Indiana University Women’s Basketball Puts Up a Fight Without Shay Ciezki The Indiana Hoosiers were missing their leading scorer Shay Ciezki Thursday Night who was out after she tweaked her ankle and was unable to go for the Hoosiers in their first of their two game Los Angeles Road trip against the USC Trojans. USC held off Indiana 79-73 at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. Ciezki is nine points shy of 1,000 for her Indiana career and that will have to wait until Sunday Afternoon when the Hoosiers face the UCLA Bruins at 3 PM at Pauley Pavillon.
Freshman Maya Makalusky scored career high 29 points and played all 40 minutes for the first time this season. The Fishers, Indiana native recorded her fourth 20-point game of the season. Makalusky went 9-15 form the field, 5-10 from three-point range and 6-8 from the free throw line along with 6 rebounds. Edessa Noyan scored 12 points and pulled down 8 rebounds. Neveah Caffey scored 11 points, and Lenee Beaumont added 10 points as the Hoosiers put four in double figures. Jerni Kiaku replaced Ciezki in the starting lineup and scored 9 points along with 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Phoenix Stotjin scored 2 points as Faith Wiseman and Chloe Spreen played but did not score.
Indiana went 25-52 for 48% from the field, 8-19 from three-point range for 42% and 15-18 from the free throw line for 83%. The Hoosiers pulled down 32 rebounds, dished out 19 assists, 4 steals, 4 blocks and 19 turnovers. The Hoosiers are 14-12 on the season and 3-11 in the Big Ten with just four regular season games remaining. Freshman Jazzy Davidson led USC with 24 points. Kara Dunn added 16 points, and Kennedy Smith scored 15 points to put three in double figures for the Trojans. USC went 24-64 from the field for 38%, 3-19 from three-point range for 16% and 28-35 from the free throw line for 80%. USC pulled down 38 rebounds, 15 assists, 11 steals, 6 blocks and 8 turnovers. The Trojans are 16-9 overall and 8-6 in the Big Ten and will host Wisconsin Next Thursday Night. Before thier final regular season road trip to Ohio State and Penn State and then close out the regular season hosting crosstown rival UCLA.
Indiana came out of the gates fast leading 24-13 after the first quarter. USC responded with 22-13 second quarter as the Hoosiers led 37-35 at halftime. USC outscored Indiana 44-36 in the second half as the Trojans led 57-54 at halftime and have won all three meetings with the Hoosiers. Indiana has been battling injuries all season long this was their biggest test yet without their leading scorer. The Hoosiers put up a big-time effort without a big-time player and hopefully their get her back on Sunday against the best team in Big Ten and one of the top teams in the nation in UCLA.
Edgewood and Bloomington South Represent Monroe County at the IHSAA Girls Swimming and Diving State Finals Edgewood and Bloomington South will represent Monroe County as the 52nd annual IHSAA Girls Swimming and Diving State Finals are held at the Indiana University Natatorium on the Campus of Indiana University-Indianapolis. The competition gets underway at 6 PM this evening with the Swimming Preliminaries as the Top 8 each event makes it to the Championship Finals and Consolation Finals will feature the 9-16 fastest times which start at 1 PM. The Diving Preliminaries and Semifinals will begin at 9 AM as the top 20 advance to the Semifinals and then the top 16 will make it to the Finals which will begin at 1 PM.
The Monroe County Schools won 4 events during the East Central Sectional to advance to State Finals. Edgewood’ Senior Ellina Vadeges won the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.67 and the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 59.33. Bloomington South Sophomore Hadley Laughlin won the one-meter diving event with a score 432.95 and qualified for the State Finals with a second-place finish in the Jasper Regional Tuesday Night. Senior Harper Eakin won the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:09.75. The Panthers won the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:42.50.
