Bonnie Ryan
GoSycamores.com

GREENVILLE, S.C. - Head coach Jim Wiedie became the winningest coach in program history Thursday night, as the Indiana State women's basketball team earned a 62-47 road win over Furman in front of 332 fans at Timmons Arena. Wiedie now has a career record of 157-108, bypassing former Sycamore coach Edith Godleski, who had a record of 156-116 in her 11-year tenure at ISU.

"The career wins record wasn't something I thought a lot about when I got into coaching," Wiedie said. "But as it's gotten closer, I've realized that I've had the opportunity to coach some very talented players and that these opportunities don't come along very often. I've been so fortunate to have excellent assistants, especially with the current staff in Cammie Campbell, Clint Weddle and Melanie Boeglin. I think we've just scratched the surface on how good this program can be, and I'm glad we've reached it this year with this group, because this is a very special team."

Senior guard Kelsey Luna led the way offensively and defensively against Furman, totaling 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field, a 3-for-6 effort from long range and a perfect 4-for-4 night at the free throw line. Luna also hit career highs in three categories with eight rebounds, eight steals and six assists.

"Kelsey continues to amaze us every day," Wiedie said. "She's a great playmaker and a great shooter, but then she gets it done on the defensive side too. Defense was her forte in high school, and when you get that type of balanced performance from her, what more could we ask for? We're so proud of her and happy for her because this is exactly the type of start we want for her senior year."

Sophomore Shannon Thomas had a strong performance, tying her career best with 11 points while adding seven boards and four blocks. Sophomore Deja Mattox also matched her career high of 14 points, highlighted by a career-best trio of 3-pointers.

ISU jumped out to a 6-0 lead with a layup and two free throws from Thomas, followed by a layup from Luna. After FU's Lee Stephens tied the game at 6-6, the Sycamores never forfeited the lead. Mattox then hit two free throw shots and a trey to make it 16-8, and Luna extended the lead to 23-11 with four free throws and a three.

The Sycamores took a dominant 34-18 lead into the locker room, and Luna led the first-half effort with 11 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists. Thomas put up nine points in addition to her six boards and also tied her career high of four blocks, all in the first stanza.

In the second half, ISU took its widest lead of 23 points off a layup from sophomore Brittany Schoen and a 3-pointer from Mattox, who registered a pair of second-half treys. Freshman Taylor Whitley also helped maintain the advantage, going 2-for-3 from the field with a free throw for all five of her points in the game.

In the final minute of the game, freshman Krista Smith scored the first point of her collegiate career on a shots from the charity stripe. Senior Laurence Rivest also had her first game action of the season, posting three blocks and a rebound in 10 minutes of work. Sophomore Chelsea Buher finished the day with five points, three boards and a block of her own.

"Defensively, we were good tonight, especially early on," Wiedie said. "There was a stretch where we were dominant defensively, especially in our two-three zone, which we hadn't played a lot of up to that point. Any time you win on the road, it's a good win."

Furman's Raegan Thompson and Kali Holtfreter were the Paladins' leading scorers, contributing nine points apiece.

Indiana State returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 21 as it travels to USC-Upstate in Spartanburg, S.C. Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m. at Hodge Center.