Edessa Noyan has been a key piece for Indiana women’s basketball in each of its five Big Ten wins this season.
The junior forward scored just six points in 35 minutes during the Hoosiers’ 79-69 win over Rutgers on Wednesday night at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, New Jersey. However, she corralled a season-high 15 rebounds and played a significant role in limiting Rutgers senior forward Imani Lester.
Noyan’s 15 rebounds consisted of 10 on the defensive end and five on offense, giving Indiana multiple opportunities at second-chance points late in the contest and limiting the amount of second shots Rutgers could take. The Scarlet Knights had 10 second-chance points to the Hoosiers’ 11.
Lester, who ranks second on her team in scoring, recorded 10 points off 36% shooting from the field and collected two rebounds with Noyan primarily guarding her throughout the contest. Each of those were below the 6-foot-3 Lester’s season averages.
Both the limitation of second-chance attempts and Lester were crucial to the Hoosiers’ fourth-quarter comeback. After trailing the Scarlet Knights by four points at the end of the second and third quarters, Indiana outscored Rutgers 27-13 in the fourth quarter to seal their second-straight win and fifth Big Ten victory of the season.
“It's been nice to see Edessa have some success, particularly rebounding, because if there's one thing that I bark at her the most about, it's rebounding,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said postgame. “Whether it's offensive, defensive rebounding."
Noyan has impacted each of Indiana’s conference wins. She collected six rebounds in 25 minutes against Northwestern. Then, she corralled six rebounds and scored eight points against Wisconsin.
But her breakout game was in the Hoosiers’ Feb. 8 win over Purdue. Noyan recorded her first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
She once again scored 12 points with eight rebounds in the Hoosiers’ near-win over USC, but against No. 2 UCLA and senior center Lauren Betts, Noyan struggled. She got into early foul trouble against the 6-foot-7 reigning Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Noyan rebounded, though, from her performance against one of the most physical players in the country with 18 points and eight rebounds in the Hoosiers’ 72-65 win over Oregon on Feb. 22.
After Oregon, Noyan, who transferred from the University of Virginia during the offseason, said she was starting to better understand her role.
“I just feel like I found my place in the team,” Noyan said. “It took a long time, but I just feel like everybody's trusting me more, I trust myself more, got into the system, and everything's clicking now.”
Her outing against Rutgers was a continuation of that success.
The 6-foot-3 Noyan began the 2025-26 season as the backup to sophomore forward Zania Socka-Nguemen. But Socka-Nguemen suffered an injury in late November, and Noyan slotted into her spot. When Socka-Nguemen, returned, she resumed her starting role, but another injury in late January again sidelined her indefinitely, and Noyan has started since.
She underperformed early in the season, which garnered criticism from Moren. The 12th-year Indiana head coach even put other backups — like junior forward Jade Ondineme — in the lineup over Noyan.
“I was mad at Edessa because she wasn't boxing out, so I was giving somebody else an opportunity,” Moren said after Noyan notched just two rebounds and two points against Washington on Jan. 14. “That's all it was. I was disappointed that Edessa could not box out the way we needed her to.”
Noyan’s recent development on the court is a reflection of the team’s growth throughout the season. Indiana’s roster is comprised of eight newcomers, two of whom are freshman. Of the four returners, senior guard Shay Ciezki is the only player with more than two seasons of playing experience.
An 0-10 start in Big Ten play was proof of the growing pains the Hoosiers would go through as a young and inexperienced team in the conference. However, Indiana has won five of its last seven games, which has brought it into the Big Ten Tournament picture.
The Hoosiers continued development, especially Noyan’s, will be crucial for them as they close their season.
Indiana finishes its regular season with a contest against Penn State at 2 p.m. Saturday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. The Nittany Lions will present a challenge for Noyan in redshirt junior center Gracie Merkle, who stands at 6-foot-6 and averages 19.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.
In the Hoosiers’ five Big Ten wins, Noyan has averaged 9.4 points and nine rebounds per game. Those numbers drop to 4.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in conference losses. If Indiana earns a spot in the Big Ten Tournament, it’ll once again need her presence, regardless of the opponent.
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.
