TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Indiana State women's basketball fell in its regular season opener, 60-59, to Saint Louis Friday night inside the Hulman Center. The Sycamores were led by Ashley Taia who scored 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-4 from downtown.
 
Indiana State (0-1) trailed at halftime 32-31 after SLU connected on a pair of free throws with under two seconds left to play in the first half. That was the difference as the Trees kept things even as both squads tallied 28 points in the final 20 minutes.
 
Tied at 43 to open the fourth quarter, SLU used a 7-0 run to gain the edge and held the Sycamores scoreless until the 6:04 mark when Wendi Bibbins connected on a 15-foot jumper to end the drought. Paige Rakers put the Billikens (1-0) on top seven with a layup with 5:33 left.
 
The Sycamores took advantage of four straight misses at the charity stripe in the final minutes to keep it close. Junior Regan Wentland drained a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to play to make it 57-54 in favor of the road team.
 
The Billikens connected on 1-of-2 free throws before Wendi Bibbins made it a two-point game with a putback layup with 11 seconds left. Jackie Kemph nailed a pair of free throws and they would be big ones as Taia dropped a triple with two seconds left to play but ISU could not foul to extend the game.
 
SLU dominated the paint, scoring more than half of their points (32) there. ISU edged SLU on the boards 39-38, led by Wentland who nearly finished with a double-double with 10 rebounds and nine points.
 
Bibbins added 14 points and collected seven rebounds for the Sycamores.
 
Saint Louis shot 37.7 percent (20-of-53) from the field, and 4-of-16 from behind the arc. ISU was 19-of-58 (32.8 percent) from the floor and 9-of-17 (36.8 percent) from downtown.
 
The Billikens put three scorers in double-figures led by Maddison Gits who had 16 points. Kemph added 15, including 9-of-10 from the free throw line while Jordyn Frantz scored 11.
 
The Sycamores return to action next Friday (Nov. 17) when they travel to IUPUI. Tip is set for 7 p.m. ET.
 
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.