CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Queens are back.
 
Tamara Lee scored 17 points, both Ty Battle and Kierra Isaiah added another 12 and the Queens of the Comeback made their return to the hardwood as Indiana State rallied for a 61-58 win at Southern Illinois Sunday afternoon in Missouri Valley Conference play.
 
The win marked the first conference victory for Indiana State (7-6, 1-1) on the young conference season while the Sycamores ended a nine-game home winning streak for Southern Illinois (8-5, 1-1).
 
"Our kids have done a good job playing on the road all year long," Indiana State Head Coach Vicki Hall said. "I am just very proud of them because this is a tough swing."
 
The victory is just the second win over Southern Illinois in the last 10 tries, including last year's Missouri Valley Tournament contest that saw a 16-point Sycamore lead evaporate into a 69-67 loss.
 
This time, it was a Saluki lead that would evaporate.
 
Indiana State trailed by as much as nine late in the third quarter but matched a season-best +10 rebounding margin in the win. And despite ISU's 5-1 record this year in games decided by 10 or fewer points, this one wasn't always guaranteed.
 
In fact, Southern Illinois went through a stretch of over 22 minutes without relinquishing the lead. On four separate occasions, ISU cut the Saluki lead to one point but seemingly couldn't get over the hump until Ashli O'Neal drove into the paint for a layup with 2:37 remaining.
 
The lead would change hands twice more before the Sycamores would get on top for good, this time thanks to a Battle layup for the 58-57 advantage. Lee, whose halfcourt shot as the third period ended banked in one of her trio of 3-pointers, would hit both her free throws with nine seconds remaining to seal the win.
 
Despite a timeout and nine seconds to go, Indiana State's defense only allowed one SIU layup that rolled around and out of the rim as the final second ticked off the clock. That defense limited the Salukis – who shot 40 percent for the game – to just 4 of 14 made baskets (28.6 percent) in the final quarter.
 
And Credit the aggressive play by the Sycamore post players as they grabbed 43 rebounds – the most since the team's double overtime win at Grand Canyon over Thanksgiving weekend.
 
That aggressive play on the glass was led by Kierra Isaiah's six rebounds, one of seven Sycamores with at least three rebounds in the game.
 
"We had 43 rebounds and that is phenomenal," Hall said. "We talked about how important that was for us before the game."
 
Southern Illinois was led by Nicole Martin's 26 points while Kristen Nelson added 13 and Makenzie Silvey scored 10.
 
Indiana State returns to the Wabash Valley to host Illinois State at the Hulman Center on Friday, Jan. 11.
 
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.