Amidst a winter storm blanketing the Midwest and Northeast of the country, Indiana women’s basketball had a chance to break its freezing cold eight-game losing streak in the Big Ten.
Coming off an 81-67 defeat to No. 12 Ohio State on Thursday, the Hoosiers trudged up to Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana, on Sunday to play Purdue for the 33rd Barn Burner Trophy.
However, Indiana could not stop its conference skid against the Boilermakers, falling to its ninth consecutive Big Ten defeat 80-69.
Sophomore forward Zania Socka-Nguemen was ruled out before tipoff. After playing five games after coming back from an injury, the UCLA transfer wore a boot on her left leg while on the bench.
Indiana took a 9-4 lead halfway through the first quarter. Despite shooting poorly, Purdue managed to stick within a few points of Indiana as the first period ticked by. After one quarter, the Hoosiers carved out a 15-11 lead.
However, Indiana’s lead started to crumble in the second quarter. Purdue scored eight straight points to start the quarter, flipping a four-point deficit into a four-point advantage. From there, the Boilermakers stepped on the gas, taking a 30-17 lead just four minutes into the second quarter.
Purdue continued to pile on the pressure offensively, consistently draining shots from 3-point range. The Boilermakers increased their lead to as much as 16 as the Hoosiers struggled to keep up with their in-state rivals.
At halftime, Indiana trailed 41-29. The Hoosiers were outscored 30-14 in the second quarter, with sophomore guard Nya Smith notching 13 points for the Boilermakers.
Senior guard Shay Ciezki led Indiana with 13 points at halftime, with redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont chipping in nine points. Junior forward Edessa Noyan failed to score but led the Hoosiers at the break with five rebounds.
Entering the second half, Noyan took an elbow to the face on Purdue’s first offensive possession, drawing a flagrant foul on sophomore forward Kendall Puryear. Ciezki reached 20 points in the third quarter, which marked her 14th 20-point game this season.
Despite Ciezki consistently clawing Indiana back, the Boilermakers’ offense continued to flourish. Down 54-44 with four minutes left in the third quarter, the Hoosiers’ offense remained ineffective outside of Ciezki, who accounted for 18 of Indiana’s 25 third quarter points.
Trailing 62-54 with one quarter left, Indiana was unable to chip away at Purdue’s double-digit lead due to consistent offense from the Boilermakers. Halfway through the fourth quarter, Purdue’s lead was restored back to 15 points.
As the fourth quarter ticked by, Purdue maintained its comfortable lead to see out the match. In the end, Indiana lost 80-69.
Ciezki tallied 37 points against the Boilermakers, her second-highest mark on the season and more than half of Indiana’s 69 total points. Beaumont was the only other Hoosier to score double-digit points with 13. The Hoosiers’ two primary post players, Noyan and junior forward Jade Ondineme, fouled out in 16 and 21 minutes, respectively.
Indiana returns to Bloomington to host Michigan at 7 p.m. Jan. 29 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The game will 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.
