Indiana women’s basketball’s contest against USC looked different for Shay Ciezki than its previous 25 games.
The senior guard injured her ankle during the Hoosiers’ shootaround ahead of their matchup with the Trojans. Ciezki was listed as questionable on the team’s pregame availability report but remained on Indiana’s bench for the entirety of the game.
Without Ciezki — the Big Ten’s leading scorer — Indiana fell to USC 79-73 on Thursday at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, which dropped its record to 14-12 overall and 3-11 in the conference.
But even without Ciezki, four Hoosiers scored in double digits.
“I thought all of them stepped up,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said postgame. “And that's what we told them, you know. When one of your teammates is unavailable, then that means everybody else has to step up and do a little bit more. And I thought, all of our kids, you know, they answered the bell.”
In place of Ciezki, senior guard Jerni Kiaku slotted into the Hoosiers’ starting lineup alongside freshman guard Nevaeh Caffey, freshman forward Maya Makalusky, redshirt sophomore Lenée Beaumont and junior forward Edessa Noyan. Of those five players, only Caffey and Beaumont have been starters throughout the season.
Makalusky was thrust into a starting position after sophomore guard Valentyna Kadlecova returned to the Czech Republic to play professional basketball on Dec. 15. Noyan received the starting nod when sophomore forward Zania Socka-Nguemen was sidelined with lower body injuries.
The short-handed Hoosiers struggled throughout the beginning of Big Ten play, dropping their first 10 conference games before going on a three-game win streak with victories over Northwestern, Wisconsin and Purdue. And from the start of the game, it seemed as if Indiana’s momentum had traveled with it to the West Coast.
While the Trojans took an early 7-2 lead over the Hoosiers, Indiana clawed right back. A 3-pointer from Makalusky cut USC’s lead to two. A layup from Beaumont tied the contest, and a layup from Caffey gave Indiana a two-point advantage.
The Hoosiers held onto that advantage for much of the first half, leading the Trojans by as many as 11 by the time the first quarter closed. However, at the 33 second mark of the second period, USC redshirt freshman forward Laura Williams successfully completed a three-point play to take a one-point lead. Maklusky responded with a 3-poitner to take a 37-35 advantage before halftime.
USC started the second half quickly, taking an eight-point lead with just under three minutes left in the third frame.
But Indiana wasn’t going away.
The Hoosiers were within three points at the end of the third. Indiana never let USC pull ahead by more than eight points, but turnovers and foul trouble plagued the Cream and Crimson in the fourth quarter, leading to their six-point loss.
Four Hoosiers scored in double figures Thursday night in light of Ciezki’s absence. Makalusky scored 29 — her new career high. Noyan and Caffey added 12 and 11, respectively, while Beaumont tacked on 10 more. Kiaku recorded nine points in her first start as a Hoosier.
The offensive production from multiple Hoosiers was different from the recent trends this season has brought for Indiana. Ciezki, who averages 24.1 points and 36 minutes per game, hasn’t had much help from her teammates scoring wise.
Beaumont has been inconsistent. She’s averaging 13.5 points per game this season, but she had a stretch during Big Ten play where she scored zero, five and nine points in consecutive games.
Socka-Nguemen has averaged 11.8 points per game, but she’s only seen time on the court in 12 games due to injury. Then, Makalusky and Caffey average 8.6 and 7.9, respectively.
But the freshman duo is beginning to emerge as a key piece of the Hoosiers’ game. Makalusky’s 29 points led all scorers against USC. She went 9 for 15 from the field — with five of her baskets coming from 3-point range — and added six rebounds.
“We know that we need to help out this team. We need to help out coach in whatever way we can...” Makalusky said. “And you always need to be prepared. You know, especially as a freshman, just trying to do whatever I can, especially when we have big players go down like they have been.”
For most of the season, Caffey has been the key defensive contributor for the Hoosiers. Moren and her coaching staff have typically tagged Caffey to the opponents' highest-scoring guard. But against Wisconsin on Feb. 4, Caffey recorded 16 points, rising as an offensive threat, too. Her 11 points and three assists reaffirmed that against USC.
With Ciezki’s status unknown for the Hoosiers’ upcoming contest against No. 2 UCLA at 3 p.m. Sunday at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, Indiana needs to emulate its effort and balanced scoring attack when it attempts to knock down the 24-1 Bruins.
But even if the Hoosiers can’t walk away from Los Angeles with a win, getting more players involved will be crucial for Indiana’s two remaining games in Bloomington and one on the road against Rutgers, especially as it looks to reach the Big Ten Tournament in early March.
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.
