TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Indiana State women's basketball team will begin a three-game road swing Saturday when they make a trip to Chicago to face the Loyola. The game is scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. ET inside Gentile Arena and will be streamed world-wide on The Valley On ESPN3. Fans can also catch the action on 1230 AM WIBQ online and in the Wabash Valley as Luke Martin will have the call.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Sycamores lead the all-time series with the Ramblers, 8-4. Indiana State has won five of the last six matchups including a sweep last year. ISU is 5-0 at home, 2-3 on the road and 0-1 at neutral sites against Loyola. The Sycamores have never dropped back-to-back meetings against the Ramblers in the series that goes back to 1982-83.
 
LOOKING AT LOYOLA
Loyola comes into the game with a 2-13 overall record, and a 1-3 mark in MVC play. The Ramblers are led by Katie Salmon with 9.3 points per game while Kaitlyn Williams adds nine points a contest. Salmon also leads the squad in rebounding, pulling down 6.6 boards a game. Kianna Coomber leads Loyola from behind the arc with a 39.3 shooting percentage from downtown on 22 makes. As a team, Loyola is scoring 51.7 points a game while allowing 74.2 to its opponents.
 
OFF AND RUNNING
Indiana State is off to its best start in Missouri Valley Conference play since the 2003-04 when the team started 6-0 after a weekend sweep of Bradley and Illinois State. The team also defeated Southern Illinois on the road for a 3-1 start.
 
PUTTING ON THE CLAMPS
The Sycamores currently rank first in the Missouri Valley Conference, holding opponents just 58.9 points per game this season. The Sycamores are also leading the conference field goal percent defense, allowing the opposition to shoot just 35.6 percent from the floor. Indiana State is 6-2 when holding opponents under 60 points.
 
SWAT TEAM
Indiana State as a whole has recorded 67 blocks as a team this year to lead the Missouri Valley. Their 4.5 blocks per game second-best in the MVC behind Illinois State. The Sycamores top paint protector is Wendi Bibbins who has 18 blocks while her counterpart Rhagen Smith has swatted away 14 shots. A total of 11 players have recorded blocks this year for the Sycamores.
 
STARTING MVC PLAY STRONG
Junior Ashley Taia is leading the way in Valley play with a 17.3 points per game average while sophomore Tierra Webb sits at 9.8 points a contest. Forward Wendi Bibbins is also averaging 7.8 points and seven boards a game through four conference games. Taia has recorded two 20+ point scoring games in MVC play. In total, the forward has three this season. She has 11 games of double-digit scoring. Bibbins has scored in double digits in six games in a Sycamore uniform.
 
REBOUND AND WIN
The Sycamores are a perfect 5-1 when cleaning up on the glass this season and just 3-5 when getting outrebounded. As a team ISU sits in sixth place in the conference with 38.7 rebounds per contest while leading the MVC with 27.1 defensive rebounds per game. Junior forward Wendi Bibbins leads the squad with 8.1 rebounds per contest.
 
CONSISTENCY
Ashley Taia, the Sycamores' leading scorer has been the most consistent offense for ISU this season. In 14 games, Taia has scored in double-figures 11 times including a career high 26 points at Southern Illinois on New Year's Day. The Brisbane, Australia ranks seventh in the MVC in scoring at 13.5 points per game.
 
MAKING AN IMPACT
Slowly but surely, redshirt freshman McKenzy Telfair has continued to show ability to impact the game in several different areas. The Indianapolis native has seen her minutes per game climb throughout the season and with that her stats have climbed with that. The forward recorded a career high 26 minutes in the Sycamores 58-51 overtime win against Bradley. In the game, Telfair also set a career high in steals with four while assisting on three buckets and scoring five points.
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Women's Basketball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.