TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – If you left the Hulman Center at halftime, you may have thought Indiana State women's basketball's winning streak over Bradley in Terre Haute had ended, but that was not the case as the Sycamores clawed their way back from a 14-point deficit to defeat the Braves in overtime, 58-51, Friday night.
 
Coming into the game, ISU (8-6, 2-1 MVC) had won nine straight over the Braves and had not lost a contest to Bradley inside the Hulman Center since 1997. That streak continued as Ashley Taia and Regan Wentland willed the home squad to the win in front of 1,530 Sycamore fans.
 
Taia, a Brisbane, Australia native, played all 45 minutes in the game and recorded 21 points to lead the Sycamores on 7-of-15 shooting while Wentland tallied a career high 14 points off the bench, connecting on 5-of-7 from the field including a pair of 3-pointers.
 
It marked the second consecutive contest that Taia scored 20-plus points after a 26-point performance at Southern Illinois Sunday.
 
It was all Bradley (4-9, 0-2 MVC) in the first half as the Braves held Indiana State to a season-low 17.9 percent from the field (5-of-28). Taia was the lone offensive threat for ISU in the first 20-minutes as she accounted for seven of the teams' 12 points.
 
The Sycamores were plagued with foul trouble as two of its top scorers in Rhagen Smith and Wendi Bibbins collected a pair of early fouls in route to a 25-12 deficit heading into the locker room.
 
Though ISU trailed at the break by 13, the Sycamores went on to outscore Bradley in each of the next three frames by a total of 46-26. Wentland went on to score 12 of her 14 points in the final 25 minutes while Taia scored 14 of her 21 in the second half and overtime.
 
McKenzy Telfair (5) and Tierra Webb (6) scored several key baskets for the Sycamores in the second half, but the teams' defensive intensity left the Braves confused for much of the second half. Indiana State held BU to just 30.6 shooting (19-of-62) from the field while allowing just five 3-pointers in the game.
 
Indiana State looked to close out the game in the fourth quarter, but a corner three from BU's Danielle Brewer sent the Sycamores to overtime for the first time since December of 2015 when ISU defeated Butler, 70-63 in the Hulman Center.
 
The Sycamores would go on to outscore the Braves, 15-8, in overtime even though three of the teams' top scorers had exited the game due to fouls. Taia and junior Brooklyn Artis connected on free throws late to ice the game.
 
For the game, Indiana State was outrebounded 57-34, including 22-9 on the offensive glass, but Bradley was only able to those chances into 17 points.
 
Chelsea Brackmann paced the Braves with 23 points and 19 rebounds. The forward accounted for seven of BU's 22 offensive rebounds in the game. No other player reached double-digits for the visitors.
 
The Sycamores return to action Sunday afternoon when they host Illinois State. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET inside the Hulman Center.
 
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.