BLOOMINGTON — Seven minutes and four seconds. That’s how long it took Indiana women’s basketball to score its first point of the second quarter against No. 1 UCLA on Saturday.
That lull led to the Bruins outscoring the Hoosiers 15-5 in the second period and ultimately securing a 73-62 win in Assembly Hall. UCLA continued its undefeated season (15-0, 4-0 Big Ten) while Indiana (10-4, 2-1 Big Ten) couldn’t capture a signature win.
After a six-game win streak filled with remarkable offensive performances, Indiana’s water was shut off by UCLA’s defense — which is arguably the best in the country. Indiana averaged 81.3 points per game while shooting 51% from the field during its win streak, but the Hoosiers scored just 62 points on 40% shooting in Saturday’s affair.
“I thought that they slowed us down in transition today, and they really tagged us,” said Indiana head coach Teri Moren. “And they know that's part of what makes us good, is our transition and playing in space and playing with pace. So I thought they did a good job of really slowing us down intentionally.”
IU’s five-point second quarter marked its lowest scoring output in a quarter this season. It was also the least the Hoosiers have scored in a quarter since they had a four-point first quarter the last time UCLA came to Bloomington on Dec. 22, 2019.
Scoring consistently has plagued the Hoosiers in all four of their losses this season. IU’s four-lowest scoring totals in regulation have correlated with its four defeats.
After losing Mackenzie Holmes and Sara Scalia — Indiana’s two leading scorers in 2023-24 — to graduation, putting the ball through the net has not come as easily for the Hoosiers. Last year, Indiana was top-five in the nation in both 3-point and 2-point percentage during its 26-6 campaign, but the Hoosiers rank outside the top-40 in both categories this year.
Against UCLA, Moren thought her team had makeable shots.
“We got really good shots that didn’t go down,” Moren claimed. “As I said to them (the team), those shots go down, I feel like it’s going to be a different kind of game and a different outcome for us.”
Limiting 3-point looks was an emphasis for the Bruins in front of the Assembly Hall crowd of 11,528 fans. UCLA held IU — who had shot 44% on 3s over its last four games — to 4-for-21 (19%) from deep on Saturday.
“Not only are they good at shooting 3s, but it gets their crowd going and their momentum (going), and they’re able to set their defense the way they want it,” UCLA head coach Cori Close said. “ … We didn’t think they could hit enough of those shots to beat us as long as we took away the cuts and the 3s.”
Despite UCLA center Lauren Betts dropping 25 points, Indiana defended well enough to win, with Betts’ teammates shooting just 16-for-46 from the field. But at no point did the Hoosiers make enough shots to threaten the Bruins, who never trailed on Saturday.
Without Holmes and Scalia — who accounted for 45% of IU’s scoring last season — IU has relied on ball movement even more this season. IU had 21 or more assists in four straight games heading into Saturday, and 67% of its buckets had been assisted on before this game. Against UCLA, IU had eight assists on 22 made field goals, as the Bruins disrupted an offense that had flowed well recently.
Indiana will have more chances to play quality teams, as six other Big Ten teams currently sit in the AP top 25. Whether it’s shots not falling, poor process, or somewhere in between — Indiana must find a way to score more efficiently against quality opponents.
