Indiana Uses 17-0 1st-Quarter Run to Upset 18th-Ranked WBB, 73-65

Sunday, November 24

Paradise Island, Bahamas

12:30 PM

Baylor

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Indiana

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Indiana

Baylor

Indiana Uses 17-0 1st-Quarter Run to Upset 18th-Ranked WBB, 73-65

11/24/2024 3:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

NASSAU, Bahamas – For the 18^th-ranked Baylor women, it was too little, too late, and way too much Shay Ciezki.

The Bears actually overcame a 17-0 run by Indiana in Sunday's semifinal at the Battle 4 Atlantis, tying it up midway through the third quarter, but Ciezki started a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer and pumped in 20 of her season-high 34 points in the second half to lead the Hoosiers to a 73-65 win.

Ciezki, a 5-7 junior guard who had scored 33 points combined in Indiana's first five games (8.6 ppg), was 4-of-5 from 3-point range and hit 12-of-13 from the line to help Indiana (4-2) pick up its second ranked win in eight days after handing 24^th-ranked Stanford its first loss last Sunday.

"I thought they shredded us with their high ball screen," said Baylor coach Nicki Collen, whose Bears will face Villanova (4-2) in the third-place game at 1:30 p.m. CT Monday. "And I thought Shay was incredible all night long. She just buried us."

Baylor's only lead came on an Aaronette Vonleh second-chance layup 38 seconds into the game. The Hoosiers scored the next 17 points, including a pair of 3-pointers by Ciezki, and took a stunning 17-2 lead on a pair of free throws by Lexus Bargesser.

In a physical game that featured 52 fouls and 56 free throws, Indiana shot 10 free throws in the first quarter and was up 27-18 after the Bears somewhat stemmed the tide with a late 8-0 run of their own.

"I thought it was physical on both sides, a lot of touch fouls. It's hard to play in those games," Collen said. "I think it was a tough game for the officials to call, because there was a lot of reaching, grabbing."

The Hoosiers lost fifth-year senior Sydney Parrish to an apparent ankle injury halfway through the second quarter when the Oregon transfer had to be helped off the floor. And they had another scare right after that when Ciezki left with a knee injury, but she returned to the floor less than a minute later and scored Indiana's last bucket of the half.

Yaya Felder and Sarah Andrews hit back-to-back 3-pointers that made it a four-point game at half, 37-33. Felder got the Bears back in the game, hitting 4-of-5 from outside the arc and scoring 14 of her team-high 20 points in the first half.

Baylor climbed all the way back from that 15-point first-quarter deficit, tying it up at 46-46 with 4:49 left in the third quarter on a pair of layups by Vonleh, who finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. But Ciezki drained a 3-pointer to start a 7-0 run and then hit a pair of free throws that gave the Hoosiers a 55-49 lead going into the fourth.

Indiana quickly stretched that to double digits and went up by 15 again, 66-51, on a pair of free throws by Yarden Garzon. Hounded all night by Bella Fontleroy, the Hoosiers' 6-3 guard from Israeli was held nine points below her scoring average, finishing with just seven points on 2-for-11 shooting overall and 0-for-6 from 3-point range.

Scoring nine unanswered points, Baylor got within 66-60 with 29 seconds left on a pair of free throws by Jada Walker, who finished with 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and one impressive block. But Ciezki sealed it shut by hitting four-straight free throws after another trey by Felder.

"I thought we fought," Collen said. "We came back and had a chance in the third quarter. We had it tied, had a chance to take the lead, but really didn't get over the hump. And then, we didn't shoot the ball well down the stretch."

The Bears actually made four of their last five shots from the field, but they made only one second-half 3-pointer and shot 33.3% overall (21-of-63) for the game. Two of Baylor's leading scorers, Darianna Littlepage-Buggs and Andrews both fouled out and scored season lows of five and three points, respectively.

In Monday's third-place game, Baylor will face a Villanova team that was drubbed by 16^th-ranked North Carolina, 53-36, in the other semifinal. The Tar Heels and Indiana will square off in the championship game at 11 a.m., with both games televised by ESPNU.