Box Score -- Photo Album

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Indiana State women's basketball team put together their best team effort of the 2011-12 season on Wednesday evening, picking up the 66-55 win over the University of Tennessee at Martin in front of 2,317 inside Hulman Center.

The win evens ISU's record to 3-3 while UTM falls to 4-2.

Senior Deja Mattox opened the scoring on Wednesday night, hitting a trey on ISU's second possession to give the Sycamores their first lead. UTM would take their only lead after a quick 5-0 run put the visitors in front 5-3 at the 17:49, when sophomore Jasmine Newsome knocked down a 3-pointer. The Sycamores came right back with a 13-0 run of their own over the next four minutes to take back the lead they would never relinquish. Senior Brittany Schoen and sophomore Anna Munn before scored five points during ISU's early run.

ISU's largest lead of the game came at the 10:40 mark of the first half, when freshman Natasha Zurek blocked a shot and finished a fastbreak layup to move Indiana State's lead to 13 points, at 20-7.

The Skyhawks never went away, cutting ISU's lead to two points, at 26-24, with 5:08 until the halftime break when a 9-2 run was capped on a triple by sophomore Heather Butler. As they did all night, ISU responded with a run of their own, scoring the next seven points of the game to take a 33-24 lead with 1:08 left in the first half.

Indiana State led 33-29 at the break thanks to an 11-point, eight-rebound first half from senior Shannon Thomas. Schoen and Mattox added seven points in the first half, while Munn chipped in with six points and five rebounds.

UT Martin cut the lead to two points early in the second half, at 35-33 with 19:00 left to play, but an 8-0 ISU run over the next two minutes put the Sycamores back up by 10, 43-33, with 17:07 to go. After ISU pushed its lead to 13 points for the third time in the second half, the Skyhawks made their final push, using an 8-0 run to get back within five points, at 60-55 with 4:05 left.

The ISU defense clamped down to close out the ballgame, holding UT Martin without a field goal over the last four minutes and scoring the final six points of the game.

Thomas and Munn posted double-doubles on Wednesday, with Thomas going for 22 points and 17 rebounds while Munn added 15 points and 10 boards. Munn is the first Sycamore other than Thomas to tally a double-double since the 2009-10 season with Kelsey Luna went for 17 points and 10 rebounds against Missouri State on Feb. 2, 2010. The double-double was the 21^st of her career for Thomas and the first for Munn.

Not to be overlooked was the all-around effort of Mattox, who added 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three blocks and four steals. ISU also had its best game of the season on the glass, outrebounding UTM by a 51-40 margin.

It will be a quick turnaround for Indiana State, as their next game takes place this Friday, Dec. 2. ISU hits the road to take on Illinois Chicago at 8:00 p.m. (ET).