Bonnie Ryan
GoSycamores.com
EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- The Indiana State women's basketball team earned its first Valley sweep of the season in dominant fashion Saturday afternoon, posting a 71-50 win over Evansville. In front of 1,565 fans at Roberts Stadium, the Sycamores improved to 14-11 (5-9 MVC) and are now on a three-game winning streak after victories this week over Wichita State and Southern Illinois.
Junior Kelsie Cooley led ISU with a season-high 18 points, shooting 8-for-11 from the field. The forward added five rebounds, three assists, a pair of steals and a block. Her performance highlighted the team's 57.4 percent shooting effort, marking their best field goal percentage of the season.
Sophomore Deja Mattox added a career-high eight rebounds with 13 points, going 3-for-4 from long range. Senior Kelsey Luna also had 11 points for her fourth straight double-figure scoring game, while sophomore Brittany Schoen chipped in a trio of 3-pointers for nine points.
Defensively, the Sycamores held the Purple Aces to just 30 percent shooting. Indiana State outrebounded its opponent, 38-26, led by 10 boards from sophomore Shannon Thomas.
After UE's Samantha Heck hit a three to open the game, Cooley put her team on the board with a shot inside. Luna then hit a triple, and Cooley added five more points before Schoen drained her first trey of the game to go up by seven. A 3-pointer apiece from Mattox and sophomore Chelsea Buher, along with a jumper by freshman Moriah Hodge, gave ISU its first double-figure lead of the day at 26-14.
With 5:25 to go, two buckets by Luna and a Taylor Whitley layup gave the Sycamores a 17-point advantage. Another three by Mattox and a final shot by Cooley capped the half at 41-21, and ISU entered the locker room with 63 percent shooting as a team from behind the arc.
Whitley and Thomas got the Sycamores going with a pair of shots in the second half, spotting their team the largest lead of the game at 24. Despite the Purple Aces going on a 14-4 run, ISU never surrendered and went back up at 63-41 on a three-point play by Cooley. Mattox contributed another 3-pointer, and Buher closed the day with a triple of her own, sealing the win at 71-50.
"We played really well on both sides of the ball tonight," Assistant Coach Clint Weddle said. "We did some wonderful things offensively, and everybody contributed. This is what we set out for at the beginning of the week - having good practices, going one day and a time and carrying that over in the game."
Evansville was led by Amy Gallagher's 20 points, while Samantha Heck added 14.
Indiana State returns to Hulman Center for its final homestand of the season, hosting Northern Iowa on Friday, Feb. 26 at 7:05 p.m. (ET). The Sycamores then plan Bradley on Sunday, Feb. 28 at 2:05 p.m., and Senior day festivities honoring Kelsey Luna, Sarah Paul and Laurence Rivest will follow the game.
