For the second time in three games, Indiana women’s basketball upset a ranked opponent.
The Hoosiers defeated No. 18 Baylor on Sunday, 73-65, in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals. IU advances to the championship game on Monday against No. 16 North Carolina at noon ET on ESPN2.
Indiana (4-2) got off to a very strong start in the first quarter, riding a 17-0 run to a 25-10 advantage. The Lady Bears (4-2) clawed back from there to keep the game close, but they never regained the lead after their early 2-0 lead.
The Hoosiers shot just 38 percent from the field, 29 percent from 3-point range, and committed 19 turnovers. But that didn’t matter on this day because of Shay Ciezki. The Penn State transfer turned in a monster game, scoring 34 points on 9-for-16 shooting and a 4-for-5 3-point clip. The junior also went 12 for 13 at the foul line.
Ciezki was the lone IU player to score in double figures. The points were pretty evenly split, with 14 in the first half and 20 in the second.
Chloe Moore-McNeil grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds with seven points, and Karoline Striplin added eight points and seven rebounds.
Sydney Parrish left the game during the second quarter after suffering an injury. Per IU’s radio broadcast, the graduate student returned from the locker room in the second half sporting crutches and ice on her left knee.
IU head coach Teri Moren said after the game that Parrish is unlikely to play on Monday, and her long-term status is unknown.
“I don’t think tomorrow is going to be an opportunity for her to get back to playing,” Moren said. “She’s in good spirits, but she’s disappointed, because she wants to play with her team tomorrow. But we know one thing about Syd Parrish: she’s tough. If she can play, she would. If she’s not, we’re going to protect her. We’ve still got a lot of season left ahead of us. But as of right now, (I don’t know) what it is exactly, she’s going to need some imaging, and we’re going to have to take a hard look at it right now.”
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