MT. PLEASANT, Mich. ? Indiana State has two players named Kelsey (one spelled Kelsie) on the roster, and both of them showed spunk and determination in narrowly falling at Central Michigan, 84-83, in the season opener for both teams. Kelsey Luna tied a career-high with six 3-pointers to score 24 points while Kelsie Cooley's 15 points were a career-best for the freshman from Dayton, Ohio.
ISU fell on 0-1 on the season while CMU moved to 1-0.
"Both of those young ladies (Luna and Cooley) played with a lot of heart and poise," ninth-year head coach Jim Wiedie said after the game. "It would have been very easy for us to fold when we were down 13 points in the first half, but they rallied the team both verbally and with their hustle plays. It was their play and leadership that put us in a position to win the game down the stretch."
It didn't appear that ISU would have a chance to make it much of a game in the first half when they trailed by a 33-20 score with 9:16 left before intermission. The Sycamores used a driving lay-up by Luna to put the lead under 10 points and then back-to-back Luna 3-pointers sandwiched around a free throw to make it 34-28 with eight minutes on the clock.
Luna hit the fourth of her first half 3-pointers with 27 seconds on the clock to knot the game at 47, but a pair of Brandie Baker free throws gave CMU a 49-47 halftime lead.
The Sycamores attained their first advantage of the game since the early going when Leah Phillips put a triple through the net to give ISU a 53-51 advantage with 18:32 on the clock.
An 11-0 run midway through the second half gave Central Michigan its largest advantage after halftime to take a 66-58 lead. The Sycamore dug down and gritted out another run to make it 66-64 with 11:55 on the clock with another triple by Philips as well as a lay-up from Luna and 3-point play from Cooley.
A lay-up from Luna after another Cooley 3-point play with just under 10 minutes left put ISU ahead 69-68.
"Cooley provides such great energy for us with the way she plays," Luna commented on her teammate. "She did such a great job to battle us back in the second half. She gave us a spark down the stretch."
The game was tied for the eighth time with 3:12 left at 77-all, until Baker connected on her third 3-pointer of the game to give CMU an 80-77 lead that they would not loose.
ISU hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final minute and got a last second 3-pointer from Luna, but they feel just short by a score of 84-83 as CMU's Britni Houghton hit both of her free throws in the final 30 seconds to earn the Chippewas the victory. Houghton led all scorers in the game with 27 points.
Luna paced the Sycamores with 24 points, hitting 6-of-13 3-pointers while Cooley hit 5-of-6 shots from the field and from the charity stripe to post a career-high 15 points. Phillips reached double figures as well with 12 points, hitting 4-of-8 3-point shots.
The Sycamores out-rebounded CMU by a 37-29 margin, with Cooley leading the way with seven rebounds. Freshman Shannon Thomas scored eight points and pulled down six rebounds off the bench.
In her first collegiate game, freshman Brittany Schoen was effective, seeing a ton of minutes in the second half. She hit each of her two career 3-pointers and ended the game a trio of triples to score nine points.
Indiana State will host Marquette on Wednesday, November 19 in the home opener. Tip-off from the Nellie & John Wooden Court at Hulman Center is set for 7:05 p.m. (EDT).
