With just over a minute remaining in Indiana women’s basketball’s regular season finale, senior guard Jerni Kiaku was substituted off the court to a standing ovation, just less than two minutes after senior guard Shay Ciezki received her own. Kiaku embraced Indiana head coach Teri Moren as she came off the court, telling her just three words.
“She just said, ‘I love you’,” Moren recalled postgame.
Moren shrugged and stared down at the press conference table for a few moments.
“And that’s cool,” Moren said, her voice breaking slightly, seemingly trying to hold back tears.
The Hoosiers secured their spot in the Big Ten Tournament in the last game of the regular season Saturday, inflicting its heaviest margin of victory on a conference opponent this season against Penn State 93-59.
Indiana got off to a blazing start, taking a 31-8 lead after just one quarter and entered the halftime break with a 57-23 advantage. The Hoosiers then cruised to a 34-point win.
Ciezki and Kiaku played in their final game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall against the Lady Lions.
Ciezki played her first two seasons of college basketball for Penn State before transferring to Indiana. She scored 29 points in the Hoosiers’ defeat of her former team in front of almost 8,500 spectators, and stayed behind to talk to fans, take pictures and sign autographs.
“Coming from Penn State, we didn’t have a lot of fans. We didn’t really have a lot of support, no love,” Ciezki said postgame. “And then to come here, it’s completely different. To have young girls saying they’re buying our jerseys, or they’re talking about us at their basketball games, it’s a full circle moment. I’m leaving college basketball but I’m able to make a difference in young girls’ lives, and it’s just really cool to see.”
Ciezki joined the 50-40-90 club for the regular season, a rare stat line that only the upper echelon of basketball players have reached. Only one other player has reached the elusive stat in NCAA women’s basketball, as Kristin Iwanaga became the first for the University of California, Berkeley in the 2004-05 season.
Ciezki shot 53.7% from the field, 46.2% from 3-point range and 90.8% from the free throw line. It’s been an impactful season for Ciezki, who entered Saturday’s contest in second place in the Big Ten with 23 points per game.
Kiaku has also made an impact on the squad this season, with her contributions casting a large and positive shadow on the team. She’s not only the sixth man but, according to Moren, is also a great locker room presence, which helped galvanize the young roster down the stretch.
Kiaku has also contributed to the Hoosiers on the court over the course of the season. She recorded the game-sealing layup in a 76-72 victory over Florida State University on Nov. 16. Against Rutgers on Feb. 25, Kiaku scored a crucial and-one to tie the game at 64 and put Indiana in position to defeat the Scarlet Knights 79-69.
Prior to the end of each season, Moren has a tradition of speaking with all the seniors. They go over a plethora of things; from memories and moments they shared on and off the court to the things they will be remembered for.
“The thing that I will remember, and I think all of us will remember about her, is just what a great teammate she’s been.” Moren said. “What a great person she is, high character, she’s smart, and I told her she has such an awareness about people, which I think is really special.”
With the win over Penn State, Indiana locked up its spot in the Big Ten Tournament where they are likely to face Nebraska on Wednesday. The Hoosiers lost to the Cornhuskers 78-73 on Jan. 8, before they had gotten their first conference win. Now, they’ve won six out of their last eight games.
With the Big Ten Tournament just four days away, Indiana will have a lot of preparation to do in the meantime. For today, however, it’s time to stop and smell the roses.
“For Shay and Jerni to be able to end the regular season with a win at home, I think is always special,” Moren said.
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.
