Two seasons ago, Indiana women’s basketball walked into Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, New Jersey, as the 16th-ranked team in the country to open its Big Ten slate. The Hoosiers entered the matchup as the clear-cut favorites against a 6-5 Rutgers team that didn’t have a win outside Quadrant 4.
What followed in that 2023 matchup wasn’t an expected dominant win for Indiana, but one in which the Hoosiers had trouble putting the Scarlet Knights away. Even though Rutgers’ only lead was taken with 26 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Indiana won by just 10 points, 66-56.
Wednesday night, the Hoosiers didn’t have the same luxury as two seasons ago, needing a win to stay in the driver’s seat of its Big Ten Tournament odds.
“You can't go into anybody's home floor in the Big Ten and think it's just going to be easy,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said postgame.
Rutgers was 1-15 in the Big Ten this season headed into Wednesday’s game. ESPN Analytics gave Indiana an 85.9% chance to win. Bart Torvik projected the Hoosiers to be victorious by 8.3 points. All signs that Indiana would cruise to a relatively easy conference win.
Yet, when the clock showed zeros at halftime, the Hoosiers were down by four points. Eighty-nine seconds of game time later, Rutgers sophomore guard/forward Zachara Perkins drained a 3-pointer that officially put the Scarlet Knights up by 10 points.
On the next possession, freshman guard Nevaeh Caffey launched a 3-pointer from the right wing. But for a usually lively Indiana bench, only one player rose to their feet — sophomore guard Phoenix Stotijn — in anticipation of the make.
Caffey’s attempt didn’t even hit the rim and deflected off the left side of the backboard.
Even though Indiana lost 92-48 to UCLA on Feb. 15, the start of the third quarter appeared to be the lowest point in seven games for the Hoosiers. Third quarter issues have been a story all too familiar for Indiana this season.
Eighteen minutes and 19 seconds later, Indiana emerged victorious 79-69.
“These guys understand what they have to do in order to get into the Big Ten Tournament,” Moren said postgame. “That shouldn't be pressure. We're playing better basketball. I think they feel it, which is the most important thing.”
Over a month ago, Indiana was in a close battle with an Iowa team now 13-3 and in third place in the Big Ten standings. The Hoosiers were up 35-19 at halftime. By the end of the third quarter, they were up by one point after scoring four points in 10 minutes.
But Wednesday night, Indiana’s problems started from the tip-off.
It took less than a minute for the Hoosiers to record their first turnover, and 25 seconds later, they produced their second. By the end of the first half, Indiana tallied 14 turnovers, its second-highest total during the first 20 minutes in a Big Ten game.
Before the Hoosiers’ 89-75 win over Northwestern on Feb. 1, their turnover issue would’ve snowballed and taken Indiana right out of the game. Since that game — and their subsequent four wins in six games — I can’t help but agree that the Hoosiers have been “playing better basketball.”
In the second half Wednesday, Indiana garnered five takeaways, only turning the ball over four times. Along with outrebounding Rutgers 18-7, it was a crucial change in the Hoosiers’ play that helped push them to a win.
The Scarlet Knights aren’t a team to scoff at — no one in the Big Ten is — but after playing nine teams ranked in the Top 25 of the NET in conference play, 162nd doesn’t seem to provide the same spark, on paper.
Yet, Rutgers came out swinging to start this game. Graduate guard Kaylah Ivey knocked down two 3-pointers, and Perkins was an efficient 4 for 5 from the field for eight points in the first quarter.
By the 8:16 mark in the third quarter, ESPN gave the Scarlet Knights a 63.7% chance to win.
Indiana had to turn to the late-game heroics of senior guard Shay Ciezki for what seems like the millionth time this season, but other players helped Ciezki in the pursuit of this crucial win.
Freshman forward Maya Makalusky finished with 19 points, connecting with four 3-pointers — including two in the first quarter. Caffey produced 14 points, her fifth double-digit scoring game in the last six contests.
“I think they did an excellent job tonight,” Ciezki said postgame. “They've been doing a great job in the last, probably, 10 games, honestly. So, it's awesome to see that growth with how young they are.”
Redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont made two 3-pointers on her way to 12 points and produced a team-high four assists. Even though she only finished with six points, junior forward Edessa Noyan hauled in 15 rebounds, with five of them coming on the offensive end.
And the bench can’t be forgotten. After only playing a combined 15 minutes, senior guard Jerni Kiaku and junior forward Jade Ondineme combined for seven points. All of Kiaku’s five points came in the fourth quarter, and Ondineme had an impressive putback with 4:05 left in the second quarter.
“I thought Jerni came in, and she was probably the most important player of the game,” Moren said postgame. “I thought when Jerni came in, she just did some really, really good things for us in the short amount of time she was in there, but they were critical moments and gave us some life.”
If Indiana lost Wednesday’s matchup, it would have been the most disappointing result for the Hoosiers this season. But the hypothetical game can be played on any other day.
Indiana’s recent wins have rejuvenated the “life” of this team. With only a matchup against Penn State on Saturday standing in the way of a Big Ten Tournament berth for the Hoosiers, no one would have predicted this in January.
Compared to past results, Indiana has evolved into an impressive team in February. Penn State should strike fear in the Hoosiers’ hearts — the Lady Lions just defeated USC 85-82 on Wednesday due to a 40-point performance from sophomore guard Kiyomi McMiller — but Indiana is ready for that challenge.
“We're going to approach every game like it's the most important game,” Moren said postgame. “And the next most important game is Penn State.”
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.
