TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The Indiana State women's basketball team began Missouri Valley Conference play Thursday night, dropping its first league game to Creighton, 55-44, in front of 3,119 fans at Hulman Center. With the loss, ISU sits at 9-3 (0-1 MVC) on the year, while CU improves to 6-4 (1-0 MVC).
Senior Kelsey Luna carried the Sycamores with 16 points on a pair of 3-pointers and 2-for-2 free throw shooting, along with seven rebounds and four steals. Sophomore Brittany Schoen was ISU's leading rebounder with seven boards.
Creighton was led by junior Sam Schuett, who finished with 19 points on five treys and a 4-for-4 performance at the charity stripe. The Bluejays were led defensively by seven rebounds from senior Megan Neuvirth, the MVC's preseason player of the year, and CU held Indiana State to just 26 percent shooting from the field on the night.
Schuett opened the game with a 3-pointer to put CU on top, but the Sycamores battled back to an 8-3 score on a three from junior Kelsie Cooley and a lay-up from sophomore Shannon Thomas. After Creighton tied it up, Luna hit a triple to push it to 11-9. A jumper from freshman Moriah Hodge and a pair of free throws by freshman Taylor Whitley made it 15-13, and both teams were subsequently held scoreless for four minutes.
Free throws from Luna extended the lead to four, but Creighton came back firing in a 16-4 run with a pair of shots from long range from both Schuett and freshman Ally Jensen. After the half, Indiana State stared down an eight-point deficit after a 24 percent shooting performance.
In the second stanza, ISU made shots inside with Thomas and sophomore Deja Mattox to narrow the game to four. The Bluejays then took a 10-point advantage using another three from Schuett and another from senior Kelsey Woodard. A layup from Neuvirth gave CU its largest lead of the contest at 39-27, but the Sycamores battled back with five points from Luna and a short jumper from sophomore Amanda Pedro.
Five points from Kelsey Crites put the CU advantage at 12 again, followed by layups from Thomas and Luna brought the game to 49-42. Five Sycamore fouls sent the Bluejays to the line, and four free throws by Schuett solidified the final score at 55-44.
Indiana State returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 2, playing host to Drake. Tipoff is set for 2:05 p.m. at Hulman Center.
