by Nick Jenkinson, SCINN Sports Director
The Indiana Hoosiers started off slow but were able to pull away in the second half to beat the Western Michigan Broncos 71-53 Wednesday Night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Indiana is 8-1 on the season and 5-0 at home and will open Big Ten Conference Play at Illinois on Saturday at Noon on the Big Ten Network. Western Michigan falls to 1-5 on the season. The Hoosiers lead the all-time series with the Broncos 9-4, have won five in a row, and are 6-2 against the Broncos in Bloomington.
Shay Ciezki led the way with 26 points and Lenee Beaumont added 13 points. Edessa Noyan added 11 rebounds and 7 points and started for the injured Zania Socka-Nugemen who missed her second straight game due to a lower leg injury, she is categorized as ‘week to week’. Noyan was not happy with her scoring but pleased with her rebounding. “My points in the paint did not go in so I went for the boards and try and help the team anyway I can,” Noyan said after the game.
The Hoosiers finished the game 28-65 from the field for 43%, 5-20 from three-point range for 20%, and 10-14 from the free throw line for 71%. Indiana pulled down 37 rebounds, dished out 9 assists, 8 steals, 1 block, and 10 turnovers. Indiana scored 42 points in the paint and went 18 for 36 on layup attempts. Eight of the eleven Hoosiers that played scored.
Kailey Starks and D’Myjah Bolds led Western Michigan with 12 points apiece. Burlington, Indiana Native and Carroll Flora Graduate Alli Harness scored 9 points and 2 rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench. Western Michigan finished 21-56 from the field for 37%, 7-23 from three-point range for 30%, and 4-10 from the free throw line for 40%. The Broncos pulled down 32 rebounds, dished out 7 assists, 5 steals, 4 blocks, and 16 turnovers.
Head Coach Teri Moren was not happy with her team’s performance after a week-long trip to Florida, playing three games and returning home with a one-day prep for Western Michigan. The team was givenMonday off, after their 11-point loss to #10 Iowa State during the mini-tournament championship game on Sunday.
“There is an old saying in our game which says how you practice is how you play and we did not have a good practice yesterday,” said Coach Moren after the game. Moren added, the team had a lack of focus and energy and said Wednesday’s practice was not hard practice with one day prep and admitted giving the team the day off was a mistake on her part. “We are going to have to play a lot better on Saturday at Illinois because we did not play well tonight.”
Indiana scored 43 seconds into the game when Lenee Beaumont hit two free throws. Western Michigan went on a 9-0 run and Indiana scored its first field goal of the game with 5:41 left in the first quarter. The Hoosiers trailed 20-15 at the end of the first quarter. Indiana responded in the second quarter with a 13-6 run that gave the Hoosiers lead 28-26 with 3:49 left in the second quarter. Indiana closed out with a 7-5 advantage to lead 35-31 at halftime. Western Michigan would not go away as the Broncos cut to lead to one point on two occasions, 37-36 Indiana with 8:56 left in the third quarter. Indiana outscored Western Michigan 16-11 in the third quarter to lead 51-42 at halftime. Indiana pulled way in the fourth quarter outscoring the Broncos 20-11 in the fourth quarter. Indiana outscored Western Michigan 36-22 in the second half as the Broncos were scoreless for the final 2 minutes and 50 seconds of the game.
After the win, Coach Moren was frustrated with the team, sharing that she had hoped this young team would have demonstrated continued growth after returning from a productive road trip, but was left wondering if the team might feel that they know more than the coaching staff, to which she self-replied, “They certainly do not.”
Next up
Indiana (8-1, 0-1) travels to take on Illinois (7-1, 0-0) on Saturday, December 6th with a noon tip-off. Live coverage with Austin Render on B97 Radio.
“My hope is that between now and Saturday, that our team can get it together”
– Coach Moren