Through its first six Big Ten games, Indiana women’s basketball found itself starved of its first conference win of the season.
Draped in red for ALS awareness Wednesday night, the Hoosiers fell in another convincing defeat to a Big Ten opponent, losing 82-63 to Washington at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
The match got off to a slow start offensively, taking Washington two minutes to open the scoring after consecutive missed free throws. Indiana managed to stick with the Huskies for most of the first quarter, trailing 13-11 with just under three and a half minutes left.
However, Washington started to pull away as the first quarter came to an end, increasing its lead to 11 points after one quarter of play.
Entering the second quarter, Indiana continued to struggle offensively, allowing Washington to slowly creep ahead through consistent offensive production.
With three minutes remaining in the first half, the Huskies led 39-22. Indiana managed to chip into Washington’s lead as the clock ran down with a 3-pointer from senior guard Shay Ciezki.
Redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont scored with a second remaining to trim Washington’s lead to 10, and Indiana entered the break trailing 41-31.
Ciezki led the Hoosiers with 12 points, going 4 for 5 from beyond the arc in the first half. Freshman forward Maya Makalusky was second with 8 points, shooting 2 for 5 from 3-point range.
In Indiana’s loss against then-No.14 Iowa 56-53 on Sunday, the Hoosiers limited the Hawkeyes to just 19 first half points. Washington scored 41 first half points against Indiana on Wednesday, shooting 60% from the field.
Entering the second half, Ciezki continued to strike from long range against Washington, cutting the Huskies’ lead into the single digits. However, Washington responded, taking its lead back up to 14 within two minutes.
As Washington maintained a double-digit lead throughout the third quarter, Indiana was unable to chip into the Huskies’ lead despite multiple 3-pointers from Ciezki and Beaumont. Washington continued to maintain its lead with consistent points from senior guard Elle Ladine, who led the team with 19 points.
As consistent as Washington’s offense was, so was Ciezki, who drained her third 3-pointer of the quarter and seventh of the game. The Huskies continued to score inside with ease, ending the third quarter with a 14-point advantage.
As the fourth quarter progressed, Washington’s lead only continued to grow. With seven minutes remaining, it had sprouted to 22 points.
Indiana’s offensive halted, scoring just four points through five and a half minutes of the fourth quarter. In the end, the Hoosiers fell 82-63.
Ciezki led Indiana with 23 points, going 7-for-11 from beyond the arc. However, she also went 1-7 from inside the arc. Makalusky ended the night with 16 points, going 4-for-7 from 3-point range.
Washington dominated inside on both sides of the floor, scoring 54 points in the paint and pulling down 32 rebounds compared to Indiana’s 20.
Indiana next travels on the road to take on Ohio State at 8 p.m. Jan. 22 at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. The game will also be streamed on Peacock.
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.
