CHARLESTON, Ill. ? Indiana State needed an offensive jumpstart after trailing 33-30 at the half on the road against Eastern Illinois, and used Angela Phillips' 33 points (21 of which were scored after halftime) for just that in coming from behind to down the Panthers, 85-76, at Lantz Arena.
Indiana State improved to 4-1 on the season while Eastern Illinois fell to 0-7. The Sycamores have won six consecutive meetings against the Panthers.
Philiips' filled the stat sheet en route to her career-best 33 points. She hit 5-of-8 3-pointers and connected on 9-of-13 shots from the field. She proved to be pivotal down the stretch as well, as she went a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line in the game. Phillips added five assists and a pair of steals as well as rebounds to the winning effort.
The Sycamores found themselves down by as many as six points in the game, and trailed by four points, 44-40 with just over 12 minutes left to play. On the strength of back-to-back triple by Angela Phillips, the Sycamores took a 46-40 that they would not relinquish. ISU finished off a 17-2 run to lead 57-46 with 9:52 left in the game.
Eastern Illinois did hit some shots down the stretch to cut the advantage down to as little as six points, but the Sycamores hit their free tosses down the stretch to walk away with its first road victory of the season.
ISU knocked down 27-of-36 attempts at the free throw line while Eastern Illinois was only able to convert 14 of the charity opportunities. Eastern Illinois won the rebounding war, 39-32.
Three different Sycamores reached double figures scoring for the third time this season as Leah Phillips broke out of an early season slump to score 16 points. She hit 3-of-9 attempts from long range as well as five free throws. Laura Rudolphi added 10 points in the effort.
Jessica Huffman scored 20 points to lead Eastern Illinois. The Panthers enjoyed a 36-18 advantage in the paint as well as a 15-4 lead in second chance points.
Indiana State returns to action to face Butler in the opening game of the State Farm Hoosier Classic on Saturday, December 1 at Valparaiso, Ind. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. (ET).
