INDIANAPOLIS — In a tale of two halves, No. 13-seed Indiana women’s basketball took down No. 12 Nebraska, 72-69, to advance to the second round of the Big Ten tournament.
IU will play No. 5 Ohio State on Thursday at around 3 p.m. for a chance to advance to the quarterfinals.
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Here are two observations:
IU women’s basketball uses dominant second half to advance
IU was down by as many as 18 points in the third quarter, but the Hoosiers didn’t let that phase them.
With the season on the line, they switched up their defensive plan to successfully limit Nebraska’s Amiah Hargrove and Britt Prince. Hargrove had just two points in the second half after 19 in the first, while Prince had seven second-half points after 13 in the first.
Maya Makalusky hit a 3-pointer with five minutes left in the third to cut that deficit to 15 points. More importantly, setting off a 10-0 run for the Hoosiers. IU then took its first lead of the game off a 3-pointer from Lenee Beaumont with 1:06 left in the game.
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The Hoosiers were able to hold onto that lead for the final minute, fending off multiple desperate Nebraska attempts for a final, game-winning shot.
IU women’s basketball shortens rotation
Coach Teri Moren had always favored a short bench, but she constricted it even more in the Big Ten tournament. IU had just one player, Jerni Kiaku, come off the bench Wednesday afternoon.
‘We all trust her.’ How Shay Ciezki became leader for Indiana women’s basketball
Three starters played a full 40 minutes: Shay Ciezki, Nevaeh Caffey and Edessa Noyan. Ciezki played through bouts of foul trouble, picking up two fouls in the first quarter and her fourth with three minutes left in the game.
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But Ciezki, who has been the Hoosiers’ crutch the entire season and is seventh nationally in scoring (23.2 ppg), has played through foul trouble multiple times before. She didn’t pick up a foul for the rest of the game, finishing with 22 points on 10-of-20 shooting.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana vs Nebraska women’s basketball score today in Big Ten tournament
