Three takeaways from IU women’s basketball’s win against Marshall

Shay Ciezki handles the ball.

Indiana women’s basketball returned to Assembly Hall on Tuesday evening, playing host to Marshall.

After a back-and-forth first half, Indiana opened the third quarter on an 11-2 run to take control.

Despite a ferocious comeback mounted late by the Thundering Herd in the fourth quarter, Indiana prevailed with a 57-51 win in front of a crowd of 7,518.

“We got out of here with the win, but it doesn’t feel like a whole lot went well for us tonight,” head coach Teri Moren said postgame.

Here are three takeaways from the win against the Thundering Herd:

Ciezki notches double-double

By leaps and bounds, Indiana’s most impactful returner, Shay Ciezki, led the way for the Hoosiers on Tuesday evening. The senior scored 13 points and hauled in a team-high 10 rebounds, earning her first double-double.

Her seven first half rebounds tied the career-high she set in November 2023 while in Happy Valley with Penn State.

“I thought she was terrific tonight defensively,” Moren said.

The Thundering Herd kept Ciezki quiet offensively. She was unable to get to the basket because of the packed zone defense being played. Ciezki finished 4-for-7 from the field and did not attempt a 3-point shot. As a team, Indiana attempted a season low 14 3-pointers, converting on just three.

Ciezki leads all Hoosiers, averaging 23.3 points per game on 53.3 percent shooting from the field. Still, Moren is looking for more leadership from her returning veteran point guard.

Socka-Nguemen continues hot start in Indiana uniform

One of the many new faces on Indiana’s roster, Zania Socka-Nguemen, continues to make her presence known in her first three games in an Indiana uniform.

After being whistled for two fouls in the game’s opening three minutes, Socka-Nguemen sat on the bench for the rest of the first quarter. The sophomore forward was quiet, yet efficient against Marshall’s zone defense, scoring 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting and 10 rebounds.

Moren said postgame that she didn’t think the UCLA transfer had enough energy on the floor on Tuesday, citing her increase in playing time as a potential reason.

Socka-Nguemen has already logged more minutes this season (85) than she did all last season with the Bruins (83).

Turnovers plague Hoosiers

After taking care of the ball in its first two games, Indiana was unable to do so Tuesday night.

Facing an aggressive Marshall full-court press, the Hoosiers turned the ball over 14 times in the first half. The defense was designed to send two defenders at the ball, forcing the Hoosiers into rushed decisions. Instead of finding open teammates, IU struggled to connect and repeatedly gave the ball away.

The second half brought no improvement: Indiana committed another 14 turnovers, finishing with 28. Five Hoosiers had four or more turnovers, leading to 22 Marshall points. The saving grace was Marshall’s failure to capitalize more on the turnovers as the Thundering Herd finished 13-for-34 on layups.

“We were careless from the beginning,” Moren said. “I thought we looked tentative… some of us looked like we lost some confidence as the game went on.”

Indiana’s 28 turnovers tie the most in a game under coach Teri Moren, matching a mark set in December 2016 against North Texas.

The win improved IU to 3-0 on the season. The Hoosiers will travel to Tallahassee to play Florida State on Sunday evening.

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

See More: Women's Basketball