News Update: Indiana Hoosiers Head Coach Teri Moren Made Controversial state about Sara Scalia Misconduct over…..

At a glance, Penn State transfer guard Shay Ciezki is Indiana women’s basketball head coach Teri Moren’s response to the graduation of sharpshooter Sara Scalia.

Ciezki and Scalia’s stories are similar. They both transferred to Indiana from rival Big Ten programs where they excelled as deep threats. At 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-10 respectively they’re shorter than the typical “big guard” we know Moren loves but use their range to stretch the floor. Ciezki’s done so since the start of her college career.

The Buffalo, New York native hit 64 of 154 (41.6%) attempts from deep in 2022-23 to finish her freshman campaign as the Big Ten’s second-best 3-point shooter. Ciezki’s hot hand earned her starts in 29 of 30 games that season and she averaged 11.8 points per game as a frosh.

Much like Indiana’s system, Penn State plays fast. She attacks the rim well and loves to make plays but turnover/decision-making struggles kept her assist-to-turnover ratio a touch over one during the last two seasons.

Roster changes allowed for Ciezki to specialize as a shooter her sophomore season. She took 47 more 3s as a soph and the increased volume kept her shot hot. The guard made at least five triples on three occasions in 2023-24, most notably a 40-point, 8-for-14 performance versus Central Connecticut State.

The specialization came at a cost, though, as Ciezki’s playing time dropped from 31.3 minutes per game to just 25.2 last year. She also came off the bench five times during the back half of the season and scored fewer than 10 points in each of her last six games.

We’ll probably never know why Ciezki decided to leave Penn State but we do know why she picked Indiana: the culture.

Ciezki is a worker who loves her craft. The Indiana coaching staff prioritizes work ethic and dedication when recruiting and created a powerhouse in Bloomington by building a team full of gym rats. This workout is a great peek behind the curtain. Ciezki clearly loves ball and that shared obsession helped her connect with the team while visiting campus.

The perimeter shooting is flashy and scratches an itch the Hoosiers need to be scratched, but consistency is what’ll get Ciezki on the floor this fall.

The 2023-24 All-Big Ten honorable mention upped her free-throw percentage from 73% as a freshman to a team-best 90.2% as a sophomore… no returning Indiana player shot that well from the stripe last year. Couple that with an average of under two fouls per contest and you get a valuable endgame asset.

The big question mark with Ciezki is the same one that plagued Scalia during her first days in Bloomington. As an undersized guard, can she defend as well as the rest of the Hoosiers? This wasn’t an issue for Nicole Cardaño-Hillary, who was the head of the snake with her tenacious presence on the ball.

59 career starts for a league rival probably means yes, but Indiana’s system is intricate. Ciezki, like Scalia before her, will need time to integrate. With a strong shooting background and exemplary work ethic, though, she’ll be impactful in candystripes for sure.