Carmel are the queens of the pool winning 40 State Championships. Ben Davis and Munster have three State Titles followed by Anderson with 2 and then one each by Columbus East, Columbus North and Lafayette Jefferson. Since 1987 the Greyhounds have won the State, every year setting a national record with the most consecutive State Titles in one sport. Since 2007 Chris Plumb has been in charge and won 19 in a row. Tom Burchill won three in a row from 2004-06, Ken Stopkotte won 3 in a row from. 2001-03, Tony Young won 9 straight from 1992-2000 and Ray Lawrence who led Carmel to the 1982 title started the 39-year streak winning five in a row from 1987-1991. It’s a incredible feat that has become the expectation year in and year out for the Greyhounds State Championship or bust and for 39 years in a row nobody else has been able to bust the streak and who knows how long this streak will go on for but to be the champ you must beat the champ and Carmel has been the Champ for a long long time.
Broyles Award Tabs Indiana’s Bryant Haines as Nation’s Top Assistant Honoring the nation’s top college football assistant coach, the Broyles Award added Indiana to its impressive list of winners when defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Bryant Haines was announced as the winner of the award on Thursday evening inside the Grand Ballroom of Oaklawn Resort It is the third-straight seasons that Haines has been in contention for the award, as he was a semifinalist in 2023 before earning finalist honors in 2024. Haines is just the second Hoosier to earn finalist honors along with Kane Wommack in 2020 and is just the seventh Big Ten assistant to win the award in its 30-year history. Haines is the first Broyles Award winner to also claim the national title since Joe Brady of LSU in 2019 and is the 10th assistant coach to claim a national title in the same season.
His defense ranked among the top-10 nationally in a bevy of categories: rushing defense (No. 2; 77.2 ypg), scoring defense (No. 2; 11.7 ppg), turnovers gained (No. 3; 30), tackles for loss per game (No. 3; 8.1), total defense (No. 4; 266.0 ypg), interceptions (No. 6; 19) and third down conversion percentage (No. 8; .301). Indiana didn’t allow more than 24 points in a game in 2025 and limited nine of 16 opponents to 10 points or fewer. The Hoosiers led the nation in points off of turnovers (134) and were the only FBS school with four players to log at least 11.0 tackles for loss on the season. His unit set the program standard with 46.0 sacks and held the opposition under 100-yards rushing in 13 of 16 games. The defense forced a turnover in 14 of 16 games and finished the season with at least one turnover forced in nine straight games.
Along with the statistical accolades, linebacker Aiden Fisher and cornerback D’Angelo Ponds each earned first-team All-America honors. Defensive lineman Stephen Daley, defensive back Louis Moore and defensive lineman Tyrique Tucker each earned All-America honors from various outlets, as well. A program-record seven defensive players earned All-Big Ten honors, as well, with four first-team honorees.
Indiana University Softball Splits First Day of the Littlewood Invitational On its first day of play in the Littlewood Invitational, Indiana split its first two games of the weekend. The Hoosiers defeated Portland State, 23-0, in five innings and lost narrowly to No. 22 Arizona State, 7-6, on Thursday night. After an extremely dominant first game, the Hoosiers nearly went 2-0 on the day, but Arizona State hit a home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to take the late lead. Indiana’s season record now stands at 8-2 on the season.
GAME 1: INDIANA 23, PORTLAND STATE 0 (F/5) and GAME 2: No. 22 ARIZONA STATE 7, INDIANA 6
Indiana’s bats exploded in the top of the first inning against Portland State, scoring seven runs and getting through the entire lineup in the top of the first. The Hoosier defense was lights out and had back-to-back 1-2-3 innings in the second and third inning to protect the 7-0 lead. The bats went off again for Indiana in the fourth inning, scoring 13 runs in the top of the frame. Aly VanBrandt hit both a triple and home run in the inning to complete the cycle. In the top of the fifth, VanBrandt hit her second home run of the game, and it was immediately followed up by Alex Cooper’s solo homer.
In the Arizona State game, after three scoreless innings, Ellie Goins broke the scoreless tie when she hit an RBI single to the pitcher to score Hannah Haberstroh and Brooke Mannon to make it a 2-0 game. The Hoosiers added on to the lead when Avery Parker grounded out to second to bring VanBrandt home in the top of the fifth to extend the lead to 3-0. Arizona State responded in the bottom of the fifth, taking a 4-3 lead on Kaylee Pond’s home run over the left field wall. The Sun Devils’ lead didn’t last long as Ellie Goins hit a 2-run shot in the top of the sixth to give Indiana a 5-4 lead. Arizona State’s Emily Schepp hit a 3-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to pull ahead 7-5. Avery Parker cut the lead closer, drawing it to 7-6 on a solo shot in the top of the seventh inning.
