UConn vs Tennessee. LSU vs South Carolina. UCLA vs USC. Indiana vs Purdue.
Those games feature some of the biggest rivalries in women’s college basketball. And the Hoosiers and Boilermakers added another chapter in the storied history between the two programs.
After Indiana women’s basketball was defeated 80-69 against Purdue at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana, on Jan. 25, the Hoosiers sought revenge on Sunday.
At times, that mentality didn’t appear to be rewarded, as the Boilermakers cut away at Indiana’s lead at multiple points throughout the game. Purdue even tied the Hoosiers at 15-15 with seven minutes left in the second quarter after Indiana jumped out to an 11-0 start to the game. However, Indiana withstood the pressure and eventually won 74-59.
Yet, even during the Hoosiers lulls and rough stretches, there was one group that backed and cheered for Indiana: the 9,110 fans in attendance at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
“I love this crowd,” Indiana junior forward Edessa Noyan said postgame. “The support from everybody around IU, IU Athletics, like overall it’s so good here.”
Ten days ago, the crowd didn’t have a reason to show up on Sunday, as Indiana’s season seemed to require a miracle. Then-No. 9 Michigan demolished the Hoosiers 95-67 on Jan. 29 in front of the home crowd at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
That night, the Hoosier faithful didn’t have much to cheer about. Indiana went down early, and by halftime, the Wolverines were leading by 18 points. The Hoosiers drew their highest number of personal fouls (24) in a Big Ten game and were outrebounded by 12.
Indiana also coughed up 23 turnovers — second most in a Big Ten game — mostly due to the pressure that Michigan brought with its press. An aspect of the game that was much to the displeasure of Indiana fans in attendance. The Hoosiers on the court were met with loud constructive criticism from the Hoosiers in the stands.
“I haven’t forgotten how to coach,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said postgame on Jan. 29. “I am incredibly grateful for our fans, that they continue to show up. I would ask them to continue to show up for these kids.”
And the fans continued to show up.
Against Michigan, 7,619 fans were in the stands. Against Northwestern on Feb. 1, 8,515 people watched Indiana finally win its first Big Ten game, 89-75, after the 10 previous attempts resulted in a loss.
The winning ways for Indiana continued, as the Hoosiers defeated Wisconsin 77-74 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin, on Wednesday. That led the attendance number to trickle up over 9,000 on Sunday.
“In this state, when it comes to Purdue and Indiana, you don’t want to be on the other end,” Moren said postgame. “You want to be on the winning side of it, because it’s such an important thing for our fans.”
And Indiana put on a confident and rewarding effort that left likely Indiana fans satisfied. The Hoosiers combined to shoot 49% from the field and 38.5% on their 3-point attempts. Indiana also outrebounded Purdue 47-29 and finished with 18 assists — it’s the most against a Big Ten opponent.
Senior guard Shay Ciezki was dominant in multiple aspects of the game, compiling 29 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. Along with Ciezki, junior forward Edessa Noyan stepped up to finish with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman guard Nevaeh Caffey played stellar defense against Purdue’s guards of redshirt junior Tara Daye and sophomore Nya Smith.
Last time against the Boilermakers, an away crowd of 7,917 helped propel Purdue past Indiana. On the court, the Boilermakers played more physically than the Hoosiers. Off the court, Mackey Arena is undisputedly one of the hardest places to play in the country.
But Sunday’s game was a different story. Cheered on by the home fans at Assembly Hall, Indiana took the game to Purdue. And-1 opportunities from Ciezki and freshman forward Maya Makalusky made the crowd erupt and rise to its feet.
“I thought our effort was better,” Moren said postgame. “Our intent was greater. We were awfully disappointed after we lost there a couple weeks ago. I thought the crowd was awesome.”
Now, Indiana turns its attention to another rivalry game: USC. And yes, I can hear you complaining about how the Hoosiers and Trojans are not rivals. They’ve only played two women’s basketball games against each other in both programs' history. But the Big Ten Basketball Rivalry Series presented by Venmo begs to differ.
I’m being sarcastic about the rivalry aspect of the matchup on Thursday night, and other than the 10 p.m. start time against USC, the only other downside to the game is that it’s at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. But the Hoosier faithful knows how to travel well, especially when Indiana is playing for its season.
The Hoosiers jumped out of the bottom three of the Big Ten standings and into 14th place on Sunday. As a result, any victory Indiana gains before Rutgers on Feb. 25 and Penn State on Feb. 28 can help those contests not make-or-break the Hoosiers’ season.
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.
