MACOMB, Ill. – Jasmine Elder scored a career-high 20 points and pulled down five boards to help the Sycamores overcome a slow start before Western Illinois pulled away down the stretch for an 83-72 victory in Western Hall.
 
Much like Elder, Pearl Dean also provided help off of the bench for the blue and white, acting as a force in the paint for 14 points and four rebounds. Marie Hunter was the only other Sycamore in double-figures with 10 to go along with three rebounds and four assists.
 
Western Illinois was led by Olivia Kaufmann who ended with 25 points which included 10 free throws. Four Leathernecks ended their night with 10 or more points.
 
As a team, Indiana State shot better than WIU, holding a 41.3%-38.7% advantage, and the Trees also held Western to 4-22 shooting from deep.
 
Freshman forward Hattie Westerfeld and junior LeAndra Echi both earned six rebounds to lead ISU who held the advantage in the game, 45-39. Both teams ended the competition with 15 assists, while WIU had the edge in steals, 7-4.
 
There was a large foul discrepancy in favor of the Leathernecks on Thursday, as ISU was whistled for 35 fouls while Western Illinois only committed 14. The Leathernecks also shot 47 free throws, converting on 31 of them, to Indiana State's 16.
 
It was a slow start to the game for the Sycamores, as Western Illinois opened on a 14-2 run and the Trees didn't hit a field goal until a CeCe Mayo lay-in off of a Williams block with 3:10 left in the period. The young Sycamores didn't give up despite the slow start and the offense started rolling at the end of the quarter.
 
Dean and Elder provided a much-needed spark off the bench, each scoring a pair of lay-ins to further close the gap. Williams then closed the first quarter with the first triple of the game, making it 19-15 in favor of WIU.
 
The Sycamore defense managed to hold WIU, who shot 16-27 from deep against Illinois-Springfield, 0-5 shooting from range in the first period.
 
After the slow start in the first, the Sycamores out-shot the Leathernecks in the second quarter, 37.5%-33.3%. ISU used the inside-out game to their advantage, continuing to look to Dean who provided with two more layups. Elder also continued her strong play, chipping-in four points of her own.
 
Indiana State also continued to make hustle plays during the period, evidenced by a track-down and rejection by Williams on a Western fastbreak with 4:06 left in the half. The difference in the second quarter came from a trio of triples by Carla Flores, Grace Gilmore and Danni Nichols for WIU, who took a nine-point lead into the break, 36-27.
 
At the start of the second half, Hunter opened up with a trey to pull the Sycamores back within four, 38-34. Then, with 6:49 to go in the third, Echi delivered a dime to Elder for three and followed that up by knocking down two free throws to give ISU their first lead of the game, 41-40. However, Western Illinois answered with a 21-4 run over the last 6:35 to take a 61-46 lead into the final frame.
 
Just like in the first, the Sycamores wouldn't go away. ISU opened the final segment on a 16-6 run behind a three and a charge from Elder, two triples from Hunter, a lay-in from Williams and another three from Pitzer to close the gap to 67-62. Five was as close as the blue and white would get however, as WIU came away with the victory, 83-72.
 
Sycamore women's basketball will be back in action on Tuesday, Nov. 19 when they travel to Chicago, Ill., for a 12 p.m. matchup with the Illinois-Chicago Flames.
 
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.