Bonnie Ryan
GoSycamores.com
CHARLESTON, Ill. -- The Indiana State women's basketball team had five scorers in double figures, led by 14 points from freshman Taylor Whitley, to secure a 65-63 win over Eastern Illinois in front of 788 fans at Lantz Arena Saturday evening. Whitley's career-high scoring effort from the bench was highlighted by 5-for-7 shooting from the field, along with five rebounds, two assists and a steal in 27 minutes. With the win, Indiana State improves to 8-1 on the season.
Senior Kelsey Luna also finished with 12 points, while sophomore Brittany Schoen chipped in 11, and sophomore Shannon Thomas and freshman Moriah Hodge added 10 apiece. The performance marked the Sycamores' first game this year with five players with 10 or more points. In addition, Thomas grabbed a game-best eight rebounds with two blocks.
EIU took a fast 8-0 lead and held the Sycamores scoreless for nearly the first four minutes, until Thomas registered a layup to put her team on the board. Whitley and Hodge added field goals a minute apart, and sophomore Chelsea Buher's jumper brought ISU within two. Luna added a layup, and Schoen poured in a trey, making it 13-all.
After trading baskets for over five minutes, Eastern Illinois went up by four on a pair of free throws and a field goal by freshman Ta'Kenya Nixon. Junior Kelsey Cooley responded with two charity shots, Schoen banked in her second triple, and Whitley then drove in for a field goal to give Indiana State its first lead with eight seconds to go. Heading into the locker room, the score stood 27-26 in favor of the Sycamores.
Both squads came out battling in the second half, trading leads and keeping the game within three points. Hodge tied it at 35-35 with 15 minutes to go, and after scores from Kloak and Sydney Mitchell, a layup by Thomas matched the slate at 40-40.
Another layup from Kloak put EIU ahead 47-44, but Luna swished in her first three to tie the game again. With a 55-55 tie, a deep three by Schoen and Hodge's two free throws gave the Sycamores a five-point advantage with three minutes left.
EIU's Kelsey Wyss added a trey, and Kloak's shot in the paint at 1:06 narrowed the game to 62-59. Nixon's two straight charity shots brought the Panthers within one at 62-61.
With 18 seconds to go, Nixon fouled Luna to send the senior to the free throw line, where she hit her 42nd and 43rd consecutive foul shots of the year and preserved the game at 64-61.
At seven seconds left, Nixon fouled Luna again, where she dropped in the first of two shots to give ISU a winning score of 65-63. Luna's 44 straight free throws made -- all since Nov. 14 at Kansas State -- set a school record and places her at second all-time in Missouri Valley Conference history, just behind Northern Iowa's Katie Miller, who hit 53 straight in 2000.
EIU was led by Maggie Kloak, who scored a game-high 19 points. Nixon and Ashley Thomas also had 17 and 11, respectively, and Kloak led her team in rebounding with seven boards.
Indiana State returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 19 against UMKC at 6:15 p.m. (ET) at the Bahamas Sunsplash Shootout in Nassau, Bahamas. Its final non-conference match-up is set for the same time against SMU on Sunday, Dec. 20.
