No big? Big problem.
At the start of the year, forward Zania Socka-Nguemen emerged as the Hoosiers’ fortress down low. On a team with very few experienced players, and not a lot of depth in the front court, she excelled. Socka-Nguemen posted 13 points per game while adding nine rebounds per game through the team's first seven.
Then, she suffered what head coach Teri Moren has called a “lower-leg” injury that would keep her out week-to-week.
Indiana just completed its fifth game without Socka-Nguemen, including Sunday’s 74-67 win over Eastern Michigan. The Hoosiers have outrebounded their opponent once.
While giving respect to the players who have stepped up in her absence, head coach Teri Moren said, “we are really looking forward to having Z [Socka-Nguemen] back.”
In five games without her, Moren has looked every possible way to fill her void. Edessa Noyan. Faith Wiseman. Jade Ondineme. And even freshman Maya Makalusky.
With Moren mentioning that Socka-Nguemen won’t be back until after Christmas, that leaves a lot of opportunity for the taking.
Noyan has been Moren’s go-to in Socka-Nguemen’s absence. She’s averaging just under 30 minutes per game since taking Socka-Nguemen’s spot in the starting lineup. On Sunday, Noyan had Assembly Hall going crazy when she scored her season-high 13th point during Indiana’s victory over the Eagles.
“She has a lot in her bag,” Moren said. “Certainly she can play with her back to the basket. But then she can face up…she shoots a lot of long twos and is very accurate.”
Noyan, a transfer from Virginia, where the Cavaliers play primarily a two-three zone defense, has had to learn the defensive ways of Moren’s man-to-man defense.
“She’s very coachable and she wants to get it right,” Moren said. “And she’s an excellent teammate.”
But foul trouble still manages to be an issue. You’d like to believe that if Noyan would stay out of foul trouble, she would be seeing the floor even more than she currently is. She has had three or more fouls in each contest since becoming the starting five and fouled out in their toughest matchup of the season against the Iowa State Cyclones in the Coconut Hoops Final.
When Noyan steps out, who steps up? Well, Sunday it was Ondineme and Makalusky.
“Jade did exactly what we needed her to do. She didn’t try to do anything out of the ordinary,” Moren said. “Especially defensively. …and then Maya [Makalusky], you’re asking her to play the four and five. She’s obviously a finesse kid.”
Makalusky has seen a huge increase in her role, and in a wide variety of areas, since the start of the season. Moren even compared her to former IU guard and two-time All-Big Ten selection Sydney Parrish. Both Parrish and Makalusky played at Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers, Indiana, where both players won Miss Indiana Basketball.
“They remind me so much of each other,” Moren said. “But I do think that one thing that Syd [Parrish] had…a grittiness and a toughness to her. I’m not saying Maya doesn’t have that, but we need more of that. We need her to really come in and be gritty and tough and nasty.”
Makalusky has shown glimpses of her grittiness and toughness. Against Eastern Michigan she chased down a 50/50 ball and put her body on the line. Just a few days earlier against the University of Louisiana-Monroe, she opened the game by drawing a charge. In a game where she scored a career-high 22 points, Moren’s first comment post-game was focused on her tenacity.
Even with the fight for opportunities, Indiana continues to struggle on the glass.
“(Rebounding) bit us today. We didn’t do a very good job,” Moren said. “We gotta continue to grow and get better.”
The Hoosiers were out-rebounded 39-31 by the Eagles, 11 of which were offensive boards for Eastern Michigan.
With the win Sunday, the Hoosiers head into finals week 10-2 with their next matchup set a week from Sunday against the Western Carolina University Catamounts back at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Assuming Moren’s hopeful return date for Socka-Nguemen of right after Christmas is true, that means the star forward would only miss one game before returning in the Big Ten home opener against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
