VALPARAISO, Ind. – Indiana State will face the newest member of the Missouri Valley Conference Sunday afternoon when the Sycamores play at Valparaiso.
The game, set for 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT, marks the first meeting between the two teams since 2006 and Indiana State's first visit to Valparaiso since the 1987-88 season.
Sunday's tipoff will be broadcast live on The Valley on ESPN3 while
Luke Martin will have the call on the Sycamore Radio Network.
SERIES HISTORY
Indiana State and Valparaiso will meet for the first time since 2006 as the Sycamores travel to the newest member of the Missouri Valley Conference. ISU holds a 4-2 series lead over Valpo and won the only meeting at Valpo, a 77-68 win on Feb. 9, 1988.
LAST TIME OUT
When adversity hit for Indiana State Friday night, the biggest player on the court for the Sycamores stood at an imposing five feet, five inches tall.
With five minutes remaining on the clock and host Loyola having cut the Sycamores' lead from as much as 20 down to 13, the point guard known to her teammates as "Biggie" stepped up in a big way.
Ashli O'Neal scored nine of her game-high 21 points over the final five minutes including making all four free throw attempts in the final minute of play to help Indiana State seal a 73-65 win over Loyola in Missouri Valley Conference play at Gentile Arena.
The play of the sophomore point guard was a welcome relief for Keister and Indiana State (6-13, 4-4). His squad, despite three quarters of solid play, found themselves in a battle after Loyola (3-16, 1-7) opened the final frame on a 9-0 run.
VETTING VALPO
Don't send them to the free throw line. The Crusaders have been nearly automatic from the charity stripe, ranking 30th in the nation in free throws made (294) and 45th nationally in free throw percentage (.748). But more than just that, Brown can also deliver from long distance. Valpo, clad in brown and yellow, rank 50th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.360) this season.
A lot of those numbers are thanks to the work of Dani Franklin. Franklin leads Valpo with 16.1 ppg and 5.6 rpg while her 87.0 success rate at the free throw line leads the league and ranks 25th in the nation. Meredith Hamlet is also averaging in double figures, posting 11.5 ppg, while Grace Hales is close to the double figure mark with 9.0 ppg.
THE LAST TIME – INDIANA STATE 83, VALPARAISO 71
From December 2, 2006:
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Angela Phillips scored a game-high 21 points and Indiana State shot 46.7 percent from the field in an 83-71 win over Valparaiso at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Phillips was one of four Sycamores in double figures as Leah Phillips and Rachel Maenpaa added 17 points while Laura Rudolphi scored 14.
Valparaiso was led by Tamra Braun's 19 points and 11 rebounds as the Crusaders also had four players in double figures. Agnieszka Kulaga scored 15, Betsy Rietema added 14 points and 10 rebounds while Sarah Ott scored 13 pints.
Indiana State held just a slight 41-38 at halftime before outscoring Valpo 42-33 in the second half. The Crusaders, who shot 40.6 percent for the game, were limited to just 35.9 percent in the second half and 13.3 percent in the final half from the 3-point line.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak in the series for Indiana State.
HOW SWEEP IT IS!
Indiana State claimed back-to-back victories over last weekend as the Sycamores registered their first weekend sweep in Valley play in over the year. The wins over Bradley (65-50) and Illinois State (52-49) marked the first weekend sweep for the Sycamores since sweeping the same teams at the Hulman Center last January.
TWICE IS JUST AS NICE
Could it happen again though? A week after clinching its first Valley sweep, the Sycamores set the stage for a repeat after opening the weekend up with a 73-65 win over Loyola on Jan. 26. A victory over Valpo on Sunday, Jan. 28 would mark ISU's first four-game winning streak in league play since Jan. 1 -14. It would also mark the first time the Sycamores have swept back-to-back double game weekends in The Valley since the 2013-14 season when ISU opened up Valley play with six consecutive wins. That year also marked the last time Indiana State finished a season with a winning record in conference play, going 14-4. That season the Sycamores shared the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title with Wichita State.
Wendi Bibbins SCORES 500TH CAREER POINT
Indiana State senior forward
Wendi Bibbins passed a milestone in the team's 52-49 win over Illinois State on Jan. 21 as the Louisiana native scored her 500th career point. A transfer from Jones County Junior College, Bibbins is in her second year for the Sycamores.
T-WEBB TOO
Tierra Webb opened up Indiana State's scoring at Loyola on Jan. 26 by draining a 3-point shot. She also reached a milestone with that basket, scoring her 500th career point. A junior from Richton Park, Illinois, Webb hit the benchmark number in front of several friends and family that attended the nearby game in Chicago.
BLOCK PARTY
Sycamore freshman
Ty Battle hosted her own block party on Jan. 21 in Indiana State's 52-49 win over Illinois State. The Illinois native and daughter of two-time All-Big Ten forward Kenny Battle registered six blocks in the win over the Redbirds, the single most number of blocks of any Missouri Valley Conference player in a game this season.
KEISTER KARE
Since
Josh Keister took over control of the program on an interim basis, he has successfully focused on taking care of the ball. Starting with ISU's Jan. 5 game against Evansville - Keister's first as interim coach - the Sycamores have only committed 73 turnovers, the fewest in any six-game span this season.
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
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Instagram.
