TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Indiana State women's basketball team fell to Southern Illinois 70-66 Thursday night inside the Hulman Center. The Sycamores' used a 30-point fourth quarter to pull within four points but it wasn't enough as ISU dropped its fifth consecutive contest.
 
Junior Wendi Bibbins recorded her fifth double-double of the season after going for 16 points and 13 rebounds to go along with a pair of blocks. Tierra Webb and Ashley Taia added 12 points each for the Sycamores (12-16, 6-11 MVC) in the loss.
 
The Salukis (15-13, 9-8 MVC) jumped out to a 23-12 lead after the first quarter thanks in part to the hot shooting of Kylie Giebelhausen. Giebelhausen scored 18 of her game-high 26 points from behind the arc. As a team, SIU shot 70.6 percent (12-of-17) from long range while ISU was able to connect on 10 of their 20 attempts.
 
Both the second and third quarters were back-and-forth before ISU made their biggest push in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Salukis 30-17 but it wasn't enough to overcome the deficit. Southern led by as many as 25 points in the third quarter. That was when the Sycamores went on a 9-0 run to gain momentum headed into the final 10 minutes.
 
Giebelhausen led the Salukis with 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting while Rishonda Napier added 15 points for SIU.  
 
Indiana State won the rebounding battle 37-32, including 13 offensive rebounds which they were able to turn into 12 points. The Sycamores were able to force the Salukis into turnovers in the second half after moving to a full court press and scoring 26 points off the miscues.
 
Freshman Ashli O'Neal added seven points off the bench while Regan Wentland scored nine and pulled down five.
 
The Sycamores will wrap up the regular season Saturday when they face Evansville for Senior Day at 2 p.m. inside the Hulman Center. Both Rhagen Smith and Brooklyn Artis will be honored prior to the game.
 
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.