Indiana’s second game of the 2026-27 campaign offered a much clearer picture of what this team wants to be. The Hoosiers did not lean on a single scorer or wait for one player to carry the load. Instead, they spread the offense around, ran Southern Illinois out of the building and turned a Friday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington into a reminder that this group has more ways to win.
The final score was 96-55, and the margin reflected more than just a hot shooting night. Indiana had six players score in double figures, while four other Indiana players also found the scoreboard. That kind of balance matters because last season the offense mostly came from Shay Ciezki. This time, the production was distributed, which makes the team harder to guard and less predictable when one option is taken away.
Lenée Beaumont led Indiana with 14 points, giving the Hoosiers a steady scoring presence at a time when the game was already moving in their direction. Zania Socka-Nguemen added seven points, while Jess Petire chipped in five points and five assists. Those numbers are important not because they are huge individually, but because they fit into a broader offensive picture: Indiana is getting contributions from multiple places instead of waiting for one player to rescue possessions.
Maya Makalusky put the point plainly afterward. “We've already proven that we have so many threats on our team, not even just the starting five,” she said. “And I think that’s a threat to all the teams that we play in the future.” That is the right way to read this game. It was not only a win over Southern Illinois; it was a demonstration of depth, spacing and lineup flexibility.
Why this matters for Indiana
The context makes the performance more significant. Indiana missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018 last season, so early signs of offensive balance carry real weight. The Hoosiers also adjusted their transfer-portal approach this offseason, bringing in two former Big Ten players plus two others with multiple years at the high-major level. That kind of roster construction is supposed to create exactly this sort of breadth.
There is still a long season ahead, and one lopsided home win does not erase every concern. But this was the kind of game that suggests Indiana can be more than a one-player offense. After a 79-50 season-opening victory over Florida Gulf Coast University on Tuesday and now a 96-55 win over Southern Illinois, Teri Moren has reason to like the early shape of her team. As she put it after opening the season, “I'm a prisoner of hope.” Right now, the roster is giving that hope some support.
Southern Illinois, meanwhile, arrived at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall after losing to Division II University of Illinois Springfield on Tuesday, and Indiana made sure the Salukis did not get a chance to stabilize the week. The larger takeaway is simple: the Hoosiers are not just winning early. They are showing how they might win when the games get more demanding.
