TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Alexis Delgado and Ashli O'Neal each scored 15 points and the Sycamores hit a season-best 11 3-pointers but also committed a season-high 24 turnovers in a physical 60-51 loss to Butler Thursday afternoon at the Hulman Center.
 
For Indiana State (2-9), it wasn't necessarily all 24 turnovers that decided the game but a four-minute stretch in the fourth quarter where the Sycamores committed four turnovers and missed the one shot they did attempt – an O'Neal jumper that was rebounded and promptly turned over by Wendi Bibbins.
 
At the same time Butler struggled to make a basket, missing four straight shots and committing a turnover. Indiana State only trailed by seven at the stretch but came away empty-handed on five consecutive possessions. The scoring drought for both teams was broken by a Butler layup with under 3 minutes to play to extend the Bulldog lead to nine, a margin that proved to be an insurmountable lead as the Sycamores would not pull any closer than six points after that mark.
 
"The timing of those really hurt because that was when they had a turnover, they missed a layup," Indiana State head coach Joey Wells explained. "If we were able to flip it, that was the time. Now it changes the last two to three minutes of the game. It could have been a tie ballgame but instead we're down six so you have to play a different way."
 
The Sycamores seemingly flipped the script from two nights ago, when post points were aplenty but long-range shots didn't seem to fall. On Thursday, a season-high 3-pointers came from four different players but the post quartet of Bibbins, Ty Battle, AJ Thomas and Regan Wentland only scored a combined 10 points.
 
"There are pieces in place," Wells said. "We've had multiple players come out and give us double-digit performances, we just haven't done it as a team all on the same night."
 
After a slow start – Indiana State had five turnovers and zero points halfway through the first quarter – Delgado found her groove. The Phoenix native sank a career-best five 3-pointers in the game, four of which came in the first half. But it wasn't until late in the second quarter did she fully feel in the zone.
 
"I would say after the third shot I felt hot," Delgado said of her 3-pointer at the 4:21 mark of the second quarter. "I really started feeling it when I came off of a screen and hit the shot. That is when I really started feeling it."
 
As Delgado cooled off in the second half, thanks to a few missed opportunities and Butler adjusting to her hot hand, the baton was passed to O'Neal who scored two of her four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. But those didn't come until O'Neal got in foul trouble in a physically tough contest.
 
"They were tough and the refs let us play," said O'Neal. "It didn't throw me off. I like being tough when I play basketball, which is probably why I had four fouls today. I like being tough."
 
Tori Schickel led Butler (8-4) with 23 points while Whitney Jennings added another 16.
 
Indiana State will now regroup after the holiday break as Missouri Valley Conference play opens up with Missouri State visiting the Hulman Center on Dec. 29. That leaves a break of eight days to rest and refocus for the next stage of the season, and to find answers on how to overcome the hump in these close games.
 
"I don't know, I just want to win," commented O'Neal. "That's all I can say. I just want to win."
 
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