Indiana women's basketball took down the University of Illinois Chicago 72-56 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Friday night. The win moved the Hoosiers to 2-0. They were led by senior guard Shay Ciezki’s 35 points, and her contribution was crucial as Indiana erased a seven-point second half deficit to seal the win.
Before Ciezki took over, Indiana struggled mightily on both sides of the ball.
“[We] just got off to a really rough first half,” Moren said.
Indiana scored just 10 points in the second quarter and trailed 34-27 at halftime. The Flames' Jessica Carrothers looked unstoppable at times, scoring 14 points in the first half. While her scoring made a huge difference, there were two main factors that kept the Hoosiers behind.
UIC's early full-court pressure made it apparent that Indiana would have trouble running its offense. The Flames used a full-court press that led to just four Hoosiers scoring in the first half.
“(Zania Socka-Nguemen) and I were pretty vocal with Lenee Beaumont of just doing better,” Ciezki said at the half. “Just being better.”
Secondly, Indiana failed to capitalize when finding open shooters. Despite the Flames' pressure, the Hoosiers still found open looks. Indiana made just two three-point baskets in the first 20 minutes of play.
“I was interested to see how we would respond,” Moren said of Indiana's second-half adjustments.
Indiana’s problems didn’t fix themselves right away. UIC picked up multiple second-chance opportunities early in the third quarter. The Flames held a 37-30 lead with 7:31 remaining in the third quarter before the Hoosiers began picking up steam.
It began with a Valentyna Kadlecova triple followed up with a fierce block by Ciezki that led to a Socka-Nguemen layup. The Hoosiers found themselves on a 10-0 run and the Assembly Hall crowd was back into the game.
Ciezki then went on a scoring run of her own, scoring Indiana's next 18 points between the third and fourth quarters to turn a tie game into a six-point Hoosier advantage. With the offense as hot as it had been all game, the Hoosiers soared to victory, holding UIC to just 19 points after breaking the 37-37 tie.
While Ciezki headlined the scoring with 35 points, it was her leadership that stood out the most. In the second quarter, when Indiana was struggling badly, freshman Maya Makalusky missed an open three. Indiana was able to retain possession, but Ciezki made sure to give Makalusky a high-five and some words of encouragement.
Outside of Ciezki, Indiana shot 2-for-12 from deep. Socka-Nguemen, who finished the game with 19 points, was the only other Hoosier with more than five points.
Ciezki shook off the idea that she had to carry the Hoosier offense, instead praising her teammates for finding open looks and moving the ball where it needed to go. It was her highest scoring game in an IU uniform. Her career high is 40 points, which she did when she played for Penn State during the 2023-24 season.
“Shay had one of those special nights,” Moren said. “She not only felt that her teammates needed her, but she was feeling pretty good about her opportunities to score.”
While it wasn’t their best performance, the Hoosiers learned a lot about themselves.
“Everybody’s gonna come in here and try to beat us…we gotta punch them in the mouth and let them know who the Indiana Hoosiers are,” Socka-Nguemen said. “We didn’t [do that tonight], but we will in the future.”
With Socka-Nguemen and Ciezki leading the way on Friday, Moren called out numerous players who needed to step up.
“It’s not scoring the ball that keeps you on the floor for us, it’s guarding, defending, rebounding,” said Moren.
The Hoosiers will continue non-conference play at Assembly Hall against Marshall on Tuesday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on Big Ten Plus.
