By Jhett Garrett
BLOOMINGTON, IN: Following a week of sunshine in Fort Myers, Florida, for Coconut Hoops, the Indiana Hoosiers were welcomed back to Bloomington with snow as they hosted Western Michigan University on Wednesday. Despite the absence of sophomore forward Zania Socka-Nguemen for the second straight game, the Hoosiers were able to muster a narrow 71-53 win.
Indiana forgot to knock the snow off its boots as it entered Assembly Hall, and the Hoosiers got off to a cold start. Kailey Starks, a sophomore guard for the Broncos, got off to a hot start, scoring seven points in the first quarter on 3-5 shooting. Starks was a pivotal part in Western Michigan’s 20-15 lead after the first ten minutes.
“Sometimes I wonder if they think they know more than me and my staff know.” Head Coach Teri Moren said after the game. “And the answer to that is absolutely, they don’t.”
Moren didn’t hold back postgame after the lackluster performance. After the Hoosiers were able to put together good performances in Florida, she expected that the team had taken the next step as a team. However, Moren was quick to point out the disappointing showing after just one day of prep in practice.
“I felt like the trip that we had in Florida, we took a lot of steps forward and did some good things,” Moren said. “Only to revert back a couple of steps here in the Hall tonight.”
Senior guard Shay Ciezki averaged 29.3 points per game during the three-game road trip to Fort Myers, including a 38-point outing against Iowa State University on Sunday. She continued her hot streak on Wednesday, finishing with 26 points on 12-17 shooting. Ciezki leads the Hoosiers in scoring, averaging XX points per game. She’s scored 20 or more points in seven of Indiana’s nine games this season.
“I’m glad she has strong shoulders because she’s carried us from an offensive perspective in a lot of these games,” Moren said.
Those shoulders are not only holding the weight of the team on the floor, but also off the court as a leader. During the halftime break, Ciezki acknowledged the conversations that led to Indiana outscoring Western Michigan 36-22 in the second half.
“I think there’s a lot of talk in the locker room at halftime,” Ciezki said following the game. “I think the first half we took a lot of plays off.”
Without Socka-Nguemen, who leads the Hoosiers in rebounds with an average of 9 per game, Indiana turned to junior forward Edessa Noyan. She hadn’t totaled 20 or more minutes of playing time before Sunday’s matchup against Iowa State, but has now played 27 or more minutes in back-to-back games.
“Me and [Zania] are very different players,” Noyan said postgame. “We have a different style, but I try to play my role as best as I can.”
Ciezki was very quick to acknowledge that Noyan is “doing a great job.” Noyan finished with just 7 points on 2-5 shooting from the field, but was a force on the boards, finishing with 11.
Saturday will be a jam-packed day for Indiana athletics, and Teri Moren and the Hoosiers will be a part of it. They will travel to Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, to take on the University of Illinois at the State Farm Center.
“We’ve got to play much better than we did tonight,” Moren said. “My hope is that between now and Saturday, our team can get it together.”
With tipoff set for 12 p.m., it’ll be the perfect appetizer for one of the biggest days in Indiana athletics history.
