TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Indiana State women's basketball team made an impressive debut in their exhibition opener against Bellarmine on Friday night inside Hulman Center, running past the Knights by a score of 84-39.

ISU's trio of seniors, Deja Mattox, Shannon Thomas and Brittany Schoen, all finished in double-figures as the Sycamores shot 46.5-percent from the field, receiving scoring input from all 12 active players. Schoen led Indiana State in scoring, dropping in 15 points on five 3-pointers.

The Sycamores never trailed on Friday, as sophomore Anna Munn opened the scoring with a trey at the 18:13 mark of the first half. The Knights came back to tie the score at 5-5 on a triple by Allison Matheis with 16:25 left in the first half, but ISU pulled away after that, using a 20-4 run over the game's next seven minutes to push their lead to 25-9 on a 3-pointer by Schoen with 9:07 until the break.

Indiana State took a 47-18 lead into the halftime locker room, as ISU shot 48.7-percent (19-for-39) in the first half. Thomas led the Sycamores with 13 first-half points, while also pulling down six rebounds.

After Schoen opened the second half with a three to push ISU's lead to 50-18, the Knights were never able to get within 30 points the rest of the way as the Sycamores cruised to the victory. Second-year head coach Teri Moren was able to pass out plenty of time on the court against Bellarmine, as 11 of her 12 players logged between 14 and 22 minutes of action.

Sophomore Sadie Oyer (six points, five rebounds), junior Taylor Whitley (seven points, six assists) and Munn (three points, three steals) joined Thomas and Schoen in the starting lineup, before giving way to multiple Sycamores off the bench. Mattox led the bench with 12 points and seven rounds while redshirt sophomore Andrea Rademacher added nine. Sophomore Nikki Gunning provided five points and a pair of steals.

Four freshmen made their ISU debuts inside Hulman Center, supplying ample energy off the bench. Jessica Valley led the newcomers with six points and four steals, while Natasha Zurek did a little bit of everything with two points, four rebounds, a pair of assists, one steal and one block. The same all-around game can be said for Travecia Franklin, who added two points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block. The final newcomer was Racheal Mahan, who tossed in four points and pulled down a pair of boards. Freshman Marah Morris was held out of the exhibition contest while continuing to gain strength following offseason surgery.

The Sycamores went 33-for-71 (46.5%) from the field as team, while knocking down eight 3-pointers. On the defensive end, ISU held BU to just 14 field goals and a 25.5-percent night of shooting. Matheis led all scorers on Friday, dropping in 16 points while grabbing eight boards.

Indiana State is one week away from beginning their trek through the 2011-12 season, as the Sycamores open the regular season in the Preseason WNIT against the Detroit Titans on Friday, Nov. 11. Tipoff is set for 8:05 p.m. and will begin after the ISU men's basketball team plays host to Eastern Illinois beginning at 5:00 p.m.