even 31-point contests against the University of Louisiana at Monroe and Nebraska.
But Ciezki can’t be the only source of offense for Indiana this season. A continued lack of scoring depth will guarantee future horrid offensive performances against Big Ten opponents. 48 points scored against Minnesota and 57 points scored against Illinois jump off the page in the Hoosiers’ past games.
Indiana only scored 53 points in Sunday’s game, but an improved effort on defense and a cold shooting performance by Iowa (35.6%) helped keep the game close.
Socka-Nguemen finished with a second-most 12 points, putting up 12 shots from the floor in the process. Redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont went 2 for 11 from the field and finished with 5 points. Freshman guard Nevaeh Caffey produced 7 points and freshman forward Maya Makalusky went 0 for 4 from 3-point range on her way to a zero-point performance.
Just looking at the starting lineup, there isn’t a lot of help for Ciezki. They’re not numbers that can carry a team to win against a conference opponent.
Over the course of the season, only three Hoosiers have produced double-digit points per game. Ciezki’s at a Big Ten leading 23.2 points per contest, Beaumont’s scoring 13.5 and Socka-Nguemen has had 12.6 in her 10 games played. That’s it.
The downturn in Beaumont’s production over the last two games has been troubling for Indiana’s chances of competing in the Big Ten. Her 14-game streak of scoring 10-plus points came to a screeching end against Nebraska, where she had zero points and went 0 for 7 from the field.
“’Beau’ can be her worst enemy,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said postgame Sunday. “In terms of her hesitation taking shots. And I think when she misses a few, I think that really kind of plays with her confidence.”
Caffey and Makalusky round out the top five scoring leaders at 7.4 and 6.7, respectively. Who’s next? A player who isn’t on the team anymore. Sophomore guard Valentyna Kadlecova was averaging 5.4 points per game before returning to the Czech Republic in December.
Moren’s said that she has “simplified” both sides of the ball recently. However, the simplicity of Indiana’s offense is working against the Hoosiers in conference play. Indiana can’t find as many open attempts at the basket.
Yes, an uptick in talent that the Hoosiers are playing is a reason for the increase in contested shots. But many Indiana players are not attacking the basket when given the opportunity.
Senior guard Jerni Kiaku came into Sunday’s game on Branch McCracken Court for only 12 minutes. She only put up — and made — two shots, but both came on layup attempts with her going downhill towards the basket.
It’s a scoring mentality that needs to spread to other Hoosiers. Indiana can’t take almost all 30 seconds on the shot clock and expect to find an easy basket on the offensive end.
The Hoosiers stay at home Wednesday, competing against another daunting opponent in No. 23 Washington. If Indiana wants to finally get itself into the win column in the Big Ten, not helping Ciezki offensively can’t happen.
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.
