TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Ashli O'Neal scored 14 points and Kierra Isaiah added another 10 points but a 52 percent shooting Missouri State team made a nine-point halftime deficit nearly impossible to overcome in a 71-57 loss for Indiana State as both teams opened Missouri Valley Conference play in Springfield Friday night.
 
Missouri State (5-7, 1-0) was led by Jasmine Franklin's 17 points, 12 of which came in the first quarter alone. But despite Franklin's early scoring surge, the Sycamores (6-6, 0-1) were never fully out of it and took just a nine-point deficit into halftime.
 
After cutting the deficit to as little as seven less than three minutes into the second half, Missouri State pulled away behind a 10-0 run for a 17-point lead over the Sycamores that would never fall into single digits again. That came after the host Lady Bears shot 69.2 percent (9-for-13) in the third quarter including a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.
 
"I think our kids played hard," Indiana State Head Coach Vicki Hall said following the game. "What we need to do is play a little bit stronger on the defensive end. We gave up quite a few layups, our turnovers hurt us a lot. We had 24 turnovers and they had 24 points off our 24 turnovers. That's huge. We lost by 13 and that is a big number right there."
 
Half of those 24 points off turnovers came in that pivotal third quarter, but Missouri State wasn't the only team turning opportunities into points. Indiana State scored 27 points off of 22 MSU turnovers, courtesy of 11 steals by the Trees. Tamara Lee, who scored eight points in the game, was the most successful in swiping the ball as she registered a career-high five steals.
 
Indiana State grabbed 31 rebounds in the game, just one shy of Missouri State's 32, as the Trees were led on the boards by Ty Battle's season-high seven rebounds.
 
Both Alexis Delgado (9 points) and Tamara Lee (8) fell just shy of reaching double figures.
 
Ashli O'Neal, who led Indiana State in scoring for the seventh time this season, also finished the game with two charges drawn and her one steal gives her 99 swipes for her career.
 
The Sycamores will now turn around and play at Southern Illinois (8-4, 1-0) on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT. The Salukis are coming off a 67-47 win over Evansville on Friday.
 
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.