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BLOOMINGTON — The Indiana women’s basketball team went into the halftime locker room genuinely believing they could pull off the upset.
With the halftime stats, why wouldn’t they? Indiana, sitting winless in the Big Ten, was up 16 points over No. 14 Iowa after 20 minutes. The Hoosiers were playing on their home court, dominating the paint and had all the momentum.
Then, everything came crumbling down.
Iowa stormed back with a vengeance, holding Indiana scoreless for seven straight minutes in the third quarter while going on a 17-0 run. Suddenly, Indiana was trailing in the very same quarter it was up 16 points.
Indiana only scored four points in the third quarter — two from freshman Nevaeh Caffey and two from sophomore Zania Socka-Nguemen — as the Hoosiers shot just 2 of 13 from the field. They couldn’t come back from that disastrous third quarter, and what seemed to be a sure win turned into a 56-53 loss.
It was such a stark contrast that nobody, not even IU coach Teri Moren, could identify how it happened.
“I thought our first half was really good,” Moren said. “I thought as well as we played in the first half, I cannot give you guys an answer for why we couldn't come out and replicate the second half … what we were doing in the first half was working defensively for us, and then I thought we just decided to come down, especially in the third, and just take bad shots. And it was all of them.”
Last time out: With season turning, Indiana women's basketball needs a 'fighting spirit'
Moren knew the Hawkeyes (14-2, 5-0 Big Ten), who had just come down from a 16-point deficit to beat Nebraska on the road Jan. 1, were capable of making runs.
Iowa made the adjustments it needed to at halftime, including finding open shots for senior Hannah Stuelke (two points in the first half, 10 points in the second). The Hawkeyes also effectively shut down Hoosier senior Shay Ciezki (19 points in the first half, two in the second) by moving Stuelke to defend Socka-Nguemen, allowing Stuelke to help defend Ciezki when needed.
“Coming out of halftime, (Iowa) started hard hedging, and they're sending two to the ball,” Ciezki said. “Just looking at (the box score) right now. I mean, yeah, second half is on me, for sure.”
At this point in the season, though, the Hoosiers shouldn’t be only relying on Ciezki for offensive production.
Ciezki, the only returning starter from Indiana’s 2024-25 season, has been the cornerstone of Indiana’s offensive game this season. She is the Big Ten’s leading scorer at 23.2 points per game, and entered sixth in Division I.
Ciezki is at the top of every team’s scouting report. Conference foes know that if they can stop her, they can stop the Hoosiers.
Socka-Nguemen, who missed five weeks with a lower leg injury, has been effective as she is slowly working her way into the lineup since her return on Jan. 4. She had a double-double Sunday, with 12 points and 12 rebounds, but she isn’t yet at the point where she can be in for as long of stretches as Moren wants.
“Her conditioning level is not nearly where it needs to be right now,” Moren said. “Anytime you take, I think she was off a little over five weeks, you lose a lot. And you can do the Versa, you can do the bike as much as you want, but it's not like playing in the game. I think that's where it starts for her. We need to be able to leave her on the floor a little bit longer, but she gets gassed, in about two minutes, two and a half, maybe three minutes. And we need her to play for longer stretches.”
Moren needs others to step up, too. Ciezki and Socka-Nguemen combined for 33 of Indiana’s 53 points with no one else putting in more than seven.
The Hoosiers (11-7, 0-6) remain winless in Big Ten play, with an uphill climb on the horizon. They return Wednesday against No. 23 Washington, which was upset by Purdue on Sunday then IU has a week off before traveling to No. 19 Ohio State.
Insider: Teri Moren wants more 'heart, toughness and determination' out of IU. Here's why
They’re being tested at every turn. To make it into the postseason, Indiana will need to step up.
“Really tough lessons that we're learning, but nobody feels sorry for us, right?” Moren said. “We're going to keep, as I mentioned, we got to keep grinding it out. We got to keep teaching them and watching film and learning the lessons right now, and continue to stay positive that we're right there.”
Want more Hoosiers coverage? Sign up for IndyStar's Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana women's basketball score vs Iowa today, Shay Ciezki game stats
Continue reading...
