BLOOMINGTON — Indiana women’s basketball beat Western Carolina 71-44 Sunday afternoon at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Below are three quick reasons why the Hoosiers won, along with highlights, final stats, and a few quotes.
IU (11-2) begins the main Big Ten slate after Christmas, hosting Minnesota on Monday, Dec. 29.
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Three quick reasons why Indiana beat Western Carolina
1. Low turnover count: The Hoosiers have been plagued by turnover issues at times throughout the beginning of the season. Their 13.9 turnovers per game entering Sunday wasn’t a horrendous amount, but it’s spiraled out of control on several occasions — IU has four games this year with at least 16 turnovers. But the team did a good job taking care of the ball Sunday, with only 11 turnovers — and four of those came in the fourth quarter, which IU mostly played with reserves.
2. Effective defense: Western Carolina is the worst team Indiana will face this season, ranked No. 345 (out of 363) on Torvik. But IU was up to task Sunday, particularly on defense. The Catamounts shot just 28 percent from the field and 5 for 22 from 3-point range, and they committed 21 turnovers. The Hoosiers did a good job forcing mistakes and limiting open looks.
3. Backcourt carries the load: Indiana’s frontcourt depth remains thin, with Zania Socka-Nguemen and Faith Wiseman out with injuries. Edessa Noyan started at the 5 again, and Jade Ondineme spelled her off the bench. But IU’s guards did the heavy lifting on the scoreboard Sunday. Shay Ciezki saw her streak of seven consecutive 20-point games end, but she still put up 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting. Lenée Beaumont was also solid, shooting 4 for 5 from the field and 3 for 3 from 3-point range for 14 points, with four rebounds and three assists. And Phoenix Stotijn chipped in 11 points off the bench.
Final stats
Highlights
Quotable
Teri Moren on Phoenix Stotijn, Jerni Kiaku, Jade Ondineme, Chloe Spreen, and IU’s depth pieces playing more minutes and having some trouble in the fourth quarter: I want them to take more advantage of their time that they’re getting. Tonight, there was some frustration, I think, on our part, that we are 13 games into this, and we’re still seeing some of the mistakes by those guys. Whether it’s offensively, whether it’s defensively, having discernment what a good shot looks like. And so those are the frustrating things. They got to play more minutes tonight, but you’re still trying to gain trust from us, in terms of what we can count on once you get inside the game. And I think for them, I would like to have seen us take better discernment on what a good shot is. Some of the slippages that we had on the defensive side of the ball — those guys have to be better.”
Lenée Beaumont on Indiana’s free-throw shooting: “There’s definitely gonna be some punishment along with the missed free throws in practice. If we miss free throws, we run. That’s kind of been how it goes from the beginning, but there’s just a certain level of focus when it comes to that. And I think, I mean, we’re all very aware. But most wins in the Big Ten might be single-digit wins, so for us to miss 10 free throws, yeah, that’s unacceptable. That might cost us a game down the line.”
Moren on Zania Socka-Nguemen’s status: “I don’t know what her timeline (is). She has not been back in practice. And so I don’t know what the plan will be once we return on the 26th, with she and Ben (Tate, women’s basketball athletic trainer). She has progressed, though. She’s feeling a whole lot better. She’s continuing to do her cardio — and it’s different than playing — but as far as swimming and being on the elliptical and on the Versa (Climber). So she’s been working out and trying to maintain some level of cardio. But no timeline as of right now.”
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