Indiana got its fifth straight win in its final non-conference game of the season, defeating Oakland in dominant fashion, 90-55.
While it didn't start out well for the Hoosiers, as they held just an eight point lead at halftime, things were significantly turned around after the break.
IU went on a 19-0 run that made this into an incredibly one-sided contest, allowing Indiana to cruise to another non-con, blowout win.
Shay Ciezki and Karoline Striplin were both sensational, with Ciezki leading the team with 20 points, while Striplin was right behind with 16 put on the board. Ciezki also shot 4-for-7 from three, leading the way in a category that the Hoosiers excelled in all game.
They finished the contest with an 11-for-24 mark from 3-point land, many of which occurred when Indiana was on fire in the second half. This allowed IU to shoot 31-of-56 from the field for the game, a very solid number compared to Oakland's 21-of-58.
This showed how the defense stepped up just like the offense did, with both sides of the ball contributing to the dominance that was seen after the half.
This all led to another IU victory so, without further ado, here's how it happened:
BOTH TEAMS START OUT SLOW, IU STILL LEADS AT HALF
While fans were certainly excited to see Sydney Parrish out there in her first game since an injury suffered in the Battle 4 Atlantis, the Hoosiers weren't at all impressive in the first half.
After the first quarter, IU held just a three point lead, not up to par for playing a 4-6 team from the Horizon League, but it was all due to the Hoosiers’ poor shooting early.
Indiana went just 6-for-16 from the field in the first, with Lilly Meister especially struggling, as she went 0-for-4 in the opening quarter, with most of those misses from around the rim.
Oakland was similarly poor in the first though, with its 4-of-13 mark allowing Indiana to hold the lead after one.
In the second quarter, it was mostly more of the same, although IU got it going a little bit, with its offense finally finding some sort of a rhythm, shooting 7-for-13 as an improvement over the first quarter.
The Indiana defense continued to play well too, holding the Golden Grizzlies to a 6-of-16 clip in the second, allowing IU to hold an eight point lead going into halftime.
This wasn’t the greatest half for Indiana by any means, but it's defending against Oakland gave it a lead that was the building block for the second half they were about to have.
IU CATHES FIRE, DOMINATES IN 2ND HALF
In the second half, the Hoosiers took off, turning the eight point lead they had at the half into the 35 point victory seen when the game went final.
IU set the tone early as, after Oakland made the opening basket of the half, Indiana went on a 19-0 run that gave the Hoosiers a 25 point lead just minutes after their lead was just single digits.
After this, Indiana didn't look back and ended the third with a 10-for-13 mark from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 clip from 3-point range.
Ciezki was perfect in the third, making both of her shots, both being threes, while also knocking down two of two free throws to give her eight points in the quarter that allowed IU to pull away.
Oakland just couldn't keep up as well, as it shot just 5-of-12 for the quarter showing that, while the offense was on fire, Indiana's defense kept it up too
With a 25 point lead entering the fourth, it was smooth sailing, but Indiana actually extended its lead even more in the final period.
It used two separate 8-0 runs to extend its lead past 30, as the good shooting continued, the Hoosiers going 8-for-14 from the field compared to the Golden Grizzlies' 6-for-17 mark.
This closed out four of four quarters with Oakland not being able to surpass the 50% mark from the field, proving that, even with the offense playing as well as it was, the defense wouldn't relent as well for the entirety of the game.
With the offense and defense both playing as well as they did, it was smooth sailing for IU in this second half, as it turned a subpar showing in the first half into a really dominant victory over Oakland, giving it a fifth straight win.
FINAL STATS
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