With the halftime stats, why wouldn’t they? Indiana, sitting winless in the Big Ten, was up 16 points over No. 14 Iowa after 20 minutes. The Hoosiers were playing on their home court, dominating the paint and had all the momentum.
Then, everything came crumbling down.
Iowa stormed back with a vengeance, holding Indiana scoreless for seven straight minutes in the third quarter while going on a 17-0 run. Suddenly, Indiana was trailing in the very same quarter it was up 16 points.
Indiana only scored four points in the third quarter — two from freshman Nevaeh Caffey and two from sophomore Zania Socka-Nguemen — as the Hoosiers shot just 2 of 13 from the field. They couldn’t come back from that disastrous third quarter, and what seemed to be a sure win turned into a 56-53 loss.
It was such a stark contrast that nobody, not even IU coach Teri Moren, could identify how it happened.
“I thought our first half was really good,” Moren said. “I thought as well as we played in the first half, I cannot give you guys an answer for why we couldn't come out and replicate the second half … what we were doing in the first half was working defensively for us, and then I thought we just decided to come down, especially in the third, and just take bad shots. And it was all of them.”
Last time out: With season turning, Indiana women's basketball needs a 'fighting spirit'
Moren knew the Hawkeyes (14-2, 5-0 Big Ten), who had just come down from a 16-point deficit to beat Nebraska on the road Jan. 1, were capable of making runs.
Iowa made the adjustments it needed to at halftime, including finding open shots for senior Hannah Stuelke (two points in the first half, 10 points in the second). The Hawkeyes also effectively shut down Hoosier senior Shay Ciezki (19 points in the first half, two in the second) by moving Stuelke to defend Socka-Nguemen, allowing Stuelke to help defend Ciezki when needed.
“Coming out of halftime, (Iowa) started hard hedging, and they're sending two to the ball,” Ciezki said. “Just looking at (the box score) right now. I mean, yeah, second half is on me, for sure.”
At this point in the season, though, the Hoosiers shouldn’t be only relying on Ciezki for offensive production.
Ciezki, the only returning starter from Indiana’s 2024-25 season, has been the cornerstone of Indiana’s offensive game this season. She is the Big Ten’s leading scorer at 23.2 points per game, and entered sixth in Division I.
Ciezki is at the top of every team’s scouting report. Conference foes know that if they can stop her, they can stop the Hoosiers.
Socka-Nguemen, who missed five weeks with a lower leg injury, has been effective as she is slowly working her way into the lineup since her return on Jan. 4. She had a double-double Sunday, with 12 points and 12 rebounds, but she isn’t yet at the point where she can be in for as long of stretches as Moren wants.
“Her conditioning level is not nearly where it needs to be right now,” Moren said. “Anytime you take, I think she was off a little over five weeks, you lose a lot. And you can do the Versa, you can do the bike as much as you want, but it's not like playing in the game. I think that's where it starts for her. We need to be able to leave her on the floor a little bit longer, but she gets gassed, in about two minutes, two and a half, maybe three minutes. And we need her to play for longer stretches.”
Moren needs others to step up, too. Ciezki and Socka-Nguemen combined for 33 of Indiana’s 53 points with no one else putting in more than seven.
The Hoosiers (11-7, 0-6) remain winless in Big Ten play, with an uphill climb on the horizon. They return Wednesday against No. 23 Washington, which was upset by Purdue on Sunday then IU has a week off before traveling to No. 19 Ohio State.
Insider: Teri Moren wants more 'heart, toughness and determination' out of IU. Here's why
They’re being tested at every turn. To make it into the postseason, Indiana will need to step up.
“Really tough lessons that we're learning, but nobody feels sorry for us, right?” Moren said. “We're going to keep, as I mentioned, we got to keep grinding it out. We got to keep teaching them and watching film and learning the lessons right now, and continue to stay positive that we're right there.”
Want more Hoosiers coverage? Sign up for IndyStar's Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana women's basketball score vs Iowa today, Shay Ciezki game stats
Continue reading...
