EVANSTON – After competing against the No. 1 ranked team at home on Saturday, Indiana women’s basketball had an opportunity against Northwestern to regroup heading into a tough Big Ten stretch that includes Iowa, Illinois, and No. 4 USC.
However, The Hoosiers’ close 68-64 win over the Wildcats at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Wednesday night was far from the momentum builder they hoped for.
Indiana (11-4, 3-1) had its fair share of struggles shooting in the first half against the Wildcats. Heading into halftime, IU shot 11-for-29 from the field and 3 of 13 on 3-pointers. Much like their previous game against UCLA, the Hoosiers also went cold in the second quarter, scoring just 11 points. The second half didn’t show much improvement, and Indiana finished the night just 39 percent from the field.
IU led the entire game until the last two minutes of the fourth quarter, but a Shay Ciezki three put them ahead for the rest of the way. Ciezki led all scorers with 20 points.
Indiana got another productive night from Karoline Striplin off the bench. She finished with 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting. Yarden Garzon and Sydney Parrish also finished in double figures to help pace the Hoosiers.
Although the offense had its struggles, the IU defense did enough. Indiana held Northwestern to 43 percent from the field on the night and 5-for-14 from beyond the arc. IU also forced 12 turnovers.
The Wildcats (7-9, 0-5) were led by Melannie Daley, who had 17 points, six assists, and three rebounds. Taylor Williams also finished with a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
The Hoosiers stay on the road to face Iowa on Sunday at 3 p.m. Eastern.
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