Indiana Women’s Basketball Falls on the Road to Minnesota
The Indiana Hoosiers women’s basketball team faced a tough challenge on Sunday afternoon, falling to Minnesota 66-56 at Williams Arena. A combination of shooting struggles and a dominant second-half performance by the Golden Gophers proved to be the difference as IU’s three-game winning streak came to an end.
Key Moments of the Game:
- The Hoosiers started strong, taking advantage of an early Minnesota scoring drought to build a 17-13 lead after the first quarter. Senior forward Karoline Striplin paced IU in the opening frame with seven points.
- A three-pointer by sophomore guard Julianna LaMendola stretched IU’s lead to five early in the second quarter, but a three-and-a-half-minute scoring drought allowed Minnesota to regain momentum. Junior guard Shay Ciezki scored five straight points to briefly restore Indiana’s lead, but the Gophers closed the half with back-to-back scores to take a 29-27 halftime advantage.
- Minnesota (19-6, 7-6 B1G) came out firing in the third quarter, shooting an impressive 68.7% from the floor and extending their lead to as many as 15 points heading into the final period.
- Indiana’s late comeback attempt, highlighted by a baseline drive from Lexus Bargesser and a tough finish at the rim by Chloe Moore-McNeil, fell short.
Notable Performances:
- Shay Ciezki led the Hoosiers with 12 points, reaching the 1,000-point milestone in her collegiate career.
- Karoline Striplin added 12 points, and Chloe Moore-McNeil contributed 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
- Sydney Parrish led IU on the boards with six rebounds.
Now sitting at 15-8 overall and 7-5 in the Big Ten, Indiana will look to rebound when they travel to Ann Arbor for a matchup against Michigan at 7 PM ET on B1G+.