TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The Indiana State women's basketball team was unable to recover from a tough first half on Saturday, falling to Drake, 87-73 in front of 3,057 fans at Hulman Center. With the loss, ISU stands at 9-4 (0-2 MVC), while the Bulldogs improve to 8-4 (1-1) on the season.
Freshman Taylor Whitley led the Sycamores with a career-high 22 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the field and a 10-for-13 performance at the free throw line. The Geneva, Ill., native added four steals with three rebounds and two assists.
Junior Kelsie Cooley and sophomore Deja Mattox also reached double-figure scoring with 12 and 11 points, respectively, and Cooley led the defensive effort with five rebounds.
Drake was led by senior Jordann Plummer, who notched a career-best 29 points with 10 assists, six steals and five rebounds. Senior Monique' Jones added 16 points and a game-leading nine boards, and sophomore Rachael Hackbarth chipped in 12 points.
In the first half, ISU mustered just 26 points to Drake's 46 - achieved by 65 percent scoring by the Bulldogs. Early in the game, sophomore Brittany Schoen opened the Sycamores' scoring with a 3-pointer, but DU went on a 25-4 run. Free throws from Whitley brought it within 15, with four minutes to go, but six more points from Plummer gave Drake a 20-point advantage going into the locker room.
Despite five points from Mattox to begin the second half, the Bulldogs kept Indiana State at bay with a lead of 22. Baskets from Whitley and a triple from senior Kelsey Luna chipped the score down to 67-53, but eight more points by Plummer put the game back in DU's court.
Drake took its biggest lead of the contest in the final minutes at 86-62. Senior Sarah Paul and freshman Krista Smith then hit a free throw apiece off the bench, and Whitley poured in a trey. A final layup by senior Laurence Rivest in the closing minute put the final score at 87-73.
"I thought the second half was different," Head Coach Jim Wiedie said. "I thought the effort was better. I thought the energy level was better, and the pace was better. We did some positive things, made some runs and got it close. I think they've got a pretty good idea of what it takes if you're going to be good in this league when you're facing the top three teams right out of the gate, even if you're at home."
Indiana State returns to action on Friday, Jan. 8, playing host to Illinois State at 8:30 p.m. (ET) at Hulman Center. The game will be televised live on FSN as part of the Missouri Valley Conference's television package.
