TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The Indiana State women's basketball team earned its first Missouri Valley Conference win of the season Thursday night, defeating in-state foe Evansville, 55-31, in front of 3,610 fans at Hulman Center. With the victory, the Sycamores improved to 10-7 (1-5 MVC) on the year and snapped a six-game losing skid.
ISU capitalized on 29 Evansville turnovers for 33 of its points and had 20 off the bench, including career highs from senior Laurence Rivest (six) and freshman Krista Smith (four).
Senior guard Kelsey Luna led ISU offensively with 10 points, her 11th double-figure scoring performance of the season. The St. Louis, Mo., native hit two 3-pointers and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line, extending her second-longest streak of 2009-10 to 23 charity shots made since Dec. 19.
Sophomore Deja Mattox added nine points, while freshman Taylor Whitley chipped in six points and a team-leading six rebounds.
ISU held UE to no players in double figures and 26-percent shooting from the field. The Purple Aces were led by Amy Gallagher's seven points and game-best nine boards.
"They did a fantastic job of executing the gameplan defensively," Head Coach Jim Wiedie said. "The energy level was good; the effort was good. I felt we were practicing with more emotion and that carried over today, especially on the defensive end."
Mattox opened the game with a jumper and two free throws to take a 4-2 lead, but UE rallied back at 6-6 on a shot by Taylor Ware. Smith, playing a career-high 17 minutes, energized her hometown crowd with a layup to put the Sycamores in front. A three from Luna doubled the score at 12-6, followed by a triple from Stephanie Bamberger, a basket by Gallagher and a layup by Eva Benson narrowed the lead to one.
Rivest poured in a bucket at 4:25, but Kaylan Martin kept it close with a shot from long range. Freshman Moriah Hodge then contributed four points, and the Sycamores took a five-point lead at halftime, 23-18.
In the second half, Evansville was limited to just 13 points, the lowest figure since ISU held IPFW to nine points at Hulman Center in 2002. Mattox and Whitley carried ISU in the opening minutes of the second stanza, extending the game to a quick 13-point lead. UE chipped away with free throws from Falkenstein and a shot from Gallagher, and a three from sophomore Brittany Schoen gave ISU a 14-point edge with less than eight minutes to go.
Schoen connected on another trey one minute later, and a second Luna triple built the score to 47-27. The Sycamores garnered their largest lead of the game, 51-27, on an inside shot from sophomore Shannon Thomas. Smith and Rivest put the contest away with back-to-back buckets in the paint in the final minute, with the final score at 55-31 for the win.
Indiana State returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 23, playing host to Southern Illinois. Tipoff is set for 2:05 p.m. (ET) at Hulman Center.
