TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Ashli O'Neal scored 15 points and Alexis Delgado added another 10 but the Sycamores shot only 22.4 percent from the floor in a 61-45 loss to Bradley Sunday at the Hulman Center in Missouri Valley Conference action.
 
For Indiana State (8-7, 2-2), there was seemingly a lid on the baskets Sunday. The Sycamores shot just 22.4 percent from the field and only 63.6 percent from the free throw line in Sunday's loss. But on the other side Bradley (12-3, 2-2) seemingly couldn't miss, shooting 51.1 percent for the game, 60 percent from beyond the arc and not missing a free throw attempt.
 
"Bradley is a good team, you have to give credit where credit is due," Indiana State Head Coach Vicki Hall said. "I'm always going to do that. I'm 100 percent for giving credit where it's due. They have good players and they play well. On our side, we didn't play the kind of defense that we're supposed to and we know that. We had a lot of miss communications today, we had a lot lack luster effort and you can't play the kind of defense we are trying to play and not do it 100 percent and give all the effort that you have. When you don't then you end up in a situation like this."
 
Those miscommunications allowed Bradley to outscore Indiana State 18-8 in the second quarter, giving the Braves a 32-21 halftime lead. But ISU couldn't take advantage of a third quarter where Bradley only shot 37.5 percent from the field – the only quarter the visiting Braves shot under 50 percent – and was still out-scored by one in the frame.
 
That left a 12-point deficit entering the fourth quarter, but a 14.3 percent shooting mark in that final quarter made that all but impossible to make up as Bradley resumed its impressive shooting with a 71 percent mark, leading by as much as 21 in the final period.
 
Being unable to score led to the inability to convert opportunities into points as the Sycamores forced 22 Bradley turnovers, 13 of which came from steals, but only scored 11 points from those chances.
 
"It's huge, I wish they had a little thing here that said how many layups you miss, because we had to have missed about 20," Hall remarked about her team's missed opportunities. "We missed tons of layups and you have to be able to do that. We will keep working on it. That is one thing that you can believe that we are going to do."
 
Bradley, which had not won in Terre Haute since 1997 before Sunday's contest, was led by Chelsea Brackmann's double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds while Gabi Haack scored 16 points, all of which came from beyond the arc or at the free throw line.
 
Indiana State now looks to regroup before hitting the road and playing at Valparaiso (4-11, 0-3) on Friday. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and on the Sycamore Radio Network.
 
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