Indiana State University Athletics

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – How a month can change things. Proof of that will be evident Friday evening when Indiana State plays at Evansville as the second half of the conference season begins.
 
Four weeks ago, the Sycamores were reeling from a seven-game losing streak and Josh Keister was appointing interim head coach following the resignation of Joey Wells prior to the first meeting against Evansville. Since then Keister has engineered a turnaround, going 5-2 and winning four straight since that 56-48 win over the Purple Aces on Jan. 5.
 
Now that four game win streak will be put on the line when Friday's contest tips off in Evansville at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast live on The Valley on ESPN while Luke Martin will have the call on the Sycamore Radio Network.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The series is trending towards the Trees. After a 56-48 win on Jan. 5, ISU has won 35 of the 52 meetings (67 percent), including seven of the last 10. Evansville has kept it close at home, however, with ISU holding a slim 14-10 advantage.

LAST TIME OUT
For the second straight game, Ashli O'Neal led all players with over 20 points. And for the second straight weekend, Indiana State busted out the brooms.
 
O'Neal tied a career high 22 points and Indiana State swept its second straight weekend of Missouri Valley Conference play with a 67-54 win at Valparaiso Sunday afternoon.
 
The sweep marked the first time the Sycamores (7-13, 5-4) have swept two consecutive weekends of Valley play since the 2013-14 season.
 
But unlike Friday's 73-65 win at Loyola where the host Ramblers turned a blowout into a close game, Sunday's Sycamore squad responded with strength. Valparaiso (10-10, 3-6), a team that entered Sunday's game with an impressive 8-1 home record, cut a 24-point deficit to 11 before Indiana State responded with an 8-0 run.

And the defensive effort and tenacity that has come to define this team since Keister took over the program on Jan. 5 came shone through on the court again. The Sycamores forced 16 turnovers by the host Crusaders – a full quarter of them coming off Tierra Webb's four steals – and outscored Valpo 20-4 in points off turnovers.
 
THE LAST TIME VS. EVANSVILLE
Indiana State 56, Evansville 48 on Jan. 5, 2018 in Terre Haute, Ind.
An emotional week turned into emotional play which resulted in an emotional win for Indiana State as the Sycamores shut down one of the Missouri Valley Conference's most dangerous shooting teams in a 56-48 win over Evansville at the Hulman Center Friday evening.
 
The win ended a seven-game losing streak for Indiana State (3-11, 1-2) and marked the team's first conference win in nine tries. And as Josh Keister made his debut as the interim head coach for the Sycamores, it was an emotional relief for the program's new leader.
 
Wendi Bibbins led all players with 16 points to pace the Sycamores (3-11, 1-2). But it was her career-high five blocks and Indiana State's season-high 48 rebounds that provided plenty of excitement and emotion on the court.

LOOKING AT EVANSVILLE
The Purple Aces have seemingly struggled since the last time the two teams met, falling to 0-9 in league play and dropping 11 straight games. But some things haven't changed. Evansville leads the nation in free throw percentage (83.2) and ranks 43ed nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (36.4). UE also ranks second in The Valley and 46th nationally in 3-point field goals per game (8.1) and 3-point field goals made (161).

Hannah Noe remains the biggest threat on the Purple Aces roster, ranking 29th nationally in 3-point field goals per game (3.00) and 60th in 3-point field goals made (54), leading The Valley in both categories. 

THE KEI(STER) TO THE TURNAROUND
Credit the job of interim head coach Josh Keister. Since he took over the reins of the program on Jan. 2, the Sycamores have gone 5-2 and improved in almost every statistical category.

 

	Under	Under
Category	Wells	Keister	% Δ
Points Per Game	58.0	61.4	5.86%
Points Allowed Per Game	66.2	58.6	-11.48%
FG Percentage	.355	.367	3.38%
3FG Percentage	.303	.250	-17.49%
FT Percentage	.645	.658	2.02%
FT Made Per Game	9.8	10.7	9.18%
Rebounds Per Game	34.2	37.1	8.48%
Assists Per Game	10.9	11.4	4.59%
Turnovers Per Game	15.8	12	-24.05%
Turnover Margin	1.8	4.9	172.22%
Steals Per Game	9.9	9.4	-5.05%
Blocks Per Game	3.1	4.9	58.06%
Attendance/Home Game	1318	1710	29.74%

BIGGIE GETS BIG HONOR...
Sycamore sophomore Ashli "Biggie" O'Neal was named The Valley's Player of the Week following Indiana State's sweep of Loyola and Valpo. That is notable as she is the first Sycamore player to receive the honor since the 2013-14 season. O'Neal averaged 21.5 points, was 52.0 percent from the field, 100 percent (12-for-12) from the free throw line and brought down 10 rebounds over the week.

...THEN VOTED TO NATIONAL RECOGNITION
O'Neal followed up her league honors with national recognition as she was a finalist for the NCAA's weekly Starting Five honor. After winning the vote by getting 46 percent of the vote, "Biggie" was named to the Starting Five, beating out Gonzaga's Jill Barta (7% of the vote), Western Kentucky's Tashia Brown (33%) and Colorado State's Hannah Tvrdy (14%).

 

NCAA's Starting Five (Jan. 31)
Jordin Canada	UCLA
Kaila Charles	Maryland
Ashli O'Neal	Indiana State
Jessica Shepard	Notre Dame
Kristy Wallace	Baylor

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
Indiana State registered its second consecutive sweep in Missouri Valley Conference play last weekend with a pair of wins at Loyola (73-65) and Valparaiso (67-54). The Sycamores have now claimed consecutive weekend sweeps in MVC play for the first time since 2013-14 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.

FINALLY, ROAD SUCCESS
When Indiana State claimed a 73-65 win at Loyola on Friday, Jan. 26, the win marked ISU's first true road win of the season. Then the team made it twice as nice on Sunday with a win at Valpo. After losing their first five true road games, the Sycamores look to make it three straight road wins at Evansville on Friday.
 
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.