Having started its Big Ten campaign 0-10, Indiana women’s basketball looked on pace to finish near the bottom of the conference standings. The Hoosiers then proceeded to win six of their last eight games.
Following an emphatic 93-59 victory over Penn State on Saturday to end the regular season, the Hoosiers headed up to Indianapolis for the 2026 Big Ten Tournament.
Despite trailing by as much as 20 points in the first half, the No. 13 seed Hoosiers rallied to defeat No. 12 seed Nebraska 72-69 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Unlike the Penn State match, Indiana got off to a slow start. The Hoosiers scored two points in the first two and a half minutes of the contest. Nebraska started off hot, commanding an 18-6 lead halfway through the first quarter.
Nebraska’s offense continued to produce, increasing its lead to as much as 16 points. Senior guard Jerni Kiaku hit two of three free throws to cut the lead to 14, but Indiana trailed 29-15 after one quarter.
Now on the back foot, Indiana struggled to chip into Nebraska’s sizeable advantage, and the Cornhuskers’ lead slowly grew as the quarter ticked by. Nebraska continued scoring easily inside the paint, not allowing the Hoosiers to create any momentum.
Nebraska led by 19 points with six minutes remaining in the first half as the game threatened to get out of hand. As soon as Indiana would chip into the lead, the Cornhuskers would restore whatever damage the Hoosiers left. Indiana managed to knock just two points off Nebraska’s lead the rest of the quarter, entering halftime down 45-28.
Senior guard Shay Ciezki led the Hoosiers with 11 points at the break, with junior forward Edessa Noyan behind her with six points. Indiana shot 38.7% from the field in the first half compared to 51.4% for Nebraska.
The second half started where the first left off, with Nebraska maintaining a lead of around 15 points. However, back-to-back three-pointers from freshman forward Maya Makalusky and redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont cut the lead to 12 halfway through the third quarter.
Nebraska’s offense slowed as the third quarter progressed, allowing the Hoosiers to slice the lead to eight points with two minutes remaining. Indiana managed to stay within eight by the end of the third quarter, down 55-47.
With one quarter for the Hoosiers to save their season, they continued to fight. Freshman guard Nevaeh Caffey drilled an and-one to cut Nebraska’s lead to three points with seven minutes left. But Nebraska steadied the ship, restoring its lead to seven points less than a minute later.
Both teams traded buckets back and forth, with Indiana unable to cut deeper into the deficit and Nebraska unable to pull away. Beaumont hit a corner three-pointer to cut the Cornhuskers’ lead back down to four with just over two minutes remaining. Makalusky then scored on the next possession to make it a two-point game.
Beaumont once again hit another corner three-pointer to give Indiana a 68-67 advantage with 1:06 remaining – its first lead of the afternoon. The defense forced a stop on the other end of the court, which allowed Ciezki to increase the Hoosiers’ lead to three points with 32 seconds left.
Nebraska scored off an offensive rebound, cutting the lead to one point. Caffey then hit both free throws to reclaim a 3-point lead with 12 seconds remaining. The Cornhuskers were unable to score on the other end, allowing Indiana to complete the comeback and escape with a 72-69 victory.
Ciezki led the Hoosiers with 22 points, with four Indiana starters reaching double digit points. It outscored Nebraska by nine points in the third quarter and 11 points in the fourth.
Indiana now advances to the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, where they’ll face No. 5 seed Ohio State on Thursday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The game will start approximately 25 minutes after USC versus Washington, which starts at noon. The game will be streamed 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.
