Second half surge pushes IU women’s basketball past Southern Indiana
Trailing by 13 points at halftime with another resume-killing loss knocking on the door, Indiana women’s basketball needed some life against Southern Indiana on Wednesday night. In a Teri Moren-coached team’s fashion, the Hoosiers clawed back for a 67-63 win.
Despite the result, even Moren acknowledged the way it was achieved wasn’t preferable.
“Really proud of our kids how they fought back,” the head coach said postgame. “This is a good win for us. They’re not all pretty.”
The game’s opening stretch showed no indication of what was to come. The Hoosiers ran out to a 12-2 lead, assisting on five of their first six baskets and locking down the Screaming Eagles defensively.
Then, Indiana slowed down and Southern Indiana took off. USI closed the first quarter on a 15-5 run to knot the score up at 17. The Hoosiers committed six turnovers in the frame – many of which were unforced errors – and the offensive movement stalled while Southern Indiana seemingly couldn’t miss.
That momentum carried over into second-quarter dominance. In the second period, the Screaming Eagles shot 5-for-6 from deep, while Indiana went 1-for-9. After 20 minutes, USI led 42-29 and controlled all aspects of the game.
Moren voiced her displeasure in the locker room and demanded more.
“Coach Moren came in at halftime and let us have it,” Lilly Meister said. “We deserved it, rightfully so.”
Moren also did so the only way she knows how.
“You know, loudly. Direct, stern,” Shay Ciezki described the locker room message.
Whatever she said encouraged a much more concentrated effort. Indiana’s offense still struggled with inefficient shooting and poor shot selection, but the defense returned to form. The Hoosiers opened the quarter with a 15-2 run to even the score and they trailed by three points entering the fourth quarter.
IU opened the final period with another scoring burst – a 12-4 output to take a 5-point lead with under five minutes left. Limiting possessions and forcing tough shots, the Hoosiers’ defense was carrying the effort.
USI cut the deficit to 1 point with 84 seconds remaining and IU was on its heels trying to protect its lead and close the game out, something it wasn’t able to do against Harvard on Nov. 7.
Out of a timeout with 26 seconds left, Ciezki netted a 3-pointer from the right corner for her third deep ball of the game, giving the Hoosiers a cushion they didn’t give up. After a few free throws fell, the Hoosiers closed it out for the 4-point victory.
It wasn’t pretty and the offense struggled mightily, but Indiana escaped with a much-needed win the Teri Moren way.
“I believe that you hang the hat on the defensive side of the ball,” Moren said. “I don’t want to go away from how we built this thing. We still have to work and continue to grow, but I guess the silver lining is they did fight their way back into the game.”
Indiana shot 21-for-59 (35.6 percent) from the field, marking its second time this season capturing a win while shooting under 40 percent from the field. The shooting deficiencies were across the board, as the Hoosiers were 9-for-30 (30 percent) from deep and 16-for-26 (61.5 percent) from the charity stripe.
Ciezki and Meister were the two bright spots efficiency-wise. The former scored a game-high 17 points on a 5-for-8 shooting performance, and the latter contributed 11 points, making four of her five shots.
Yarden Garzon struggled from the field. While adding 14 points and dishing out six assists, Garzon went 5-for-18 from the field, including 2-for-12 from distance.
Through nine games, Garzon is enduring her least accurate shooting season. After totaling marks of 45.2 percent from the field and 44 percent from deep, Garzon is currently shooting 36.8 percent from the field and 34.9 percent from 3-point range.
Tuesday night revealed two bright spots in areas the Hoosiers had struggled with lately. Allowing 11.6 offensive rebounds per game entering the night, Indiana held the Screaming Eagles to just four for only two second-chance points.
Additionally, IU committed six turnovers in the first quarter before limiting that output to six more in the remaining three quarters, for a total of 12, while forcing 15 giveaways. The team entered the game averaging 16.5 turnovers per game with an average margin of –1.8.
Next on the schedule for the Hoosiers is their second true road game of the season, initiating Big Ten play at Penn State. The contest also marks a homecoming for Ciezki, who spent her first two collegiate seasons with the Nittany Lions.
Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, in University Park, Pennsylvania. The game will be streamed on B1G+.
(Photo credit: IU Athletics)
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