The Hoosiers got their first Big Ten win in dominant fashion on Sunday. Following a 0-10 start in conference play and a 9-game losing streak, the Indiana women beat the Northwestern Wildcats 89-75 to end the skid.
From the opening tip, it was clear that the Hoosiers were not playing around. After a foul gave Northwestern a 3-2 lead, the Hoosiers locked down the Wildcats, going on an impressive 28-0 run in the first quarter. For Indiana, it seemed as though they couldn’t miss, as their lead ballooned to 27 points. For the Wildcats, it was as if they couldn’t buy a bucket, going 0-11 from the field during their 9-minute scoring drought. By the end of the first quarter, the Hoosiers had a 30-3 lead.
Indiana continued to pour it on in the second quarter, leading by as many as 36 points. A large part of this was due to the leadership and scoring of senior guard Shay Ciezki. After two quick offensive fouls sent Ciezki to the bench early, she persevered and had a team-high 17 points by halftime.
Ciezki wasn’t the only Hoosier in double digits by halftime; both Maya Makalusky and Lenee Beaumont were scoring at a high rate, with halftime totals of 16 and 15 points, respectively.
To the Wildcats’ credit, they never gave up and began to show some fight in the second quarter, especially once their shots began to fall. The Wildcats went on a 14-8 run to close out the half and cut the deficit to 55-26.
Northwestern continued to build upon their momentum in the second half, especially on defense, where they started to employ an aggressive full-court press. The press gave the Hoosiers fits, and the turnovers combined with a scoring drought allowed the Wildcats to get back into the game. With 4:20 left in the 4th-quarter Northwestern had cut the lead to just 10 points, the closest they had been since the first quarter.
Ultimately, however, the Hoosiers’ offensive firepower was too much for the Wildcats to handle. The Hoosiers continued to knock down shots and walked out of Assembly Hall with an 89-75 victory over Northwestern. The Hoosiers ended the game with three scorers with 20+ points. Ciezki ended with 33 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists; Beaumont with 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists; and Makalusky with 21 points and 2 rebounds.
For the Hoosiers, this much-needed win was their first in conference play this season and stops a 9-game losing streak. Indiana will look to build upon this win as they take on Wisconsin on Wednesday.