Box Score
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Indiana State never led and couldn't control the Southern Illinois Salukis as it fell 65-53 at SIU Arena on Friday evening in Missouri Valley Conference action. The Sycamores fell to 12-4 overall and 2-3 in the MVC.
Indiana State senior forward Racheal Mahan finished just shy of a double-double as she led with 15 points and nine rebounds on the night. Mahan finishes the night just three points shy of her 1,000th point. Junior guard Alexis Newbolt added nine points off the bench for ISU and senior guard Travecia Franklin chipped in eight points.
ISU struggled in nearly every facet, shooting just 32.3 percent compared to the Salukis' 44.7 percent and were outrebounded 43-32. The Sycamore defense did manage to force 18 turnovers in the loss, and turned it over just 11 times which is one shy of its season-low.
Redshirt sophomore Joyea Marshall led ISU with three assists to go along with five points and three rebounds. Franklin and senior guard Natasha Zurek paced the defense with three steals each for a combined nine picks in the game.
Zurek also added six points as Indiana State shot just 32.3 percent from the floor on the night. ISU did turn in one of its better performances from the line with a 71.6 percent margin on 10-for-14 shooting at the charity stripe.
The Salukis (9-6, 2-2 MVC) used long runs in each half to help separate itself from ISU. A 13-4 run in the opening period helped combined with Southern's 53.8 percent clip from the floor in the first frame helped extend its largest lead to 12 with 8:05 to play.
Indiana State countered with its own run, closing the half on a 13-5 run as defense kicked in to cut the lead down to four at the break.
But the second half started off slow for both teams, with neither team hitting a field goal until five minutes. Southern Illinois then all but capped the game off with a 15-4 run to go up 52-37 halfway through the second half.
Indiana State continues on to Normal, Ill. for a Sunday afternoon matchup with Illinois State. Tipoff is set for 3:05 p.m. ET in Redbird Arena.
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.
