INDIANAPOLIS – A cold offensive second half paved the way for a hot IUPUI team as Indiana State women's basketball couldn't put it together as it fell 68-43 in road play Tuesday evening.

Redshirt sophomore forward Ashley Taia led Indiana State with nine points and tied a team-high with five rebounds and junior forward Rhagen Smith added eight points and a team-high eight rebounds off the bench. Freshman guard Jennifer Mackowiak added five boards along with five points while dishing out two assists.

Eight total players scored points in the loss, the third straight for the Sycamores. Indiana State shot just 28.3 percent from the floor on the night and 15.4 percent from 3-point range, as its 43 points on the evening were the fewest this season.

The Jags took a seven point lead three minutes into the contest, but a Dirks bucket got ISU back within two before a nearly four minute scoring drought took over. Freshman forward Regan Wentland broke the streak with a triple and a pick by Mackowiak dished down to Ceazer who went coast-to-coast go ISU back within one, 14-15.  Indiana State took a one point lead (16-15) after the first quarter as Smith drove to the hoop and found the back of the net as time expired.

The second quarter featured more ups and downs, as the Sycamores and Jaguars exchanged two ties and five lead changes. Mackowiak picked up her own rebound off a missed layup for the putback to tie things up at 28-28 with 1:31 to play. IUPUI closed the half with four straight points and took a 32-28 lead going into the locker rooms.

But a dismal third quarter doomed the Sycamores, who were outscored 21-8 and didn't score for the first five minutes coming out of the break. The scoring drought continued in the fourth as the ISU offense scored just seven points in the final 10 minutes and finished the second half shooting 20.0 percent.

COACH'S CORNER

“We just got out-played, out-hustled and pretty much out-everything tonight to a really good team who played well on its home court,” Indiana State head coach Joey Wells said. “As a team, are still searching for an identity and we're hoping to find it sooner rather than later. We've got to be a bit more mature on the court and we're going to work hard on fixing it every day.”

GAME CHANGER

IUPUI lit it up from the floor in the third quarter, shooting 62.5 percent from the field and outscoring the Sycamores, 21-8. Indiana State couldn't recover in the fourth quarter either, as they combined in the second half for a total of 15 points and falling to an IUPUI team off to one of its best starts in school history.

SYCAMORE LEADERS

Points – A. Taia (9)

Rebounds – R. Smith (6)

Assists – J. Mackowiak (2)

Steals – Five players (1)

Blocks – K. Dirks (4)

ABOUT THE SQUAD

Field Goal % - 28.3

Free Throw % - 15.4

Assists – 6

Steals – 7

Rebounds - 31

RECORDS
Indiana State: 2-6

IUPUI: 5-1

IMPORTANT NUMBERS

8 – Eight different players scored points for ISU on the night

15 – Indiana State combined for just 15 points in the second half, its lowest scoring half this season

43 – Total points for ISU, which is the lowest scoring total in a game this season

UP NEXT

The four-game road swing comes to a close on Sunday when Indiana State looks to get back on track as it makes its way to Tulsa. Tip is set for 2 p.m. ET inside Reynolds Center in the first ever meeting between the two teams.

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.