Whether it was a lack of inside presence or poor guarding of the 3-point line, Indiana women’s basketball struggled to contend with in-state foe University of Southern Indiana early in its matchup Wednesday.
Sluggish play in the first half put the Hoosiers into a hole they had to escape during the second, emerging with a 67-63 victory inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Southern Indiana outscored Indiana by 13 points in the second quarter to give itself a 42-29 lead going into halftime. The Hoosiers once again fell victim to the 3-point line, where their shots weren’t falling, and the Screaming Eagles’ were. Indiana shot 31.3% from the field and 26.7% from beyond the arc, while Southern Indiana shot 56.7% from the field and made six of its eight 3-point attempts in the first half.
“I was disappointed in our effort,” head coach Teri Moren said postgame. “I didn’t think we were focused. I didn’t think we were locked in to executing the game plan at the level we needed to. I don’t think we fought. I didn’t think we were playing with much pride — all things that they know that they have to do in order to win ball games.”
Junior forward Lilly Meister said Moren gave the Hoosiers a “loud, direct, stern” message in the locker room during halftime.
“Coach Moren came in at halftime and let us have it,” Meister said. “We deserved it, rightfully. We were daring them to shoot, giving them wide open shots, and a team like Southern Indiana, who is an in-state opponent, they’re going to knock those down and they did, so coach let us have it and we took it to heart.”
Moren wanted the Hoosiers to see more effort in the second half.
“We didn’t respond the way I thought we would in the first half,” Moren said. “So, I had to get them pretty good and question whether or not they were ready to fight in the second half, and that’s guard better, that’s fight harder, that’s try a little harder.”
And while it wasn’t perfect, Indiana emerged from the locker room different than how it entered. Within just under seven minutes, Indiana tied Southern Indiana, and by the buzzer sounded at the end of the fourth quarter, its 13-point halftime deficit became a 4-point win.
“Obviously we got back in the game and won the game,” Moren said. “We had some of those good moments, but not enough clean defensive stops in my opinion and just an area that we got to figure out how we can continue to get better and hopefully we will.”
The Hoosiers’ defense responded to Moren’s locker room message and limited the Screaming Eagles to just 21 points and 32% shooting in the second half. Junior guards Shay Ciezki and Yarden Garzon led the way offensively for Indiana in its efforts to come back with 10 points and 8 points, respectively, in the second half.
For Meister, Indiana’s 15-point comeback did not come as a shock.
“We’re gritty, we’re relentless and were not going to give up, so I wasn’t surprised,” Meister said. “Obviously, I’m disappointed that we let that happen in the first place, but I’m proud that we did come back like we did.”
Indiana will be back in action Saturday for its first Big Ten matchup of the season against Penn State. The contest will take place at 1 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pennsylvania, and will stream on Big Ten+.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Savannah Slone (@savrivers06) and columnist Ryan Canfield (@RyanCanfieldOnX) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
