TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Behind junior Shannon Thomas' first double-double of the season, the Indiana State women's basketball team topped the Eastern Illinois Panthers, 59-50, in front of 6,879 fans inside Hulman Center. Thomas scored 15 points and pulled down 15 rebounds in the contest, tying her career-high in rebounds. Junior Brittany Schoen also scored 15 points for ISU, while sophomore Taylor Whitley added eight points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Eastern Illinois (4-5) took their only lead of the game by making the first shot of the night, coming on a 3-pointer by Chantelle Pressley just over two minutes into the contest. From there, the Sycamores (4-4) went on a 20-5 run to take a 12-point ISU lead with 4:08 left in the half. Thomas scored all eight of her first-half points during the 13-minute run for the Sycamores, with senior Kelsie Cooley adding five during the stretch.

The Sycamores took a 26-18 lead into the locker room at the half, after going nine-for-24 from the field in the first 20 minutes. ISU also hit three 3-pointers and went five-for-seven from the line in the first half. The ISU defense limited EIU to just 28.6% from the field in the opening stanza (eight-for-28) and just one-for-nine from beyond the three-point line.

ISU never lost the lead in the second half, answering each Panther potential run with points of their own. Indiana State's lead reached its smallest after Ta'Kenya Nixon converted an old-fashioned three-point play at the 17:04 mark to cut the ISU lead to six, at 32-26. The Sycamores would push their lead right back into double-digits, however, after layup by junior Deja Mattox and a 3-pointer from Schoen gave ISU a 37-26 lead with 15:04 remaining.

For the game, Thomas led the way with her eighth career double-double and first of the 2010-11 season. The junior center from Springboro, Ohio, had six double-doubles last season, with her last coming in the opening round of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament against Southern Illinois.

Schoen played the entire contest on Wednesday and matched Thomas' 15 points, hitting four 3-pointers and going a perfect three-from-three from the free-throw line. Cooley added nine points and a career-high five assists, while Whitley chipped in eight points and a career-high nine rebounds. Freshman Anna Munn played 23 minutes off the ISU bench, adding six points and a career-high four assists. Mattox finished the night with six points, all coming in the second half.

As a team, the Sycamores shot 39.1% on Wednesday (18-for-46 from the field), while limiting the Panthers to a 15-for-58 effort from the field (25.9%). ISU picked up an assist on 16 of their 18 field goals.

The Sycamores return to the court this Sunday, when they welcome in the USC Upstate Spartans. ISU and USCU met for the first time last season, with Indiana State coming out on top in Spartanburg, S.C., by a score of 80-72 behind 33 points from Kelsey Luna and a double-double from Thomas (19 points, 13 rebounds). The game is set to tip at 1:05 p.m. inside Hulman Center and will be followed by a game for the men's basketball team.