DES MOINES, Iowa ? The Indiana State Sycamores hit just 5-of-33 shots from the field in the first half as they fell down by as many 21 points in falling at Drake by a 77-68 count inside the Knapp Center tonight (Feb. 29).

ISU dropped to 12-13, 6-9 MVC on the season, while Drake improved to 17-9, 10-5 MVC.

The Sycamores nearly overcame the 21-point deficit through improved shooting in the second half, mainly from seniors Angela Phillips and Laura Rudolphi.

Phillips paced Indiana State with 23 points, including four second half 3-pointers as the Sycamores closed the gap to as few as seven points on three separate occasions in the final two minutes of the game. Rudolphi, who was held scoreless before intermission, raced back with 20 points in the second stanza.

Freshman Kelsie Cooley posted a career-high 13 points in the game, hitting 5-of-12 shots from the field, plus a perfect 3-of-3 mark from the free throw line.

Indiana State torched the nets for 50% shooting in the second half, hitting 18-of-36 shots from the field, plus 4-of-8 from long range. The Sycamores finished the game by connecting on 33.3% percent of their field goal attempts.

ISU also shored up their rebounding after halftime, by not allowing a single second-chance point after allowing 12 in the first half. The Sycamores also posted nine second chance points of their own after the break to finish with 11 putbacks.

Trailing 55-37 with 11:27 left in the game, ISU went on a 7-0 spurt to put them within 11 points at 55-44 on a jumper by Rudolphi.

After the lead swelled back to 15 points, the Sycamores rattled off the game's next four points on back-to-back jumpers by Rudolphi and Cooley to trim the game back to 11, 59-48.

After a Lauren Dybing jumper with 7:23 remaining, Angela Phillips drilled a 3-pointer to make it 61-51.

ISU got within eight points, 61-53, as sophomore Sarah Paul stayed perfect on the year from the free throw line with a pair of charity tosses with 6:29 left.

The Sycamores got as close as six points, at 70-64 with 58 seconds left, on the clock as Angela Phillips hit a pair of free throws. Drake only missed one free throw over the final minute to take a 77-68 victory.

Drake's victory snapped a three-game winning streak for the Sycamores over the Bulldogs, and was the first time Indiana State fell at the Knapp Center since the 2004-05 campaign.

The Bulldogs were paced by 16 points from senior Jill Martin.

Indiana State returns to action on Sunday, March 2 when they travel to Creighton. Tip-off is slated for 2:05 p.m. (EST) and will be televised on ESPNU. The Bluejays upset league-leading Evansville tonight by a score of 80-77 in overtime.