Coming into Thursday’s game, Indiana women’s basketball ranked second in the Big Ten for 3-point shooting percentage. The Hoosiers were shooting an average of 37.8% from beyond the arc, only being bested by one team: Michigan State.
The No. 24-ranked Spartans entered averaging 38.6% on 3-point attempts. They were first in 3-point field goals made in the Big Ten this season at 117, an average of nine triples per game.
But on Thursday, fans inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall were treated to a contest where one team played like the best shooting team in the Big Ten, and the other didn’t.
Indiana finished the contest 27.3% from behind the arc, while Michigan State was at 47.1%, resulting in the Hoosiers dropping to 0-3 in conference play with an 80-60 loss.
Even though Indiana lost their conference openers to Illinois on Dec. 6 and Minnesota on Dec. 29, the Hoosiers were shooting a combined 39% from 3-point range in their Big Ten games — a mark good for first in the conference. Indiana drained 7 of their 20 attempts against the Fighting Illini and 9 of their 21 shots against the Golden Gophers.
Ahead of Thursday’s contest, Michigan State was shooting only 17.4% from 3-point range in its two conference matchups. Against Wisconsin on Dec. 7, the Spartans were 5 for 22 from beyond the arc. Michigan State followed that performance up with an abysmal 3 for 24 effort versus Rutgers on Sunday.
However, against Indiana, the red-hot shooting for Michigan State became evident in the first quarter. Senior guard Jalyn Brown went 3 for 3 from range to help kickstart a season-high 20-point performance from the Arizona State University transfer.
Brown knocked down the first nine points for the Spartans, as she was left open from both corners early in the contest. But, on paper, it was a good game plan to leave the 6-foot-1 Brown open, as she was a combined 0 for 6 from 3-point range against conference opponents.
“When you see those stretches, when it’s tied up, and you lose (Brown), who’d already hit a couple 3s,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said postgame Thursday. “Those things are backbreakers. They just can’t happen. Our kids are learning that.”
However, basketball isn’t played on paper. Indiana did play better perimeter defense against Brown throughout the rest of the contest — only allowing her to put up two more 3-pointers, of which only one went into the basket — but the defensive pressure allowed Michigan State’s frontcourt, led by senior forward Grace VanSlooten’s 18 points and 14 rebounds, to find success.
Senior guard Emma Shumate was the only other Spartan to have more than one 3-pointer made, as she went 2 for 3 from beyond the arc. Both of her makes came in the third quarter, when Michigan State outscored Indiana 21-12.
The Hoosiers only had two fewer made 3-pointers than the Spartans, but the threat of the outside shot forced Indiana to change its defensive mentality at certain points in the game. Something that Michigan State didn’t have to change.
For the Cream and Crimson, senior guard Shay Ciezki, redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont and freshman forward Maya Makalusky all had inefficient days from downtown.
Ciezki has been the focus for opposing defenses after averaging 24.9 points per game, but her scoring has come back down to Earth recently. The last two games have seen the 5-foot-7 Ciezki only score 17 and 16 points. Ciezki hasn’t been less efficient, but instead defenses have not allowed her to attempt the same number of shots as before.
On Thursday, Ciezki produced 16 shots, finishing the game with 16 points, but a 1-for-6 performance from 3-point range. She could’ve made another one if her left-handed attempt from distance was counted, but Ciezki released the ball after the third-quarter clock had expired.
“I wanted it,” Ciezki said. “I hoped it counted, but no, it didn’t. I thought, with the time running down, I thought I got it off, but apparently not.”
For Beaumont, she finished the game 2 for 7 behind the 3-point arc. The mark increased her streak to six consecutive games with at least two made 3-pointers after an up-and-down start to the season.
And Makalusky followed closely behind with a 2-for-6 performance. The 6-foot-3 Makalusky has steadily been finding her shot as the season has gone on — a 6-for-10 performance against the University of Louisiana at Monroe on Dec. 11 stands out from the rest — but it's been mostly inconsistent this season.
On Thursday, Indiana only attempted one fewer shot than Michigan State, but almost 41% of the Hoosiers’ shots came from beyond the arc, compared to 31% from the Spartans.
Michigan State’s ability to force Indiana into tough shots was the difference in the contest. And other Big Ten opponents can lock down the paint with sophomore forward Zania Socka-Nguemen still out. It’s a winning formula for opposing teams, but a losing one for Indiana.
“We have to make sure we’re always getting a great shot,” Moren said postgame. “Some of that had to do with Michigan State. Some of that had to do with us ... we got to keep teaching them, and they got to keep learning.”
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.
