DES MOINES, Iowa – Indiana State women's basketball saw a back and forth contest with league-leading Drake come up short Sunday afternoon inside the Knapp Center, falling to the Bulldogs, 76-62.
 
The Sycamores (10-8, 4-3 MVC) gave Drake everything they could handle for a majority of the game, leading DU at many points of the contest. It wasn't until late in the third that the hot-shooting Bulldogs caught fire, outscoring the Sycamores in both the third and fourth.
 
Juniors Ashley Taia and Wendi Bibbins each scored 14 to lead the Sycamores while Tierra Webb added 10 of her own. Bibbins finished a rebound shy of her third double-double of the season. Regan Wentland added seven points and six rebounds off the bench for the Sycamores while freshman guard Ashli O'Neal scored seven points and dished out a career best five assists.
 
Indiana State put together one of its best shooting performances from behind the arc, draining 10 shots from long range on the afternoon. Taia connected on four triples while sophomore Tierra Webb added two of her own. In all, six of the eight Sycamores who recorded minutes drained a 3-pointer.
 
Coming into the game ranked 3^rd in the Mid Major Top-25, the Bulldogs used four 8-0 runs throughout the game to maintain their undefeated mark at home. Drake opened the fourth trailing the Sycamores but used an 8-0 run to take a six point lead. From then on it was all Drake as they were able to hound Sycamore shooters, holding ISU to just five fourth-quarter points.
 
The Bulldogs' final came in the closing minutes to secure the win and improve to 15-4 and 8-0 in The Valley.
 
The Sycamores closed out the first half on a 7-0 run during the final 3:40 of play to take a 41-37 lead into the locker room. Bibbins and Taia each paced Indiana State in the first 20 minutes with Taia scoring 11 for the Sycamores. Bibbins, a Harvey, Louisiana native added eight points and seven rebounds.
 
For the game, Indiana State shot 40.4 percent (23-of-57) and 43.5 percent (10-of-23) from behind the arc. Drake finished the game shooting 45.2 percent (28-of-26) and capitalized at the free throw line, going 12-of-13 from the charity stripe.
 
Leading the way for Drake was Lizzy Wendell who finished with a game high 29 points on 9-of-20 shooting. The forward connected on all nine of her free throw attempts.  
 
The Sycamores will return to the Hulman Center next weekend when they play host to Wichita State and Missouri State Friday and Sunday.
 
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.