Indiana notched its seventh win of the season with a 76-72 victory over the Gonzaga Bulldogs at Coconut Hoops in Fort Myers, Florida. Outside of a dominant start in the second half, this one felt like it was going to go down to the wire.
“What a great win. A hard fought win,” head coach Teri Moren said.
Shay Ciezki got off to a real hot start tallying seven points early in the first period. Despite her tremendous offensive efforts, the Hoosiers found themselves in a back-and-forth contest throughout the first half.
IU held a one-point lead at the end of the first while shooting 50% from the field as a unit. To start the second quarter, there were five lead changes in the first three minutes. But then, the Bulldogs emerged. Indiana struggled to capitalize on its opportunities while Gonzaga found itself on a run during the middle of the period and built a 36-35 lead by the end of the half.
“They were banging hard (in the first half),” Ciezki said. “We had to come back and make sure that we were the ones to throw the first punch (after halftime).”
And IU did just that. They came out of the break guns ablazing. Multiple buckets from Ciezki and freshman Maya Makalusky resulted in a 13-3 run with an 11-0 scoring stretch giving the Hoosiers their largest lead of the night at 11 midway through the third quarter.
“I was just proud of the way they responded,” Moren said regarding her team's adjustments coming out of the locker room. “Defensively we made a couple of tweaks to what we were doing…and we needed to trust our guards and give them discretion.”
But that wasn’t all she wrote.
Led by Lauren Whittaker and Allie Turner, who finished with 27 and 21 points respectively, Gonzaga clawed their way back into this game. With just under three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs went on an eight-to-zero run, narrowing Indiana’s lead to just one.
“(Turner) had a couple moments there in the fourth where she hit some big shots. But (IU guard) Navaeh (Caffey) did a great job, the entire game, of really chasing her throughout the 40 minutes,” Moren said. “(Gonzaga) has a lot of really, really great pieces. But give our kids credit for being able to adjust throughout the game.”
The two teams would go back and forth trading crucial buckets, but Indiana would remain on top. There were no ties or lead changes after the 8:41 mark in the third quarter as Indiana now moves to 7-0 on the season.
“We don’t really try to focus on our record right now. We just try to stay in the present moment as much as we can,” Ciezki said.
She ended with 24 points, her fifth time surpassing 20 points this season alone. Five Hoosiers scored in double digits Friday, and every player who saw the court scored.
But the talks with this team still revolve around their experience individually, and as a unit. Makalusky is starting to earn her minutes. She played nearly the entirety of the fourth quarter and emerged as a huge reason why Indiana was able to come out on top. While proud of herself, she gave major contributions to her teammates.
The freshman ended with her first collegiate double-digit scoring performance with 10 points, including a thunderous triple with 1:28 to go, extending the Hoosiers’ lead to two possessions.
“If it weren’t for the confidence that was instilled in me early on, then I wouldn’t have been able to step up to that moment like that,” Makalusky said.
With an incredible all-around performance, Indiana remains undefeated heading into Sunday’s matchup against Iowa State in the Coconut Hoops championship.
