Travelling to the West Coast off a three-game winning streak, Indiana women’s basketball looked to have turned its season around. However, the Hoosiers fell to USC 79-73 on Feb. 12 before getting humbled by No. 2 UCLA to the tune of a 92-48 defeat on Feb. 15.
Now ranked 15th in the conference and clinging onto the last Big Ten Tournament spot, Indiana returns home to host Oregon at 1 p.m. Sunday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
The Hoosiers had to play both schools out west mostly without the aid of senior guard Shay Ciezki, who rolled her ankle in a shootaround just hours before the game against USC. The Big Ten leader in points per game attempted to return against UCLA but logged just seven minutes and scored two points. She landed awkwardly late in the first quarter, and the coaching staff decided to rest her for the remainder of the match.
In Ciezki’s absence, freshman forward Maya Makalusky stepped up to carry the offensive load. After playing the full 40 minutes, Makalusky dropped a career-high 29 points against the Trojans and shot 5 for 10 from beyond the arc. And versus UCLA, Makalusky once again led Indiana with 13 points, contributing over 25% of the Hoosiers’ points.
Redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont has encountered more shooting struggles in recent weeks, shooting below 31% from the field in each of the Hoosiers’ last four games. Despite playing 36-or-more minutes in each of those matches, Beaumont has averaged 10 points per game over that stretch.
Junior forward Edessa Noyan, who earned her first double-double against Purdue and her second straight 12-point outing against USC, struggled against the size of UCLA and senior center Lauren Betts. Noyan managed just one point and two rebounds, fouling out in nine minutes.
Indiana has failed to earn a single win versus the top half of the Big Ten this season, something that won’t change; its final three games all come against bottom-half teams. Oregon currently sits 11th in the Big Ten, holding a 7-8 conference record and 19-9 overall record.
Oregon’s most recent contest came against Nebraska on Thursday, with the Ducks defeating the Scarlet Knights 80-76. Previously, Oregon lost two straight ranked games to then-No. 9 Ohio State 80-64 on Feb. 8 and then-No. 25 Washington 51-43 on Feb. 15.
Oregon’s leading scorer is sophomore guard Katie Fiso, who leads with 14.4 points and 6.6 assists per game. Senior forward Mia Jacobs averages 13.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Sophomore forward Ehis Etute, who has started 13 games for the Ducks this season, averages 11 points and a team-leading 8.3 rebounds per game.
Kelly Graves is currently in his 12th season at the helm of Oregon women’s basketball. The two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year held a 241-123 record with the Ducks and has earned six NCAA Tournament appearances through 11 seasons. He led Oregon to three straight Elite Eight appearances from 2017-19 and three straight seasons with 30 or more wins from 2018-2020, including a Final Four appearance in 2019.
Prior to coaching the Ducks, Kelly spent 14 seasons as the head coach of Gonzaga University. The Bulldogs tallied six consecutive NCAA Tournament berths under Kelly, which included an Elite Eight appearance in 2011.
Indiana and Oregon have met four times prior to Sunday, with two of those games coming last season. The Ducks emerged victorious 54-47 in the regular season on Jan. 24, 2025, in Eugene, Oregon. However, the Hoosiers took revenge in their first game of the 2025 Big Ten Tournament, winning 78-62 on March 6, 2025.
Tipoff between the Hoosiers and Ducks is set for 1 p.m. at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. The game will also be available on the 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.
