TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – For
Tamara Lee, it took a little while to get hot Saturday afternoon – 17 minutes and 21 seconds to be precise. Until that point, which came at 3:39 in the second quarter, the graduate transfer was just 1-for-4 from the floor and the host Sycamores trailed a two-win UIC team by three.
Then it seemed to all come together.
Lee went 4-for-5 over that final 3:39 of the second quarter – all from beyond the arc – and finished with a career-high 23 points total as Indiana State claimed a 60-53 win over UIC in front of 1,242 at the Hulman Center.
"We need her to be able to shoot that ball, and make buckets and that's what she does, she loves to shoot the three. She's scrappy, she's got a chip, and I love it," Indiana State Head Coach
Vicki Hall said of her leading scorer on Saturday.
Lee's career-high mark led all scorers and gave Indiana State (5-3) a five-point halftime lead, an advantage they would never relinquish in the second half. But UIC (2-6) was not exactly out of the game either.
The Flames (2-6) would bring that margin to within a one-possession difference on four separate occasions in the second half, pulling within three with less than four minutes remaining. But the Sycamores, a team that shot just 50 percent from the charity stripe through the first three quarters, came through in the clutch by hitting 10 of 12 free throw attempts in the final period, preventing any comeback.
And as Lee kept hitting shots,
Daijah Smith added to the effort. Her 11 points – the most in a game by the freshman to this point – all came in the second half with two of her four field goals coming from long range.
Ashli O'Neal added 10 points as she continued to reach double figures in every game this season with two also coming from beyond the arc. In all, the Sycamores tied a season-high 10 three-point baskets Saturday.
ISU, similar to a previous game this season against Southeast Missouri, didn't let sloppy play hold them back. The Trees scored 32 points – more than half its total tally – off of 32 UIC turnovers, 13 of which came off of steals with another four due to the quartet of charges drawn by Indiana State in the contest.
Ashli O'Neal (2),
Kierra Isaiah (1) and
Krystal Rice (1) all drew charges as this marked the third game in which the Blue and White have drawn multiple charges.
After a hectic 10-day stretch in which Indiana State played four games, alternating playing on the road then at home, the Sycamores now have a chance to regroup. The team has nine days off for fall semester finals before hitting the hardwood on Monday, Dec. 17 at Butler.
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.
