SAINT LOUIS – Indiana State women's basketball did something that hasn't happened in over a year when they defeated Saint Louis, 70-67, at Chaifetz Arena Tuesday night. Ashley Taia and Ashli O'Neal paced the way for the Sycamores with 13 points each.
 
Every player that entered the game Indiana State (5-4) tallied a point. Along with Taia and O'Neal's 13 points, senior Rhagen Smith scored 11 while forward Wendi Bibbins scored nine and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead ISU. Freshman Maryam Wilcher scored a career best eight points off the bench for the Sycamores.
 
ISU recorded a season high 17 assists in the game, led by Taia who had five. Tierra Webb, Bibbins and O'Neal had three each. The Sycamores improved to 3-0 when Webb assists on three or more baskets.
 
Saint Louis (7-2), the preseason pick to win the A-10 Conference, had won 10-straight regular season contests in their home arena dating back to last season. SLU also came into the game with double-digit win margins during that streak.
 
It was a tale of two halves as Indiana State trailed by as many as 11 points in the first quarter and led by 13 with 9:12 left in the game. Saint Louis turned it on in the fourth and came within one point with just seconds left to play. Taia drained a pair of free throws to ice the game and secure ISU's first three-game road winning streak since 2014-15 when the team reeled off seven straight.
 
One reason the Billikens were able to get back into the game was their ability to get to the free throw line. At halftime, SLU had shot just five free throws. Saint Louis finished the contest with 17 attempts from the charity stripe, including 12 in the fourth quarter.
 
Indiana State's offense came alive in the second and third quarters, outscoring the Billikens, 46-30 during the 20-minute stretch.
 
The Sycamores came out flat to start and Saint Louis took advantage of seven early turnovers to jump out to a 9-0 lead at the first quarter media timeout. Indiana State would clean up the miscues on the offensive end and finish the first quarter with seven total, and closing the gap to 15-7.
 
Indiana State continued to chip into the SLU lead with a steady dose of offense from several players, including six points each from Smith and O'Neal who led the team to a 30-28 halftime lead.
 
Defensive pressure from the Sycamores would put the Billikens on their heels, allowing ISU to make two key runs in the second including 16-4 run from the eight-minute mark all the way to until 3:14 left before half. Junior Brooklyn Artis and redshirt sophomore McKenzy Telfair connected on 3-pointers during the stretch.
 
The ISU bench provided a much-needed spark during the first half, scoring 15 points led O'Neal who had six. Another freshman in Maryam Wilcher added four points in the first half. In total the Sycamores bench accounted for 32 points in the game while SLU reserves scored 12.
 
For the game, Indiana State shot 49 percent (24-of-49) while holding the Billikens to just 30.6 (20-of-66) percent from the field. SLU capitalized on their size and length, outrebounding ISU 39-36 including 16 offensive boards. Saint Louis was held to just 10 second chance points off of those rebounds.
 
SLU was led by Sadie Stipanovich who scored a game high 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Jenny Vliet scored 16 for the Billikens.
 
The Sycamores are back in action Sunday when they wrap up their current road trip with a game against in-state opponent Butler in Indianapolis. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET inside Hinkle Fieldhouse.
 
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.