After Indiana women’s basketball entered its final stretch of the regular season with a 72-65 victory over Oregon on Sunday, the Hoosiers had only two remaining contests in the regular season.
The victory over Oregon followed two straight defeats in Los Angeles, where the Hoosiers fell to USC 79-73 on Feb. 12 and No. 2 UCLA 92-48 on Feb. 15. The Ducks became Indiana’s best conference win of the season, with Oregon currently sitting 11th in the Big Ten.
On Wednesday, Indiana managed to survive a scare in its penultimate game of the regular season, defeating Rutgers 79-69 at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Indiana’s offense got off to a slow start, earning its first points more than two minutes into the game through a 3-pointer from senior guard Shay Ciezki. Rutgers, by contrast, started smoothly on offense, taking a 13-3 lead halfway through the first quarter.
Having already committed six turnovers, Indiana’s offense awoke halfway through the first quarter. Ciezki, freshman forward Maya Makalusky and redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont all drilled shots from beyond the arc to cut into Rutgers’ lead. After one quarter, the Scarlet Knights still led 22-17.
Indiana continued to chug along on offense, taking its first lead of the game just over three minutes into the second quarter. Rutgers also slowed on offense, scoring just four points over a six-minute stretch.
However, Indiana’s offense slowed down just as quickly as it sped up, scoring just four points in the back half of the second quarter. Despite Rutgers’ offensive struggles, the Scarlet Knights still found themselves up 34-30 at halftime.
Ciezki led Indiana at halftime with 11 points, Makalusky just behind her with nine. Despite shooting 53.8% from 3-point range in the first half, 14 turnovers kept the Hoosiers at a disadvantage.
Rutgers burst out of the second-half gates, drilling two 3-pointers to increase its lead to 10 points. Indiana’s offense kicked back into gear once again, scoring seven straight points to cut the lead to three points.
Junior forward Edessa Noyan scored her first points of the game to retake the lead 43-42 halfway through the third quarter. Both teams traded blows as Rutgers retook the lead, and the Scarlet Knights held onto their small advantage as the quarter progressed. By the end of the third quarter, Rutgers led 56-52.
Indiana was now just one quarter away from losing to the team ranked last in the Big Ten with one win. Ciezki scored six points in the first two minutes of the quarter, keeping the Hoosiers within striking distance. Senior guard Jerni Kiaku drove and scored an and-one, tying the game at 64 with less than six minutes remaining.
Ciezki then scored off a turnover to retake the lead for Indiana. Rutgers started to collapse, allowing a four-point play for Makalusky to increase the Hoosiers’ lead to seven. Indiana dug its heels in, refusing to relinquish its lead, ultimately emerging victorious and defeating Rutgers 79-69.
Ciezki led Indiana with 21 points on the night, with Makalusky right behind her with 19. After committing 14 turnovers in the first half, the Hoosiers made just four in the second.
Indiana plays its final game of the regular season against Penn State at 2 p.m. Saturday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. The match will be streamed on Big Ten+.
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.
