3 Takeaways From IU Women's Basketball 78-62 Win Over Oregon In Their Opening Big Ten Tournament Game
Hoosier Now 19-11 Overall And Have 6th Straight NCAA Berth All But Secured
Gainbridge Fieldhouse In Indianapolis Where The Indiana Women Took On Oregon In The Big Ten Tourney
Hoosiers Race Out To Double-Digit Lead And Respond Through Adversity
Indianapolis-It was a matchup of two teams that could not be more opposite. IU wins with speed and shooting while Oregon attacks with physicality and post-play.
The Hoosiers, and especially junior Shay Ciezki, were able to use this superior quickness to race out to a 20-7 lead eight minutes into the game. From there, the Ducks were able to slow the contest down and use their physicality on defense and easy post baskets or drawing fouls on offense to steady things.
However, Indiana made enough three-pointers to keep their lead at right around the low double figures mark almost throughout. The few times Oregon cut the deficit to 5 or 6 points late in the third quarter, the Hoosiers responded and maintained their composure and it never got any closer. Eventually, IU used a 13-0 fourth quarter run to push the advantage to 76-55 and roll 78-62.
The Hoosiers were 11-25 from long range and early scoring from Ciezki and later baskets by junior Yarden Garzon assured victory. Garzon led all scorers with 18 points while Ciezki was right behind with 17 points. Seniors Chloe Moore-McNeil and Sydney Parrish also got into double figures with 13 and 10 points respectively.
Garzon said her side needed to respond to the adversity so they can continue in this Big Ten Tournament for their upperclassmen.
“I feel like we all felt the urge to win this game,” Garzon said “We want to keep playing. We want to play with our seniors. We love our seniors, and we want to keep playing with them.”
Faith Wiseman Makes Extended Appearance Due To Foul Trouble
Indiana keeps a tight post rotation with senior Karoline Striplin starting and junior Lily Meister spelling her for backup minutes. With both getting into extreme foul trouble against an Oregon squad with far superior athleticism, this forced IU coach Teri Moren to go far deeper at this position than she normally does.
While it could very much be argued the Hoosiers got a bad whistle in this one, they still needed a third option when the fouls racked up on Striplin and Meister. This forced Moren to go to freshman Faith Wiseman down low. Wiseman had played no minutes in a competitive part of a contest before today.
Being forced into action, Wiseman held her own with a couple of rebounds, an assist, and a steal. While she still looked raw at the position, she did show the talent and potential for the future that made her one of the higher-ranked recruits in program history.
Moren said she was pleased with what Wiseman gave when called on in a pinch.
“I thought Faith came in as a freshman and did some really great things, Moren said. “(She) helped us hang on until we could get to the fourth (quarter).
With Striplin exhausting her eligibility and Meister arguably taking a step back in her development, Wiseman showing she has potential as a center in this league was important. While IU will likely need to turn to the portal for a starting post-player next season, Wiseman showed she could easily back this potential person up and move in as the starter by her junior season if all goes well.
Where this leaves Meister in the future remains to be seen. She was projected to be the primary player in the post this year but has had her minutes go down as 2024-2025 has gone on and been passed by Striplin on the depth chart.
IU Is Basically A Lock For NCAA Tournament Now And 20 Win Season Streak Is Very Much Alive
By winning Thursday, Indiana has all but clinched a spot in March Madness for a sixth straight season at 19-11 overall. IU picked up another victory over an NCAA Tournament-bound squad in the Ducks to go with neutral court triumphs over postseason-bound Columbia and Baylor in the pre-conference. This along with road victories at tourney participants Iowa and Washington in league play and huge home wins over Nebraska and Ohio State has done more than enough to once again be in March Madness. Also, they have avoided any bad losses since the very early season defeat at Butler.
The Big Ten Tournament run continues in Indianapolis again on Friday at 12 pm on BTN against top-seed USC who may be the best side in the country. No matter the results, an NCAA bid now appears secure though and the Hoosiers can play free and loose as a heavy underdog.
What is in play though is keeping Indiana’s long streak of 20-win seasons alive. Since 2015-2016 IU has hit this mark each year. While beating the Trojans will be an extreme uphill battle, the Hoosiers will now have at least this chance as well as their first March Madness contest against an equal to pick up that additional victory and keep this impressive run alive.
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