The Indiana Hoosiers took down the University of Illinois Chicago Flames 72-56 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Friday night. The win moved the Hoosiers to 2-0. They were led by senior Shay Ciezki’s 35 points, her game high as a Hoosier, her contribution was crucial as IU was able to come back from a 7-point deficit in the second half to seal the victory.
Before tonight became the Ciezki show, Indiana struggled mightily on both sides of the ball.
“[We] just got off to a really rough first half,” Coach Moren said. Indiana scored just 10 points in the second quarter and trailed at the break 34-27. Jessica Carrothers of the UIC Flames looked unstoppable at times, scoring 14 points before heading into the locker room. While her scoring made a huge difference, there were 2 main factors that kept the Hoosiers trailing.
First, the pressure from UIC made it apparent very early on that they would not allow Indiana to set up their offense. The Flames used a full-court press from the jump. This rattled IU as only four Hoosiers managed to find the bottom of the net.
“[Zania Socka-Nguemen] and I were pretty vocal with Lenee Beaumont of just doing better,” Ciezki said at the half. “Just being better.” Socka-Nguemen added that the Hoosiers needed to step up as leaders.
Secondly, Indiana couldn't capitalize. Despite the pressure, the Hoosiers still found open looks. But, they couldn’t capitalize. Two makes on 11 attempts from beyond the arc while shooting 31% from the field.
“I was as interested, probably, as you guys to see how we would respond,” Coach Teri Moren said regarding the start of the second half.
Indiana’s problems didn’t fix themselves right away. UIC picked up multiple second-chance opportunities purely due to effort. The Flames held a 37-30 lead with 7:31 remaining in the third quarter. That’s when momentum flipped.
It began with a Valentyna Kadlecova triple. Followed up with a fierce block by Ciezki, leading to a score down-low on the other end from Socka-Nguemen. The Hoosiers found themselves on a 10-0 run.
Assembly Hall was ROCKING!
In a matter of minutes, the game had been flipped on its head. Ciezki went on a scoring run of her own, piling on 18 straight between the third and fourth quarters. With Ciezki and the Hoosiers red hot, IU soared their way to victory holding UIC to just 19 points for the remainder of the game.
While Ciezki dominated this game putting up 35 points, the second-most in her collegiate career, it was her leadership that stood out the most. In the second quarter, when IU was struggling badly, freshman Maya Makalusky missed an open three. IU was able to retain possession, but Ciezki made sure to give her teammate a high-five and some words of encouragement.
Outside of Ciezki, Indiana shot 2-for-12 from deep. Socka-Nguemen, who finished with 19, was the only other Hoosier with more than 5 points.
When asked how she was able to help carry the load, Ciezki disagreed with the idea then continued by praising her teammates for finding open looks and moving the ball where it needed to go.
“Shay had one of those special nights,” Coach Moren praised. “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 of lessons and even more about themselves in the process. Socka-Nguemen, who finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds, four offensive, was credited by Moren after Tuesday’s victory vs Lipscomb. The praise was for coming into a leadership role despite being an off-season transfer from UCLA.
“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 tonight, 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 have the weekend to rest up and prepare for their next opponent, the Marshall Thundering Herd at Assembly Hall on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET on Big Ten Plus.
