Perfect no more.
Indiana dropped its first game of the season 106-95 against 10th-ranked Iowa State on Sunday. The Hoosiers gave it their all in the Coconut Hoops Championship but suffered defeat for the first time this season down in Fort Myers, Florida.
Indiana kept it within striking distance all day, trailing just by three at the half, but the Hoosiers ran out of steam and dropped to 7-1 on the year.
Coming into the matchup against the Cyclones, all eyes were on center Audi Crooks. Indiana was without star center Zania Socka-Nguemen as she dealt with a lower body injury and Crooks made the Hoosiers pay.
Crooks scored a school-record 47 points. Edessa Noyan, who started for IU at center in place of Socka-Nguemen, couldn’t do much to slow Crooks down as Noyan dealt with foul trouble and eventually fouled out.
Shay Ciezki led the way for the Hoosiers with a near-career-best 38 points in a shortened day due to her fouling out.
The theme for both Ciezki and Indiana was a struggle from 3-point range. Ciezki went 1-for-6 from behind the arc and the team shot 8-for-25 with four of their makes coming in the fourth quarter.
The Hoosiers got their 3-point production from unlikely sources as the leading shooters Phoenix Stotijn and Maya Makalusky were shooting a combined 2-for-28 from downtown coming into the game. Stotijn and Makalusky would knock down two and three triples respectively.
The 95-point performance was the best of the regular season for the Hoosiers offensively but the 106 points they let in was more than 30 points higher than their previous high allowed.
The performance may be more of a testament to just how good this Iowa State offense is. The Cyclones shot 63.9 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from downtown as it wasn’t just Crooks doing the damage.
Jada Williams and Addy Brown combined for 40 points as only six Cyclone players scored on the day.
Despite the loss, there are lots of things to like for the Hoosier faithful, especially the scoring output on a day where for three quarters, the triples weren't falling.
Lenée Beaumont added 19 points while Neveah Caffey and Makalusky both scored nine apiece. Noyan and Stotijn had eight points while playing bigger roles.
The biggest takeaway was once again that Ciezki proved that she can score with the best of them going back and forth with one of the nation’s most dominant players in Crooks.
It was always going to be an uphill battle for the underdog Hoosiers but Indiana fans have to be happy with the fight shown all day as no matter what the Cyclones threw at them, Indiana just wouldn’t go away.
Overall, Feast Week treated Indiana well with wins over Florida Gulf Coast and Gonzaga and a potential preview of how competitive this Indiana team can be against top opponents like Iowa State.
Indiana will return to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Wednesday night when they host Western Michigan before Indiana starts conference play back on the road against Illinois.
