TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State women's basketball came up just short Sunday afternoon at the Hulman Center, falling to the second-place Northern Iowa Panthers, 61-59 in overtime. The Sycamores (12-13, 6-8 MVC) were led by junior Wendi Bibbins who scored 18 points in the loss. Ashley Taia added 14 points and Tierra Webb scored 10 to round out the scoring for ISU.
 
It was a tale of two quarters in the first half as the Sycamores jumped out on top 15-6 after the first 10 minutes of action thanks in part to the strong play of Tierra Webb and Wendi Bibbins. Indiana State closed out the first on an 8-0 run before scoring the first six points of the second quarter.
 
Indiana State did not score in the final 7:41 of the half.
 
Northern Iowa's halfcourt trapping defense held the Sycamores at bay for much of the half, forcing ISU into 14 first-half turnovers. The Panthers (20-6, 13-2 MVC) were able to climb back into the game by turning those Sycamore miscues into 11 points. Indiana State held the Panthers to just 5-of-27 shooting from the field in the half and did not allow 3-pointer.
 
During UNI's second-quarter run the Panthers shot all 12 of their free throws of the half, connecting on ten of them to cut the ISU lead to just one point at 21-20 going into the locker room.
 
The tilting of quarters continued to be the story as the game went on as Indiana State flipped the script in the third quarter to take a six-point lead followed by the Panthers outscoring ISU 18-12 in the fourth to force the second overtime game of the season for Indiana State.
 
Webb, a sophomore, hit a running layup with just under two minutes left to play in regulation and that would be the last point scored. UNI again used free throws to take the lead in overtime, eight of their 10 points at the charity stripe in the period.
 
A season-high 32 turnovers by the Sycamores were costly as the Panthers turned those miscues into 32 points in the game. ISU won the rebound battle 42-35, but UNI corralled 16 offensive rebounds which they turned into 13 points, including a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
 
The Sycamores shot a staggering 48 percent (24-of-50 from the field while holding UNI to just 28.5 percent (16-of-62) but the Panthers made their chances at the free throw line count as they connected on 22-of-29 at the charity stripe. All 29 attempts came after the first quarter.
 
Northern Iowa was led by Madison Weekly who had a game high 20 points and three steals. Ellie Herzberg added 16 points and eight steals for the Panthers.
 
Indiana State will finish out its road schedule next weekend with trips to Missouri State and Wichita State.
 
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.