INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana women’s basketball’s Big Ten tournament run ended with a 83-59 loss to No. 5 Ohio State on Thursday afternoon.
The No. 13 Hoosiers advanced to the second round of the tournament after beating No. 12 Nebraska, 72-69, in a 20-point comeback on Wednesday.
Maya Makalusky led the Hooseirs with 21 points against Ohio State, while Shay Ciezki added 12.
IU is not projected to make the NCAA tournament this season, breaking a six-year streak of appearances. The Hoosiers could potentially accept a bid to the WBIT, which is also run by the NCAA, or the WNIT.
Here are two observations:
IU women’s basketball works through early foul trouble
Coach Teri Moren tends to run right rotations, and she clinches them even more in the postseason. That became evident in Indiana’s win over Nebraska to open the tournament on Wednesday, when Jerni Kiaku was the only player to come off the bench in the Hoosiers’ 72-69.
But that tight rotation became an issue on Thursday as the Hoosiers were forced to work through early foul trouble.
Moren kept Lenee Beaumont in the game even after she picked up her second and third fouls within a minute of each other in the middle of the second quarter. Then, Beaumont picked up her fourth foul with just under three minutes in the half, forcing her to the bench for eight minutes of game time.
Nevaeh Caffey, who played 16 minutes in the first half, also picked up three early fouls. It forced Caffey, one of IU’s best defenders, to switch up her defensive strategy to make sure she stayed out of foul trouble.
When Edessa Noyan picked up her fourth foul early in the fourth quarter, Moren broke out of the six-player rotations to bring Jade Odineme off the bench.
Brighter days ahead for IU women’s basketball
This season was, by all means, not up to coach Teri Moren’s usual standard. The Hoosiers were 17-13 and a withering 6-12 in conference, eking into the Big Ten tournament as the No. 13 seed before they were eliminated in the first round.
Moren had to rebuild the roster mainly through the portal this season, as the Hoosiers lost three players to graduation and six to the transfer portal. Of the most surprising was Yarden Garzon, who was IU’s career 3-point leader. She transferred to Maryland, leaving a gaping hole in IU’s starting lineup.
IU returned just one starter, Shay Ciezki, and about 18% of its scoring this year, according to Sports Reference. And it was a learning curve of a season for the Hoosiers, as Ciezki was the only player in the starting lineup that had significant playing time in the Big Ten.
Now, with a season under their belts, IU could be poised for big improvement next year — assuming it can keep its core of freshmen Maya Makalusky and Nevaeh Caffey, along with redshirt sophomore Lenee Beaumont, from entering the transfer portal.
Beaumont became a big part of IU’s lineup this season, averaging 13.6 points and 3.8 rebounds. Caffey, a full-year starter, is averaging 8.3 points. Makalusky, who joined the starting lineup in December, made the Big Ten all-freshman team averaging 9.3 points and 3.1 rebounds.
Indiana also has the sixth-ranked recruiting class in the nation coming to Bloomington, with four-stars GiGi Battle, Ashlinn James, and Addy Nyemchek joining the Hoosiers. Zoe Jackson, a top-ranked recruit out of Australia, joined Indiana at semester.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana women’s basketball’s run in Big Ten tournament ends with loss to Ohio State
Reporting by Chloe Peterson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
