Huskies Inside Dominance Dooms Hoosiers  

  The Huskies placed four in double figures with 19 points from Elle Ladine, Yulia Grabovskaia added 16 points as the Hoosiers had no answer for her as she dominated inside and scored at will. Brynn McGaughy added 13 points off the bench and Savia Sellers added 11 points. Washington finished the game 36-56 for 63% from the field, 6-11 from three-point range for 54% and 4-6 from the free throw line for 66%. Washington pulled down 32 rebounds, dished out 20 assists, 6 steals, 5 blocks and 12 turnovers. In addition to the points in the paint the Huskies scored 23 fast break points, 20 points off turnovers, 19 bench points, 13 second chance points and 9 offensive rebounds.

  Shay Ciezki led Indiana with 23 points and Maya Makalusky added 16 points to combine for 39 of the 63 Hoosier points. Lenee Beaumont added 9 points, 8 points for Neveah Caffey and 4 points for Zania Socka-Nugemen. Edessa Noyan scored 2 points, and Jerni Kiaku scored 1 point as Phoenix Stotjin and Jade Ondineme did not score. Indiana finished 23-55 from the field for 41%, 12-23 from three-point range for 52% and 5-6 from the free throw line for 83%. Indiana pulled down 20 rebounds, dished out 11 assists, 3 steals, no blocks and 15 turnovers. In addition to the 20 points in the paint the Hoosiers had 14 points off turnovers, 10 offensive rebounds, 8 second chance points, 3 fastbreak points and 3 bench points.

   The game was scoreless for the first minute and fifty-eight seconds of the game as Washington scored the first two baskets on runouts after two Hoosier turnovers and never trailed in the game. After a three pointer by Maya Makalusky hit a three to cut the lead to one point but as Hoosiers tried to cut the lead the Huskies answered every time down the floor as Washington led 24-13 after the first quarter. The Hoosiers outscored the Huskies 18-17 in the second quarter and kept the Huskies scoreless for the final two minutes and forty seconds of the quarter as Washington led 41-31 at halftime. Shay Ciezki scored 12 points for Indiana and Elle Ladine led Washington with 12 points.

   Washington was 18-30 from the field for 60%, 3-6 from three-point range for 50% and 2-4 from the free throw line for 50%. The Huskies pulled down 17 rebounds, dished out 9 assists, 3 Steals 2 Blocks, 4 turnovers and 26 points in the paint in the first half. Indiana was 10-24 from the field 41%, 6-11 from three-point range for 54% and 5-6 from the free throw line 83%. The Hoosiers pulled down 10 rebounds, 5 Assists, 1 Steal, 0 Blocks, 8 turnovers and 8 Points in the Paint.

  The Hoosiers struggled in third quarters all season but tonight they were outscored 20-16 but trailed 61-47 going into the final ten minutes. In the fourth quarter Indiana outscored Washington 12-2 in the final 4:01 but the Huskies outscored the Hoosiers 21-16 in the fourth quarter to win for the first time in Bloomington in this series and just the second time in the series since 2001. Indiana leads the all-time series 3-2 as the teams have split both conference meetings winning on the others home court.

  Shay Ciezki said after the game that the conversations are very hard and some that “you don’t want to have as a basketball player”. Ciezki said that most of these games are “winnable and they are so close” and just need to get one win to turn it around. For Indiana Head Coach Teri Moren her team must” Sit in it” for a week and get ready for another tough road contest at Ohio State.

  Ciezki and Moren agreed that the effort should not be a topic of conversation this point on the season but as Coach Moren added “If 0-8 doesn’t not but a fire under you and maybe should not be playing this game” and it will be a long week in between game for the Hoosiers with 11 Big Ten Games left and getting to crucial point where they need to get out of the bottom three of the standings to make the Big Ten Tournament in March at Gainbridge Fieldhouse or be sitting at home for the first time in the postseason since Moren’s first season 12 years ago in 2014-15 when the Hoosiers were 15-16.