Indiana women’s basketball beat Western Michigan 71-53 Wednesday evening at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
Below are three quick reasons why the Hoosiers won, along with highlights, final stats, and a few quotes.
IU (8-1) hits the road to open Big Ten play on Saturday against Illinois in Champaign, Ill.
——————————————————
Three quick reasons why Indiana beat Western Michigan
1. The Shay show: Shay Ciezki has taken a clear step forward for Indiana this season, becoming a consistent scorer who steps up when her team needs her most. The senior did it again on Wednesday. When IU didn’t have much else going in the first half, Ciezki made things happen and scored 15 critical points. The guard finished the game shooting 12 for 17 from the field for 26 points, and she added a team-high four assists.
2. Overcoming slow start: Indiana got off to a rough start here. Western Michigan lost to a Division II team in its last game, but that was eight days ago — so the Broncos had a rest advantage. And they went on a 9-0 run early in the first quarter to take a seven-point lead. WMU maintained that advantage for more than half of the second quarter. The Hoosiers shot 40 percent from the field in the opening period, and they got outrebounded by Western Michigan 10-5. The stats improved marginally the rest of the game, and IU closed the second quarter on a 15-5 run to go ahead for good.
3. Making up for Big Z’s absence: IU sophomore center Zania Socka-Nguemen missed her second consecutive game with a lower body injury. She did not dress in uniform for the contest, and she sported a boot on her right foot and a scooter for moving around. Junior Edessa Noyan started in Socka-Nguemen’s place again and enjoyed one of her best games as a Hoosier, shooting 2 for 5 from the field and 1 for 1 from 3-point range for seven points with a team-high 11 rebounds. She played a season-high 28 minutes and was a big reason why Indiana was able to remain competitive on the glass.
Final stats
Highlights
Quotable
Teri Moren on Zania Socka-Nguemen’s status: “Right now, Z is week to week. And so we’ll just keep going day by day with her and try our best to keep her in shape. That’s the one thing I worry about the most, when kids have to take some time off, is losing their conditioning level. So we have to make sure that we’re doing what we can to keep Z in shape, so when it is time for her to get back on the floor — it’s going to take her a minute — but she hasn’t lost all of it.”
Edessa Noyan on stepping up for Socka-Nguemen: “I try my best, as much as I can. Me and Z are very different players. We have a different style. But I try to play my role the best as I can.”
Moren on Shay Ciezki: “Shay’s been great. The way she’s been playing has just been so important for our team. And I’m glad she has strong shoulders, because she’s carried us from an offensive perspective in a lot of those games. And so (I’m) happy. I’m proud of her, too. She is a kid that works day in and day out on her game. She wants to play at that next level. I think she’s proving every night that she goes out that she can play at the next level. And she’s just doing it in different ways. Not just being a catch, shoot, 3-point shooter. Attacking her mid-range game, getting to the rim. But also, she’s a pretty sturdy facilitator for us. And that’s been another part of her game that’s continued to grow here.”
For complete coverage of IU women’s basketball, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- Find us on Instagram, X, and Facebook
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
