With an 0-2 Big Ten record, Indiana women’s basketball will look to redeem itself in its second consecutive home conference game against No. 24 Michigan State at noon Thursday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
The Hoosiers finished 11-1 against nonconference opponents but were dominated up front by Minnesota on Monday, falling to the Golden Gophers 71-48.
In Monday’s defeat to Minnesota, Indiana was rendered helpless as the Golden Gophers cleaned up the glass, particularly on offense. Minnesota collected 39 total rebounds, 18 of which were offensive. In comparison, just two of Indiana’s 25 rebounds came on offense.
Those offensive boards gave Minnesota 18 extra shot attempts it wouldn’t have had otherwise, earning 19 second-chance points. Indiana, by contrast, had zero second-chance points.
Indiana head coach Teri Moren said her team heavily prepared for Minnesota’s rebounding and physicality, but she ultimately pointed toward a lack of execution after the loss.
“You can tell, it’s disappointing,” Moren said postgame. “Because everything that you guys watched out there tonight, I can promise you we repped. I can promise you that our group knew what it was going to take to have any level of success against a really good Minnesota team.”
Not only will the Hoosiers need to improve execution on the glass against Michigan State, but more players must get in on the scoring. Only four Hoosiers scored points against Minnesota — redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont, senior guard Shay Ciezki, freshman guard Nevaeh Caffey and junior forward Edessa Noyan.
The Hoosiers’ bench, which currently ranks 352nd out of 359 NCAA Division I teams with 10.4 points per game, scored zero points in the contest. The three bench players who got playing time against Minnesota — sophomore guard Phoenix Stotijn, junior forward Jade Ondineme and senior guard Jerni Kiaku — combined for one attempted shot.
Michigan State is 12-1 on the season, with its lone loss coming in its first Big Ten match against Wisconsin 78-64 on Dec. 7. Most recently, the Spartans defeated Rutgers 70-64 in their first home conference game Sunday.
Michigan State has faced one ranked opponent up to this point — the No. 15 University of Mississippi in the Cherokee Invitational on Dec. 22. The Spartans defeated the Rebels 66-49.
Senior forward Grace VanSlooten is Michigan State’s top scorer, averaging 14 points per game. The Spartans have cultivated a balanced offense through its nonconference schedule, as six players average at least 9.6 points per game. By contrast, the Hoosiers have three players averaging that much or higher.
Redshirt sophomore Kennedy Blair leads Michigan State with 7.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. The 5-foot-9 guard also averages 12.5 points per game, the second-highest mark on the team.
Michigan State head coach Robyn Fralick is in her third season at the helm of the Spartans, achieving a 44-19 record in her first two years as head coach. The Spartans made NCAA Tournament appearances in each of her first two seasons.
Fralick previously spent time coaching at Ashland University and Bowling Green State University. She led Ashland to a 104-3 record and a NCAA Division II championship after going a perfect 37-0 in the 2016-17 season. She held an 88-73 record through five seasons at Bowling Green.
Indiana’s game against Michigan State tips off at noon Thursday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
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.
