NORMAL, Ill. - It was a tale of two halves inside the Redbird Arena on Saturday, as the Illinois State Redbirds outscored the visiting Indiana State Sycamores by 24 points in the second half to grab a 75-52 win in Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball action in front of 4,054 fans.

With the loss, the Sycamores fall to 11-10 on the season and an even 5-5 in the MVC, while the Redbirds improve to 15-6 overall, including a perfect 10-0 at home, and 7-3 in conference play.

Indiana State and Illinois State traded three leads and saw the score tied three more times in the first nine minutes of action, with senior Kelsie Cooley leading ISU with five points in the opening nine minutes of play.

The Redbirds took control over the next several minutes, using a 6-0 run to take their first largest lead of the first half at the 6:39 mark, at 23-15, on a layup by junior Katie Broadway.

After the Sycamores and Redbirds traded baskets, Indiana State went on an 11-1 run that lasted two and a half minutes to grab their largest advantage of the game, at 29-26 with 2:10 left in the half on a free-throw from junior Shannon Thomas.

The Sycamores took a one-point lead into the locker room, as junior Brittany Schoen knocked down a 3-pointer with 30 seconds remaining in the half to give Indiana State the lead. Indiana State shot 44.0% (11-of-25) in the first half, including 45.5% (5-for-11) from beyond the arc. Sophomore Taylor Whitley led the Sycamores at the break with nine points, while Cooley, Thomas and freshman Anna Munn all chipped in five.

The Redbirds took the lead for good just 15 seconds into the second half, as senior Shala Jackson knocked down a jumper in the paint to give the Redbirds a 33-32 lead. After another basket from Jackson, Whitley converted a fastbreak jumper to cut the Illinois State back to one point, at 35-34 with 17:29 play, but that was as close as the Sycamores could get for the remainder of the game.

After Whitley's jumper, the Redbirds went on a 12-0 run over the game's next five minutes, capping their run at 47-34 with 12:47 left to play on a 3-pointer from senior Emily Hanley. During Illinois State's run, the Sycamores committed five turnovers and missed their four shots from the field.

Indiana State went ice-cold from the field in the second half, knocking down just five shots in 23 attempts from the field.

For the game, Whitley led the Sycamores with 15 points, including a perfect 8-for-8 effort from the free-throw line. Cooley also finished in double figures, with 10, while leading ISU with seven rebounds.

Illinois State dominated the majority of the specialty statistics on the evening, winning the battle of the boards (44-30), points in the paint (30-16), points off turnovers (24-3), second-chance points (19-7) and bench scoring (32-7).

The Sycamores return to Hulman Center for their next two games, hosting Missouri State on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 7:05 p.m., and Wichita State on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 3:35 p.m. ISU's game with the Bears on Thursday will also be their Breast Cancer Awareness game in conjunction with the Susan G. Komen Foundation.