Aly VanBrandt hit for the cycle against Portland State. VanBrandt hit the cycle in order (single, double, triple, home run) and then hit another home run in her final at bat of the game. VanBrandt tied a single-game program record of 7 RBI in a 5-for-5 hitting performance. Indiana outhit Portland State, 22-1. The Hoosiers hit 11 extra base hits against Portland State. The win over Portland State increased Indiana’s win streak to five in a row. Ella Troutt pitched 5.0 innings against the Vikings and only allowed one hit. Ellie Goins hit her first home run as a Hoosier against Arizona State. Avery Parker recorded her third home run of 2026 against the Sun Devils. Indiana will be back at it tomorrow at noon (ET) for a game against Pacific.
Indiana University Swimming Head Coach Ray Looze to Join the ISCA Hall of Fame Indiana swimming head coach Ray Looze is set to become one of three inductees into the International Swim Coaches Association Hall of Fame per the ISCA’s recent announcement. Looze will join Tennessee head coach Matt Kredich and multiple-time U.S. national team coach Kate Lundsten in the 2026 class, to be honored Friday, April 17, during the ORCA Awards Weekend in St. Petersburg, Florida. Looze is already a member of the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) Hall of Fame (’21).
Now in his 24th season at Indiana, Looze has led his teams to 14 Big Ten Championships and 23 NCAA individual or relay championships. Looze has earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors 15 times, including six awards over the last four seasons (two women, four men). He was the 2017 ASCA Coach of the Year as well as the 2018 CSCAA Coach of the Year. His swimmers have totaled 781 All-America awards. The program is currently enjoying its greatest success since the 1970’s, within which the program won six consecutive national titles (1968-73). The men’s program has finished sixth or better nationally in every season since 2018, including three No. 3 finishes, and has won the last four Big Ten Championships. Simultaneously, the women’s program has produced program-record finishes in each of its last three seasons, placing seventh in 2023 and 2024 before a fourth-place performance in 2025.
The NBA Fines the Indiana Pacers for Roster Mismanagement The National Basketball Association on Thursday fined the Indiana Pacers and Utah Jazz for the management of their rosters for recent games. The Pacers were fined $100,000 for violating the Player Participation Policy in connection with the team’s game against the Utah Jazz at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Feb. 3. Following an investigation, including review by an independent physician, the NBA determined that Pascal Siakam, a star player under the policy, and two other Pacers starters, neither of whom participated in the game, could have played under the medical standard in the policy, including by playing reduced minutes. Alternatively, the team could have held the players out of other games in a way that would have better promoted compliance with the policy.
The Jazz were fined $500,000 for conduct detrimental to the league for games against the Orlando Magic on Feb. 7 and the Miami Heat on Feb. 9. “Overt behavior like this that prioritizes draft position over winning undermines the foundation of NBA competition and we will respond accordingly to any further actions that compromise the integrity of our games,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “Additionally, we are working with our Competition Committee and Board of Governors to implement further measures to root out this type of conduct.”
Purdue and Gonzaga Men’s Basketball to Meet in Las Vegas during the 2026-27 Season Purdue is set to take on one of the best programs in college basketball, Gonzaga, on November 2, 2026, in Las Vegas, per a report from Jon Rothstein. The game is part of a doubleheader, with Arizona and UCLA being the other game. Purdue is undefeated against Gonzaga, sporting a 5-0 record against the Bulldogs. The two programs have met three times since 2022, the latest of which being in the Sweet 16 of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Both Purdue and Gonzaga are ranked in the top 15 in the AP poll this week, with the Bulldogs at No. 12 and the Boilermakers at No. 13. Both programs have sustained consistent success as well, with Gonzaga making the last 26 NCAA Tournaments and Purdue making the last 10.