CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Ashli O'Neal hit a career-high five 3-pointers and led all players with 19 points but Indiana State fell prey to a hot-shooting Illinois squad in an 81-52 loss Thursday evening at the State Farm Center in Champaign.
 
The sophomore guard was a steady 6-for-14 (42.9 percent) from the field but the rest of the team's shooting took its cue from the below freezing temperatures in the Champaign-Urbana region, shooting a combined 26.7 percent in the game.
 
"I was glad to see [Ashli O'Neal] play well tonight," Indiana State head coach Joey Wells said. She did not play well at UIC last week but she really stepped up her game tonight."
 
However, O'Neal's performance wasn't enough against a Big Ten team that shot 47.7 percent from the field and registered four players in double-digit points. Illinois (7-4) was led by Petra Holesinska's 16 points in just her second game played this season after sitting out the first few weeks with a head injury.
 
Outside of a last-second shot by Maryam Wilcher, O'Neal was the only player to score for Indiana State (2-6) in the first quarter while Illinois raced out to a 21-8 lead at the first intermission. The Illini would never trail in the game.
 
Ty Battle, making her first collegiate start in an arena where fans fondly recall her surname, took over in the second quarter scoring all of her seven points in the frame. Her father, Kenny, was a two-time All-Big Ten player and led the Illini to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances – including a Final Four run his senior year – before going on to a four-year NBA career.
 
"I think it is neat and unique that a true freshman was able to make her first career collegiate start in the same gym where her father dominated the game for two years" Wells said.
 
Her second period spurt paced a Sycamore 7-0 run to open the second quarter and cut Illinois' lead to six.  Battle not only started but showed off for her father – sitting courtside clad in Sycamore Blue – as she registered six rebounds and two assists with no turnovers in 30 minutes of action.
 
"The reason Ty is in the lineup is because she doesn't make mistakes," explained Wells. She has a knack for being around the ball. That is what we need right now – players that won't make mistakes."
 
But a spurt in a patriarch's likeness wouldn't be enough. The Sycamores would miss a 3-point attempt and Illinois responded with a 10-0 run to put the game out of reach, never allowing the lead to dip below 15 points after that point.
 
AJ Thomas added 11 points for ISU, nine of which came in the fourth quarter.
 
Indiana State returns home to host Central Michigan on Saturday at 1 p.m., the first part of a doubleheader with the ISU men's team. Fans in the arena for Saturday's women's tilt will be invited to stay in the Hulman Center in a general admission seating area when the men tipoff against Indianapolis at 4 p.m.
 
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.