TERRE HAUTE, Ind.  – Freshman guard Jennifer Mackowiak came off the bench to tie a career-high 18 points but any bid to knock off the preseason Missouri Valley Conference favorite Missouri State was thwarted, as Indiana State fell 59-51 on Sunday afternoon inside Hulman Center.

Mackowiak went 8-for-12 from the floor and also grabbed six rebounds while adding an assists, steal and block. Redshirt senior Cierra Ceazer and redshirt sophomore Ashley Taia added nine a piece but offense was hard to come by for the Sycamores' who shot just 31.3 percent on the afternoon.

That in spite of besting their opponent, who only shot 30.2 percent, but ISU also put up a poor performance from 3-point range (5-for-25) compared to eight triples for Missouri State (47.1%).

Redshirt junior Joyea Marshall led with new career-highs with 11 rebounds and four assists as the Sycamores narrowly outrebounded the Bears, 46-43. Redshirt junior Kelsey Dirks also added six rebounds, four of them offensive.

Missouri State led by as many as nine midway through as the Sycamores went cold from the floor for a four minute stretch. A 3-pointer from Taia on the top of the key and Smith working her magic inside cut it back down to five with ISU trailing 18-11 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter saw just 12 combined points between the two teams, with Mackowiak scoring four of Indiana State's five points. The Bears took a 25-16 lead into the break and extended their lead to as many as 16 with 6:45 to play in the third.

Momentum swung the Sycamores' way as it went on a 7-3 run to close the third quarter and carried over to the final 10 minutes as ISU came within four after Taia banked in a 3-pointer to trail 34-38. Newbolt connected on one from long range as well to keep the Lady Bears lead at four with 6:22 to play.

But an 8-0 run for MSU extended through the 2:24 mark and Indiana State attempted to claw back with back-to-back buckets from Newbolt and freshman guard Tierra Webb. But Missouri State's Tyonna Snow had five of her 20 points in the final 51 seconds of play as it helped put the game and handed its fourth straight loss to the Sycamores in the series. 

GAME CHANGER

Neither team was offensively very good on the night but Missouri State capitalized off a 47.1 percent clip from the 3-point line and capitalized 13 points on 11 steals off 18 Sycamore turnovers.

SYCAMORE LEADERS

Points – Jennifer Mackowiak (18)

Rebounds – Joyea Marshall (11)

Assists – Joyea Marshall (4)

Steals – Ceazer/Webb (2)

Blocks – Mackowiak/Smith (1)

ABOUT THE SQUAD

Field Goal % - 31.3

3-Point FG % - 20.0

Free Throw % - 50.0

Assists – 7

Steals – 6

Rebounds - 46

RECORDS
Indiana State: 5-8, 1-1 MVC

Missouri State: 9-5, 2-0 MVC

IMPORTANT NUMBERS

4 – Indiana State suffered its fourth-straight loss to Missouri State in the series

11 – New career-high 11 rebounds for redshirt junior forward Joyea Marshall and also dished out a career-high four assists

18 – Freshman guard Jennifer Mackowiak came off the bench to tie a career-high 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting

67 – Indiana State set a new season-high 67 shot attempts in the Sunday loss

UP NEXT

ISU wraps up a five game homestand when it welcomes travel partner Illinois State on Sunday, January 10. The Sycamores and the Redbirds meet in a 2:05 p.m. ET tip inside Hulman Center for a Missouri Valley Conference showdown on The Valley on ESPN3.

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.