After a miserable nine-game losing streak spanning the entirety of January, Indiana women’s basketball started February with a better taste.
The Hoosiers finally ended their long skid Sunday, holding off Northwestern for a 89-75 victory at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. This is IU’s first Big Ten win this season, and its first win of any kind in six weeks.
Indiana (12-11, 1-10 Big Ten) took advantage of its first winnable conference matchup on its home court. Teri Moren’s team spent the first 10 games in Big Ten play largely facing teams in the top half of the conference standings. Northwestern (8-14, 2-9) was the first team outside of the top nine to visit Assembly Hall this year.
The Hoosiers came out looking desperate for a win, and they took that frustration out on NU. They opened the game with one of their most dominant quarters of the season, building a 30-3 lead by the end of the first quarter.
IU shot 81 percent in that first period, while the Wildcats finished a jarring 1 for 17. The Hoosiers also dominated the glass early, with a 15-4 rebounding edge in that opening quarter. Lenée Beaumont racked up 12 points in that quarter alone, and Shay Ciezki put up nine. By halftime, Ciezki (17 points) and Maya Makalusky (16 points) joined Beaumont (15) in double-figure scoring.
But Indiana’s dominance faded the rest of the way, and things got a little tense. Northwestern won the third period 26-20 and then opened the fourth on a 15-2 run. IU led by as much as 36 points in the second quarter, but the Wildcats closed the gap to 10 during the final period. Moren’s team responded in the second half of the fourth quarter to hold off NU and get the win.
Ciezki, the Big Ten’s leading scorer, enjoyed another strong game. She shot 11 for 18 from the field and 5 for 9 from 3-point range for 33 points, and she added eight rebounds and five assists with four turnovers.
Beaumont finished with 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting, and Makalusky put up 21 on an 8-for-12 clip.
Northwestern forward Grace Sullivan had a big day in defeat, even as IU keyed in on her defensively. She scored 35 points on 15-for-28 shooting, after starting 0 for 7.
IU hits the road for its next game on Wednesday at Wisconsin.
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