BLOOMINGTON — Indiana women’s basketball is back at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
The 25th-ranked Hoosiers handled business in Wednesday’s exhibition game against Division II Maryville, cruising to a dominant 95-27 victory. This was IU’s lone preseason game ahead of the season-opener on Monday against Brown.
Maryville was completely overmatched against Indiana, so it’s important to maintain perspective when analyzing this game. But the Hoosiers still showed plenty on Wednesday about what they’ll look like this season.
Here are three takeaways and notes from this exhibition win.
Injury updates
IU missed some notable players on Wednesday with some injuries, and another popped up during the game.
Guards Lexus Bargesser and Lenée Beaumont sat out on Wednesday, and Bargesser wore a boot on her right foot. IU head coach Teri Moren said after the game that both players are expected back soon, though didn’t share timelines on either’s return. Bargesser is dealing with a foot injury, while Beaumont is working through a nagging knee injury that popped up late in the summer.
Freshman forward Sydney Fenn sported a big cast on her right leg before the game while moving around with crutches. Moren said Fenn won’t compete this season after undergoing offseason knee surgery.
During the third quarter, graduate student guard Sydney Parrish hit the floor hard and needed assistance going from the court to the locker room. She eventually returned to IU’s bench, still in uniform, with crutches and ice on her left ankle. Moren said Parrish tweaked her ankle and could’ve returned, but the Hoosiers held her out for precautionary reasons.
IU started Parrish, Chloe Moore-McNeil, Shay Ciezki, Yarden Garzon, and Lilly Meister for this exhibition. That seems like a safe bet to be Moren’s preferred starting five, but Bargesser and Beaumont returning may impact the rest of the rotation.
Pushing the pace
Shay Ciezki came to IU from Penn State this offseason with the reputation of being a strong 3-point shooter.
The junior stood out on Wednesday, but not because of her shooting. Ciezki went 2 for 5 from beyond the arc in this exhibition, though she did display her shooting prowess at Hoosier Hysteria. But against Maryville, Ciezki showed impressive speed and floor vision. She was frequently running the floor in transition and setting up looks for herself and teammates.
She finished with 14 points, on 5-for-8 shooting, with five rebounds, five assists, and two turnovers. But neither of the turnovers were mental errors — twice, in transition, she slightly overthrew a pass ahead to Garzon (both times). Those are passes Ciezki will hit as the season goes along.
Ciezki, at 5-foot-7, is small. That could cause problems at some point this season, and there may only be so much she and IU can do about that. But still, with the tools she displayed on Wednesday, Ciezki looks like a big piece for the Hoosiers this year.
“Shay’s a dawg. She’s a fighter. She’s a competitor. She’s loud, with her voice. She can shoot it. She can facilitate it,” Moren said. “She’s durable, you can play her a lot of minutes. She’s coming off an ankle sprain, also, from a practice. She’s tough. She’s another one of those tough kind of like-minded Chloe Moore-McNeil kind of kids, that I love. Great teammate, coachable, versatile, gets after you defensively. We’ve seen all of those things.”
Meister’s moment arriving
Lilly Meister has big shoes to fill this season.
It isn’t solely on the junior to replace Mackenzie Holmes — no individual player can make up what IU lost when Holmes wrapped her stellar career. That’s why the Hoosiers brought in Karoline Striplin from the transfer portal. But Meister will definitely be a big part of what Indiana does in the post this season, and in general at the 5 spot. The Minnesota native was an efficient player, particularly as a rebounder, during her first two seasons.
On Wednesday, Meister certainly looked ready for expanded responsibilities. She shot 9 for 11 from the field for 19 points, with four rebounds. The junior missed her lone 3-point attempt, but she appeared comfortable stepping out and playing some face-up game.
Meister, after the game, said her biggest focus point in the offseason was building up her confidence. She said her training and workout routines stayed the same, despite knowing she’d enter a bigger role this season. And she credited her peers for helping her develop that mental strength.
“Honestly, a lot of it comes from who I’m surrounded by: my coaches and my teammates,” Meister said. “They see me at my worst, basketball-wise. And if they can have that much confidence in me still, there’s no reason I can’t, myself. And I think it was just me teaching myself that.”
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