EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Ty Battle scored a career-high 19 points and hit two crucial free throws with 15 seconds left as Indiana State withstood a furious rally to hold on to a 76-69 win at Evansville at Meeks Family Fieldhouse Friday evening.
 
Evansville (2-18, 0-9 Missouri Valley) had cut a 20-point Sycamore lead down to three before sending Battle to the line. A 57 percent free throw shooter this year, Battle sank both free throws to put the game out of reach for the host Purple Aces.
 
The junior forward finished the game 8 of 13 from the field and 3-for-4 from the line while grabbing six rebounds.
 
"Those were big-time clutch free throws," Indiana State Head Coach Vicki Hall said of her Battle's late free throws. "I got on her because her free throw percentage wasn't very good. She has been getting into the gym and got better at that. Kudos to Ty Battle, she had a great game today. They had a hard time stopping her one-on-one and it was a great game for her."
 
Indiana State (10-10, 4-5) notched its seventh road win of the season dramatic fashion while extending misery to Evansville, handing them a conference-record 26^th consecutive loss in league play. The Trees held a 20-point lead in the third quarter before the Aces slowly worked their way back into the game.
 
"It's never a dull moment for the Sycamores," said Hall. "We try to make it as interesting as possible. We played so well and were doing so well. We had a 20-point lead for a while and then just relaxed. I think we're just not used to being able to show dominance yet and that is a growing pain. We are just going to keep working on it. A win is a win, ugly or not, we will take it."
 
Battle had help in what proved to be a high-scoring second half for Indiana State. Tamara Lee opened the third quarter by scoring eight quick points as part of her 18-point performance and finished the day 4-for-5 from beyond the arc.
 
"She came back out after halftime and quite a few buckets in a row. We need to keep trying to feed her when she's hot like that," Hall said of Lee.
 
But Evansville's defense adjusted and Indiana State quit feeding the beast as Lee's 18 points were scored all through the first three quarters. The Sycamores would rely on Battle's six fourth-quarter points, along with five final quarter points from Tierra Webb, to secure the win.
 
Regan Wentland added 10 points and a team-leading seven rebounds for the Sycamores.
 
Evansville was led by Kerri Gasper's double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds while Marley Miller and Brooke Bishop each added 14 points.
 
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