Box Score MOBILE, Ala. – The Indiana State women's basketball team shot 54.4 percent from the floor behind senior forward Racheal Mahan's 20 points, as it cruised to a 74-53 win at South Alabama on Wednesday evening. Indiana State improves to 4-1 overall and has posted its best start through five games since 2009-10.
Mahan followed up her career night against ETSU on Monday by going 9-for-12 from the floor for back-to-back 20 point games. She also tied a team-high nine rebounds with senior forward Chelsea Small, who added six points and a career-high five assists. The Sycamores out-rebounded the Jaguars, 47-23 and dished out a combined 19 assists.
ISU's 54.4 field goal percentage is the first plus 50 percent performance since Feb. 13, 2013 when it also posted a 54.0 clip. Senior forward Jasmine Grier came off the bench to add 13 points including three 3-pointers.
“I am happy with the win, but there are still areas we can improve on,” Indiana State head coach Joey Wells said. “We made some strides in places and others we took a step back, but I know with the leadership of seven seniors that we will take our miscues and improve on them as we continue on in non-conference play.”
Once again, Indiana State pounded the ball inside as it scored 46 of its 74 points in the paint. Bench play also accounted for 37 points on the night, as redshirt sophomore Kelsey Dirks got her first action of the season with 4:10 to play in the first half.
Dirks went 3-for-4 from the floor for six points in her first game in a Sycamore jersey, after sitting out the first four games of the season with an injury. Freshmen Freja Christensen and Maria Sheikh also chipped in their first career points in an ISU uniform in the second half.
“I'm so happy (Kelsey) Dirks is finally healthy again and it's been almost a year and a half since she's played collegiately, so I know we have a lot more to get out of her as the season progresses,” Wells said.
Senior forward Lashonda Littleton and sophomore forward Rhagen Smith each chipped in seven points as Smith also grabbed five boards. The Sycamores' biggest complaint of the night was undoubtedly 26 combined turnovers which included 14 in the second half.
Indiana State jumped out a 40-20 halftime lead behind a 60.0 percent shooting percentage in the opening frame. A four and a half minute scoring drought by the Jaguars (2-2) helped the Sycamores blow open the game, leading 20-10 less than 10 minutes into the contest.
But both teams fell into a lull, going five minutes midway through the first half without anyone picking up a bucket. Senior guard Stephanie Wittman drained a three pointer with 6:30 left in the half to get ISU back in a rhythm.
It was all Indiana State in the second half, as it led by as many as 25 points despite getting in foul trouble early on. Picking up its sixth foul with 11:18 to play, USA shot 80 percent from the charity stripe in the final period (12-for-15) but it wasn't enough as it shot just 33.3 percent from the floor overall.
The Sycamores defense was also back to work with 13 steals on the night, led by three apiece from Small and senior guard Natasha Zurek.
Indiana State picks up play on Sunday when it travels to in-state Big Ten foe Indiana. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET in Assembly Hall.
For the latest information on the Sycamore Women's Basketball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.