Six games into its Big Ten schedule, Indiana women’s basketball is still searching for its first conference win.
The Hoosiers dominated the first half of the competition, but an inefficient third quarter led to a close 56-53 loss to No. 14 Iowa on Sunday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Senior guard Shay Ciezki led the Hoosiers in scoring with 21 points.
After Indiana won the tipoff, Ciezki opened scoring for the Hoosiers with a basket on their first possession of the game. The quick bucket would be a sign of the quarter to follow.
Iowa sophomore guard Chazadi Wright scored nearly two minutes later to tie the game at two points each, but after her basket, the Hoosiers went on a 10-0 scoring run. While Indiana struggled to find scoring production from players other than Ciezki early in the season, four different Hoosiers scored points over the run.
Iowa didn’t score until just over three minutes remained in the first period, as a foul from junior forward Edessa Noyan sent Hawkeye Hannah Stuelke to the free-throw line. The senior forward drained both of her shots to put the score at 12-4.
The Hoosiers continued to extend their lead through the rest of the first frame, holding a 12-point lead before the start of the second quarter.
However, the Hawkeyes began to cut into that lead early in the second period, going on a 9-2 run to trim the Hoosiers’ advantage to just five points. Indiana stopped Iowa’s run with a transition 3-pointer from Ciezki after a defensive rebound from redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont.
The basket from long range was the start of a 13-2 run from the Hoosiers to end the first half. They entered the break with a 35-19 lead over the Hawkeyes, led by Ciezki who scored 19 points in the half.
However, the Hawkeyes weren’t giving up. And the Hoosiers, who have suffered many third-quarter collapses this season, began to return to that pattern.
Indiana went just 2 for 13 from the field in the third frame, and Iowa took advantage. The Hawkeyes turned the Hoosiers’ 16-point halftime lead into a one-point lead of their own with 1:44 left in the third quarter.
A second-chance layup from sophomore forward Zania Socka-Nguemen with 38 seconds on the clock reenergized the Hoosier fans inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall and gave Indiana a one-point lead heading into the final frame.
Iowa took the lead back 55 seconds into the fourth quarter with a basket from Wright, which marked the start of a back-and-forth final period.
Stuelke made a layup with just over one minute left in the contest, granting Iowa a 53-50 lead.
Wright committed a foul on the following Hoosier possession, giving Indiana a chance to set up an in-bound play. However, Beaumont held the ball for too long trying to find an open teammate, and the Hoosiers turned the ball over to the Hawkeyes.
Beaumont and Caffey committed fouls on Iowa’s possession, the latter sending sophomore guard Taylor Stremlow to the free-throw line. She made one of her two attempts to extend Iowa’s advantage to four points.
Ciezki missed a 3-point attempt and Beaumont missed a basket attempt after an Iowa foul gave the Hoosiers a second chance with 22 seconds left in the game. Senior guard Jeri Kiaku fouled Stuelke on the ensuing Iowa possession, and Stuelke missed both of her free-throw attempts.
However, the Hoosiers were unable to take advantage. Ciezki missed a 3-point attempt with 12 seconds left, and Iowa hauled in the rebound. Ciezki fouled Wright on the next possession, and she made both of her attempts. Caffey drained a 3-pointer, but it was too late for the Hoosiers, with .4 seconds left.
After Ciezki’s 19-point first half, she scored just two more points, going 1 for 11 from the field and 0 for 6 from 3-point range in the second half, in the Hoosiers’ eventual three-point loss.
Indiana (11-7, 0-6) will take on No. 23 Washington at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. The contest will stream on Big Ten+.
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.
