Women's Basketball February 10, 2012 ISU Athletics

Thomas Posts Double-Double As Sycamores Down Bradley

Ace Hunt
GoSycamores.com

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Shannon Thomas posted a double-double while Brittany Schoen moved into second on ISU's all-time 3-point shooting list as the Sycamores overcame a two-point halftime deficit to earn a 77-60 victory over the visiting Bradley Braves in front of 3,144 fans inside Hulman Center.

ISU ended its six-game losing skid to improve to 11-12, 5-6 MVC while Bradley had a two-game winning streak snapped and fell to 13-11, 4-8 MVC. The Sycamores downed the Braves for the 15th consecutive time at home.

During the Sycamores' recent six game losing skid, Shannon Thomas had not recorded a double-double but she did just that against Bradley with 24 points and 11 rebounds as she led the team in scoring. It marked the first time Thomas has scored 20 or more points since posting 20 in the Sycamores' second MVC contest of the year against Southern Illinois on New Year's Day.

Deja Mattox poured in 16 points after missing the Sycamores' last game at Illinois State.

Brittany Schoen added 11 points for the Sycamores while hitting a pair of 3-point field goals to give her 257 over the last four seasons which moved her into second place in the ISU record book for career triples made and eighth all-time in the Missouri Valley Conference. She now needs just six more treys to pass Kelsey Luna for the most trifectas hit in the history of the ISU women's basketball program.

The Sycamores shot just 26.5 percent from the field in the first half, but were 15-of-27 after the break (55.6 percent) as they outscored Bradley by a 43-29 margin in the second half. ISU owned a 42-37 advantage on the boards and tallied 21 offensive rebounds.

The Sycamores trailed Bradley 29-27 at the half, but scored on its first three possessions of the second half on buckets by Shannon Thomas, Brittany Schoen and Taylor Whitley to race out to a 33-29 lead with just under a minute gone in the second half.

Bradley cut the lead down to 33-31, but Schoen connected on her first 3-pointer of the game at the 17:38 mark to stretch the advantage out to 36-31. Bradley answered the Schoen trey with a bucket of their own, but Thomas converted a conventional 3-point play with 15:44 to go for a 39-33 lead. Shondra Butts hit 1-of-2 free throws but Thomas hit a lay-up with the shot clock winding down as the game neared the 14 minute mark for a 41-34 Sycamore cushion.

Schoen answered a pair of Bradley free throws with her second 3-pointer of the second half to make it 44-36 as she passed Kourtney Mennen for second place on the ISU list and eighth all-time in the MVC with 257 career treys. After Travecia Franklin took a charge, Thomas converted her second conventional 3-point play after the half for a 47-38 lead.

Bradley timmed the Sycamore lead down to 47-43 with a quick 4-0 spurt before Natasha Zurek capatalized on the Sycamores' third conventional 3-point play after the half to run the advantage back out to 50-43 with 10:57 to play.

Whitley converted a second chance opportunity to give the Sycamores a double digit lead with 7:15 to go and then Mattox hit a triple with 6:47 remaining as part of a quick 6-0 Indiana State spurt which put the Sycamores ahead 59-46.

Thomas scored four consecutive points in the game as the clocked went under five minutes to go as she went over the 20-point mark and gave ISU a 63-49 advantage. After Bradley scored, Anna Munn got in the grove with a trey to push the lead back out to 66-51 with 3:40 to play.

Deja Mattox got the Sycamores going on their second possession with a 3-pointer just over a minute into the game to stake ISU to a quick 3-0 lead over the Braves. The two squads traded 4-0 runs as ISU built a 7-3 advantage before the Braves scored 12 of the next 14 points for a 15-9 cushion with 12:35 left in the first half.

The Sycamores' defense kept the score close as ISU broke a near six minute stretch with a field goal on a jumper by Mattox which cut the Bradley lead down to just 15-12. The Brave lead would reach six at 18-12 until the Sycamores scored back-to-back buckets on jumpers by Travecia Franklin and Mattox to inch within 18-16 as the first half reached the nine minute mark.

ISU's spurt reached six in a row at the 5:25 mark when Shannon Thomas hit a lay-up to knot the score at 18. On Bradley's next possession, they retook the lead on a conventional 3-point play by Shondra Butts with 5:17 on the clock to run their advantage back out to 21-18. Rachel Mahan hit a pair of free throws and then scored off a Bradley turnover with 4:26 to go as ISU surged ahead 22-21.

Bradley took a 29-25 lead on a jumper in the paint by Latasha Hollingshed but Deja Mattox answered with a pair of free throws with seven seconds remaining to cut the Braves lead down to 29-27. Bradley went on to get off a 3-point attempt after the buzzer as the Braves went into the half with a two point lead.

The Sycamores were led by 11 first half points by Mattox, but ISU was limited to just 9-of-34 shooting in the opening stanza (26.5 percent). ISU tallied 30 first half rebounds, including 17 on the offensive end before halftime.

Bradley's Catie O'Leary scored 17 points to pace the Braves.

Indiana State returns to action on Sunday, February 12 when they host Northern Iowa inside Hulman Center. Tip-off is set for 2:05 p.m. (ET) and is ISU's Breast Cancer Awareness Game, in coordination with the Wabash Valley's Susan G. Komen Foundation.