TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Indiana State women's basketball team picked up the season sweep of Loyola Sunday afternoon, defeating the Ramblers 53-32 in front of 1,669 fans on Alumni Day. With the win, the Sycamores move to 6-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference and 12-11 overall.
 
Indiana State was led offensively by junior Ashley Taia. The Brisbane, Australia native scored a game-high 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting. McKenzie Telfair scored eight while Brooklyn Artis and Wendi Bibbins added six each. Six Sycamores scored 5-points or more in the win.
 
Junior Regan Wentland notched her first start of the season against the Ramblers and she made it count, going for a career high 13 rebounds and dishing out seven assists.
 
The game marked the best defensive effort by the Sycamores all season as they held Loyola to just 32 points and nine field goals. ISU's intensity on the defensive end saw six players' record steals led by Bibbins who swiped the ball away four times. The Sycamores also cleaned up on the boards, outrebounding Loyola 43-25 in the game and giving up just five offensive rebounds.
 
It was all Indiana State to start as the Sycamores jumped out to a 7-2 lead behind a triple from Artis and jumpers from Rhagen Smith and Taia. The Ramblers would close the gap though to just one at the conclusion of the first quarter at 12-11.
 
That was when Indiana State's offense really got to work. Telfair a redshirt sophomore got things off to a quick start in the second, hitting a pair of 3-pointers while Taia and freshman Ashli O'Neal also connected on treys. The Sycamores held Loyola to single-digits in each period for the remainder of the game and just 12 points in the final 20 minutes of play.
 
For the game, Indiana State hit 10 3-pointers and turned 16 offensive boards into 13 second chance points. ISU dished out 15 assists while Loyola finished with two.  
 
The team will continue its homestand next weekend when Drake and Northern Iowa come to town 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.