TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Senior guard Kelsey Luna achieved the first double-double of her career Friday night, leading the Indiana State women's basketball team both offensively and on the boards in a 69-58 loss to Missouri State. Luna finished with 17 points and a career-high 10 rebounds against the Lady Bears.
Luna's effort was her 15th double-figure scoring performance of the season, and her point total was her highest since 26 points against Butler on Dec. 9. The St. Louis, Mo., native's rebound tally also surpassed her previous career high of eight boards, set earlier this year at Furman on Nov. 19. In addition, Luna had three rebounds and an assist and shot a perfect 3-for-3 from the free throw line, where she leads the nation in free throw shooting percentage at 93.7 percent.
Freshman Taylor Whitley also finished in double figures for the Sycamores with 11 points and four rebounds, plus a pair of steals.
Luna opened the game with a layup in the first 15 seconds, and a 3-pointer from the senior, coupled with free throw shots from sophomore Shannon Thomas, put ISU up by four. The Sycamores refused to surrender for much of the first half and took a 21-15 lead on seven more points from Luna and shots from Thomas and Whitley. Thomas then knocked in an inside shot to extend the advantage to eight, but Missouri State battled back to tie it up with six points by Casey Garrison. A pair of charity shots from Jasmine Malone put the Lady Bears in front, and Melissa Busby and Garrison combined to give MSU a 31-26 lead at the half, capped by Garrison's trey at the buzzer.
In the second stanza, Luna came out shooting, and sophomore Brittany Schoen popped in back-to-back treys to keep the game competitive. Missouri State, however, kept ISU at bay with 3-pointers from Melissa Busby and Malone, then went out by 10 on another Busby three. Indiana State narrowed it to five on a layup from Whitley, and Schoen's third triple of the half brought the Sycamores within four. But 12 foul shots from the Lady Bears ensured their victory, sealing a 69-58 win.
With the loss, Indiana State is 11-11 overall (2-9 MVC) on the year, while Missouri State improves to 17-6 (9-3 MVC). The Lady Bears were led by Garrison's 19 points and 11 rebounds, as well as 12 points from Jaleshia Roberson and 10 from Melissa Busby.
"The way that this team responded and came together is a sign of the maturity of these young ladies," assistant coach Clint Weddle said. "I think you saw a lot of that out on the floor tonight. We battled and continued to represent ourselves very well.
"I could not be prouder of everything we did out on the floor. We got a chance to see some great things out on the court - terrific plays, people were diving all over the floor, kids were hustling, kids were going over top of people to get rebounds. I saw some things that I think are going to continue, and we're going to continue to get better as a basketball team."
Indiana State returns to action on Sunday, Feb. 14, hosting Wichita State. Tipoff is set for 2:05 p.m. at Hulman Center, and fans are encouraged to wear pink to "Kiss Away Breast Cancer" in support of breast cancer awareness.
