One major issue that Indiana women’s basketball has had all season is a lack of production from the bench. Entering Wednesday, the Hoosiers ranked 357th in Division I in bench points per game with just 8.2, third-last in the entire country.
Due to minimal offensive production from its bench, Indiana has relied on starters to get it through games. Oftentimes, one or more starters will play almost if not all 40 minutes of a contest.
It was no different in Indiana’s first round match in the Big Ten Tournament, as the Hoosiers clawed their way back to defeat Nebraska 72-69 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Indiana’s depth issue crescendoed in its Big Ten Tournament first round matchup against No. 12 seed Nebraska. Senior guard Shay Ciezki played all 40 minutes for the 10th time this season, with freshman guard Nevaeh Caffey and junior forward Edessa Noyan also playing the entire contest.
“Edessa — that’s the first time I think all year she’s had to play 40 minutes.” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said postgame. “She has really come along in a really, really good way for us in the last couple months. After we lost ‘Z’ (Zania Socka-Nguemen) to injury, she got the nod.”
Sophomore forward Faith Wiseman and junior forward Jade Ondineme have rotated in to give Noyan rest in the regular season. She was forced to play without a break against Nebraska and held her own, earning her second double-double of the season.
Alongside the three players who never rested, Redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont also logged 38 minutes against the Cornhuskers. The only starter to play less than 38 minutes was freshman forward Maya Makalusky, who played 25. senior guard Jerni Kiaku, the only bench player to see the court against Nebraska, logged 17.
Ciezki has carried the offensive volume for much of Indiana’s season and has rarely seen the bench because of it. Ciezki played the full 40 minutes nine separate times in the regular season, including playing the entire game in back-to-back matches on two different occasions.
Ciezki’s not alone. Beaumont and Makalusky have also played an entire contest. Freshman guard Nevaeh Caffey also played 39 minutes on two occasions prior to Wednesday.
Ciezki averaged 35.2 minutes per game in the regular season, which would have been even higher without the seven minutes she logged in a 92-48 loss to No. 2 UCLA on Feb. 15 due to suffering an ankle injury. Beaumont and Caffey averaged 34.6 and 31.2 minutes per game, respectively.
Through Indiana’s conference games, the one bench player to make any sort of consistent offensive production was Kiaku. The Duquesne University transfer averaged 3.3 points and two rebounds on 14.4 minutes per game off the bench in 27 games.
During the regular season, teams play no more than three games in a week, which still allows for recovery even during the busiest of times during the season. But the conference tournament is a different beast, as teams who enter the first round can play as many as five games in five days.
In many conference tournament appearances under Moren, Indiana has entered the tournament with a first-round bye or even a double-bye. This year, the Hoosiers entered the tournament in the first round.
“I do think our kids will feel a little more relaxed tomorrow,” Moren said. “There was a lot riding on this game, but I just feel like in all of these tournaments, that first game, when you can get into the game and you can get your feet wet... I’m hopeful that we will look a lot different.”
Indiana will play a game every day until they are eliminated. Against an Ohio State team that has had multiple days of rest heading into Thursday’s game, the Hoosiers will have to rest quickly if they don’t want to run out of steam.
“We’ve got to get back, and we’ve got to get some rest for sure,” Moren said. “We know the thing with Ohio State and what a terrific team they are, the press is going to be something that we’re going to have to face.”
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.
