INDIANAPOLIS - Junior Shannon Thomas scored a career-high 24 points on Saturday afternoon, but the Butler Bulldogs went on a 26-3 second-half run over a span on nearly nine minutes to secure the victory, 81-72, in front of 784 fans inside Hinkle Fieldhouse.

After the Bulldogs (4-3) and Sycamores (3-4) traded baskets to begin the game, Indiana State built a 15-point lead near the midpoint of the first half. Butler took a 5-4 lead at the 17:11 mark of the first half, but Indiana State used an 18-2 run over the game's next seven minutes to take a 22-7 lead on a layup by Thomas with 9:29 left in the half.

ISU's lead would only dip under 10 points twice over the remaining 10 minutes of the half, as ISU went into the break with a 42-29 lead. Thomas and sophomore Taylor Whitley led the team in the first half, as both scored 11 points in the opening stanza.

The Indiana State first-half lead was built on a strong shooting performance, as the Sycamores went 13-for-17 from the field and 13-for-18 from the free-throw line to put together their halftime lead.

The Sycamore lead reached its largest point during the game just 52 seconds into the second half, when senior Kelsie Cooley nailed a 3-pointer to give the Sycamores a 16-point lead, at 45-29, with 19:08 left in the game.

Butler's game-winning run began with 12:07 left in the game, after a free-throw by Thomas pushed the Sycamore lead to 57-46. The Bulldogs' 26-3 outburst was led by senior Alyssa Pittman who hit a pair of 3-pointers and three other shots, for 12 points during the stretch, as Butler ended the run with a 73-60 lead with 3:33 left in the contest. Junior Brittany Schoen scored ISU's only points during the Butler run, hitting a three-pointer at 7:49 mark.

For the game, Butler senior Brittany Bowen led all scorers with 30 points while also pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds. Bowen kept Butler in the game in the first half, scoring 18 of the team's 29 points in the first 20 minutes. Pittman went seven-for-eight from the field, four-for-five from behind the arc and a perfect four-for-four from the line to total 22 points off the Butler bench.

For ISU, Thomas finished with a career-high 24 points, picking up half of them from the free-throw line with a 12-for-16 effort. Whitley finished the game with 17 points and four steals, while Schoen added eight. Cooley and freshman Illyssa Vivo chipped in seven points each for the Sycamores, with Cooley pulling down a team-high six rebounds.

ISU's first-half shooting did carry over to the second half, as the Bulldogs limited ISU to a nine-for-27 period, including just two-for-13 from three-point range.

The Sycamores return to Hulman Center for six of their next seven games, beginning this Wednesday with a matchup with Eastern Illinois. The Sycamores and Panthers will begin at 5:35 p.m., followed by the men's basketball team tipping off against DePaul immediately after.